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Nestled on the shores of
Lake Lugano and at the foot of the steep Alpine slopes of Monte Generoso,
Campione is an Italian exclave (a portion of the country disconnected from
the main part because it is surrounded by another country — not to be
confused with an enclave) located within the Swiss canton of Ticino. The
village is about 1 square mile in size and has approximately 3,000
inhabitants. The enclave has a gap of less than 1 km as the crow
flies, but the rough terrain means the journey by road is over 10km.
It is possible to reach Campione from Italy through the lake.
Even though Italy administers local governmental functions and it is
governed by Rome via the administrative province of Como, part of Campione's
longstanding stability is due to its economic and executive integration with
Switzerland; it uses the Swiss Franc as its monetary unit (though Italian
taxes are paid). Its infrastructure is also largely Swiss, including postal
services, telephone numbers and car plates. |
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Though existing outside of its fatherland, this tiny piece of Italian soil
is home to the famous Casinò Municipale di Campione d'Italia, which is the
area's largest employer and an institution of the Italian government. In
effect, Campione can be either Italian or Swiss in character, depending on
your point of view or from which angle it is examined. Campione's unique
status arose because while Ticino became a part of the Swiss Confederation
in 1803, the people of Campione chose to remain a part of the Kingdom of
Lombardy. After the fall of Napoleon, at the 1815 Congress of Vienna, the
Swiss tried unsuccessfully to claim Campione as their own. In 1859, Lombardy
was transferred to the sovereignty of Victor Emmanuel, who would in 1861
become the first King of a newly-unified Italy. As it grew into one of
Italy's wealthiest and most affluent communities, this transformation did
not go unnoticed by Mussolini; he proudly appended “d'Italia” to Campione's
appellation. It was he who also granted permission, in the 1930s, for the
town to open a casino. |
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Several gold coins
were issued by the Casino from 1950-1972 “to be used like tokens at the
roulette table.” They all bear the name “Communitas Campilioni”, which is
Latin for Community/City of Campione. The casino was founded in 1917, opened
in 1933, and is owned by the Italian government, and operated by the
municipality. The income from the casino is sufficient for the operation of
Campione without the imposition of taxes, or obtaining of other revenue. The
casino offers roulette, chemin de fer, baccarat, black jack, poker, and slot
machines. Website of the casino can be viewed at:
http://www.casinocampione.it/
I purchased the 1964
20 Franchi 6.00g .900Au reeded edge coin from novacoins (novacoins@hotmail.com). As Nova Marketing SA, their Web-site is:
http://www.novamarketing.ch/. 20 Franchi coin
dropped it's weight from 6.6g in 1950 to 4.9g in 1970. Campione also
issued its own stamps on May 20, 1944. They remained valid long after
the end of WWII, until May 31, 1952. |
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Micro-Nations |
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Chiefa Coins |
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