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London Rotterdam Hamburg Cologne LilleBrussels Frankfurt Berlin Munich Porto Strasbourg Vienna Bilbao Paris Zurich Lisbon Ticino Lyon Venice Seville Madrid Nimes MilanBologna Geneva Florence Valencia Barcelona Marseille Rome Business Location Ticino Switzerland Beyond Traditional Frontiers Lifestyle Business Location Ticino is Switzerland’s Italian-speaking region with a wide Located between the cities of Milan and Zurich, Tici- array of business activities. It is geographically close to the no’s landscapes combine lush Mediterranean vegetation, northern Italian areas ranking among Europe’s most dy- breathtaking alpine beauty and a benign climate. One of namic. More marked economic integration with the latter, its special attractions is the absence of large industry, mak- which follows as a result of the Bilateral Agreements be- ing it particularly suited to tourism, events, architecture, tween Switzerland and the European Union, brings added arts and entertainment. The region also offers a variety of benefits in terms of market access, supply of skilled labor styles in terms of housing and leisure activities in a mul- and costs. At the same time, Ticino has all the typical traits ticultural and multilingual setting, with short commuting associated with Swiss quality, reliability, preference for de- distances and exceptionally low rates of crime and corrup- centralized structures and knowledge-based economy. Do- tion. The nearest winter resort’s snow and mountains may ing business in the Ticino means operating from a stable be reached in less than one hour by road from most places, and efficient base offering excellent transport facilities to while the nearest Mediterranean Sea ports are about two the European Union’s large single market, the Mediterra- hours’ car drive away. nean Sea, the Middle East and Africa. Ticino Quick Facts Within less than one hour’s car drive from Lugano (Ti- Area: 2,812 sq.km (1,085.7 sq.m) cino’s largest urban area) lie the outskirts of greater Milan, Population: 327,000 (8% of the Swiss total) the Lombardy region’s capital and itself a small metropolis Workforce: 167,000 (2008); 155,900 (2000) with some 4 million inhabitants. With the regions of Eu- GDP: 23 bn Swiss francs (2008, $20.9 bn) rope’s capital cities (Greater London, Île de France/Paris, Per capita GDP: 70,000 Swiss francs ($63,636) Hamburg, Oberbayern, Comunidad de Madrid, Vienna, 20,000 registered companies Total employed: 156,700 Prague and others), Lombardy (9.6 million inhabitants) Unemployment rate: 4.5% is among the European Union’s most productive regions. Its per capita GDP (2005) is 23% and 36% higher than, Road travel distances from Lugano respectively, the average of the euro area (13 countries) and Milan 70km 43 miles Zurich 200km 124 miles EU (27 countries). Basel 260km 160 miles Turin 180km 110 miles Genova (sea port) 216km 134 miles Venice (sea port) 297km 184 miles Air travel distances from Lugano Zurich ZRH 188km 101 miles Geneva GVA 254km 137 miles Rome FCO 617km 333 miles Paris CDG 673km 364 miles Air travel distances from Zurich and Milan (km-m) London LHR 906/1070-563/665 Berlin THF 754/954-468/592 Madrid MAD 1430/1320-888/820 New York JFK 7250/7370-4503/4578 Los Angeles LAX 11000/11100-6832/6894 Did You Know That … Ticino’s architects have become world-famous over the could seek political asylum in the Ticino, notably at Lu- centuries. Domenico Trezzini was a Swiss-Italian who gano’s Villa Tanzina, owned by the Italian exile Abbon- elaborated the Peterine Baroque style of Russian archi- dio Chialiva, who had settled along the banks of Lake tecture. Urban landscapes from St. Petersburg to Rome Lugano a wealthy man, after discovering a gold mine in and Venice as well as, more recently, San Francisco or Peru. Paris have been influenced by Southern Swiss archi- tectural flair. The “modern” generation (Mario Botta, Tribute to freedom: a salient feature of today’s Lugano Mario Campi, Aurelio Galfetti, Luigi Snozzi, Livio lakefront is the bronze bust of George Washington dat- Vacchini and others) created autonomous and individ- ing back to 1859, when Abbondio Chialiva, following ualistic styles resulting from diverse and at times con- in the footsteps of Giacomo Ciani, who in 1857 erected tradictory cultural influences. Ties with Italy have been a monument to William Tell in the park surrounding maintained, reinforced, adapted and also combined with his hotel, presided over the inauguration of the bust of a central European artistic and intellectual heritage as George Washington in the presence of the Lugano City typified by the Monte Verità experience. Council and the local Philharmonic Orchestra. The Gazzetta Ticinese commented: “The effigy of George Following the break-up of his first marriage, Hermann Washington, next to that of William Tell, represents a lu- Hesse resettled alone in the Ticino in 1919, where he minous truth: the freely founded Federal compromise is lived in Montagnola near Lugano (with regular winter appropriate for both the people closed within these small breaks in Germany later on) until his death in 1962. In a borders, and for the vastest region on the globe. Wash- collection of water colors, poems and short stories (“Tes- ington’s bust merits praise to its owner, who placed the sin”, 1993), he described Ticino’s people as particularly piece as public ornament in his garden, and to those who affable: “Now I knew: the man who emerged from the carried out the commission. The work so placed seems to ground was old “Uncle” Mario from Montagnola - and be a perpetual salute to the United States, the land of the even before the gate behind him was shut he recognized free.” and greeted me. Tipping his felt hat with his finger, he turned to me with a friendliness that turns neighborly UNESCO heritage: one of UNESCO’s prime missions relations among elderly people in the Ticino into an ami- consists in identifying, protecting and handing down to able, graceful ceremony. His bony brown face was smil- future generations the world’s cultural and natural her- ing affectionately, and he courteously enquired about itage. The World Heritage List includes 851 sites con- my work, though without stepping closer or glancing sidered as having outstanding universal value. Two of at my folio. Such gracious tact, until one generation ago Switzerland’s seven heritage sites are located in Ticino. still considered a matter of course in all Latin countries Around Bellinzona, Ticino’s capital, a series of fortifica- and to this day regularly practiced by the French, lives on tions grouped around the castle of Castelgrande stands here, especially among the elderly. It is one of the things on a rocky peak looking out over the entire Ticino valley. that makes life here in the South so easy and mellow.” Monte San Giorgio, a pyramid-shaped, wooded moun- tain (1,096 m above sea level), to the south of Lake Lu- In a bid to quell the forces of Italian unification (Ri- gano is regarded as the best fossil record of marine life sorgimento), in 1848, and again in 1853, thousands of from the Triassic Period (245–230 million years ago). Swiss-Italians were expelled from Austrian-occupied The sequence records life in a tropical lagoon environ- Lombardy and the border was closed. This blockade ment, sheltered and partially separated from the open sea brought hardship and distress to the population, and by an offshore reef. many emigrated to France, Great Britain and the dis- tant shores of California, Australia and Argentina. The blockade notwithstanding, Italian patriots and refugees The Coming Logistics Revolution Ticino provides a comprehensive and evolving infrastruc- and better overall service. TILO services are used by some ture platform for companies operating in the greater Eu- 20,000 commuters daily. The milestone ALPTRANSIT ropean area and beyond. The region lies on the main North project (incorporating base tunnels through the Gotthard - South transport route which handles vast quantities of and the Monte Ceneri) will integrate Switzerland into passenger and freight traffic by rail, road and air. A net the pan European high speed network being rapidly com- 39.5 million tons of goods were forwarded across the Swiss pleted, bringing about huge quantum leaps in both freight alpine routes in 2007 (36% by road, 64% by rail – repre- and passenger traffic while offering greatly increased trans- senting the highest percentage of transportation by rail in portation capacities and shorter journey times. The ramps Europe), corresponding to a total of 1.2 bn truck passages. of present-day railways through the Gotthard and Mt. Whereas Zurich International Airport is just 25 minutes Ceneri have gradients of up to 26 per thousand. The flat- from Lugano by plane (less than 3 hours by car or rail), the ness and straightness of the base route – maximum gradi- intercontinental hub of Milan Malpensa is only about 40 ent 12.5 per thousand overground and 8.0 per thousand minutes from Lugano by car. Lugano airport handles close in the base tunnels – will allow productive deployment of to 300,000 passengers per year. Both Milan Malpensa and long, heavy trains through elimination of time-consuming Zurich are among Europe’s busiest airports, recording shunting operations. Future freight trains (qualified) will high numbers in terms of passengers and goods. Some 20.7 travel at maximum speed of up to 160 kph, haul maximum million commercial passengers were registered at Zurich loads of 1,200 tons and have lengths of up to 450 meters. airport in 2007, against Milan Malpensa’s 24 million. The Unaccompanied intermodal transport units will haul up latter ranks as Italy’s most productive airport for freight to 4,000 tons of freight, with train lengths of 750 – 1,500 cargo (420,000 tons per year, compared to Zurich’s 374 meters.