History
In the first century BC the Romans founded the garrison town of Campilonum to protect their territories from Helvetii invasions.
In 777 Toto of Campione, a local Lombard lord, left his inheritance to the archbishopric of Milan. Ownership was transferred to the abbey of Sant’Ambrogio. In 1521 the surrounding area of Ticino was transferred from the ownership of the bishop of Como to Switzerland by Pope Julius II, as thanks for support in the Wars of the Holy League. However, the abbey maintained control over what is now Campione d'Italia and some territory on the western bank of Lake Lugano.
Its status came about when Ticino chose to become part of the Swiss Confederation in 1798, and Campione's people chose to remain part of Lombardy. In 1800 Ticino proposed to exchange Indemini for Campione. In 1814 a referendum was held, but the residents of Campione were against it. In 1848, during the wars of Italian unification, Campione petitioned Switzerland for annexation, but this was rejected due to the Swiss desire to maintain neutrality.
After Italian unification in 1861, all land west of Lake Lugano and half of the lake were given to Switzerland so that Swiss trade and transport would not have to pass through Italy. The d'Italia was added to the name of Campione in the 1930s by Prime Minister Benito Mussolini and an ornamental gate to the city was built, both in an attempt to assert the exclave's Italian-ness.
During World War II, the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS, the predecessor of the CIA) maintained a unit in Campione and used it for operations into Italy. At the time the pro-Nazi Italian regime did not have control over the exclave. The Swiss turned a blind eye to the situation as long as the Americans kept a low profile. Separate stamps were issued during this period inscribed "Campione d'Italia" and valued in Swiss francs.
Read more about this topic: Campione D'Italia
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“The history of the past is but one long struggle upward to equality.”
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“This above all makes history useful and desirable: it unfolds before our eyes a glorious record of exemplary actions.”
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