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Locals grumble as Italian viral video sends thousands to Swiss village

The Local
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Locals grumble as Italian viral video sends thousands to Swiss village
Lavertezzo's famous double-arch bridge. Photo: Caroline Bishop

The pretty Swiss village of Lavertezzo in the canton of Ticino has been overwhelmed with tourists on recent sunny weekends after an Italian filmmaker’s video of the area went viral.

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Since it was published on Facebook on July 10th, 2.6 million viewers have seen Marco Capedri’s video in which he proclaims the small Swiss village in the Verzasca valley to be the ‘Maldives of Milan’. 
 
Just one hour from the northern Italian city, Lavertezzo is well known within Switzerland for the crystal-clear emerald water of the Verzasca river and the beautiful double-arch stone bridge that crosses it.  
 
Though the area has long attracted tourists for sunbathing and swimming, it seems the video has sparked even more visitors, particularly Italians, to flock to the tiny Swiss village – and not everyone is happy about the free publicity.
 
The tourists “have no respect for anything” one local resident told Italian paper La Repubblica, saying they “sleep in cars, walk semi-naked down the streets and turn the valley into an open-air toilet”. 
 
That’s not to mention the huge number of cars parked all over the place and the copious amounts of litter the tourists produce.
 
According to Ticino News socks, bottles, cigarettes, crisp packets and cans have all been found in the water. 
 
 
Speaking to La Repubblica, Lavertezzo mayor Roberto Bacciarini said the situation was “under control” and acknowledged that Capedri had given the area a publicity boost.
 
“He did a good job, but it would be a favour to us if he could ask his compatriots to park correctly and respect the rules of the place,” he said.
 

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