From Alpe Frignago to Alpe Rescerasca (above Brissago, Swiss territory), there is one of the paths used by smugglers and partisans to enter and exit Switzerland. The path was primarily used in winter when heavy snow at high altitudes on Mount Ghiridone/Limidario made high-altitude passage impossible. In such cases, the route from Alpe Frignago to Alpe Rescerasca remained a less hostile transit route.
At least until the summer of 1943, Alpe Frignago also housed a permanent border guard post. With the advent of the Italian Social Republic, following the German occupation of Northern Italy, the post was only sporadically occupied. Today only a few ruins remain in this Alpine Pasture, bearing witness to the passage of several hundred refugees, partisans, and smugglers.
Many people passed through this Alpe, attempting to reach the Swiss border. An analysis of archival documents - about a hundred dossiers collected from the cantonal archive in Bellinzona and the federal archive in Bern - reveals the sheer drama of these events. Most refugees crossed the border on moonless nights when conditions were most challenging.
From this path, always in the dead of night, they continued crossing the rugged Valmara, located on the border line towards Alpe Rescerasca and Alpe Cortaccio, in Swiss territory.
At least 150 Jews, almost always in family groups of at least 3 people, crossed this strip of the border, especially during autumn and winter of 1943-1944. In addition to the difficulty of the passage, there was also a substantial fee to be paid to the smugglers, who were experienced locals, former contrabandists and even Ticino citizens. The cost of passage averaged around 10,000-20,000 Lire per person, which is equivalent to CHF/EUR 700-800 today.