When is Italy not in Italy? When it's in Switzerland.

The Italians were never very good at colonization. One practical outcome of this fact is how few places on earth have had Italian among their “official” languages. Outside the borders of modern-day Italy, Switzerland is the only other major country with Italian on its list of official languages - which makes sense in a way, given that the two countries share a border.
Sure, it’s common knowledge that part of Switzerland speaks Italian. But did you know that there’s a tiny part of Italy that’s totally within the borders of Switzerland?
Take out a map of northern Italy and you’ll notice the border between Italy and Switzerland goes up and down like a particularly volatile stock chart. One of the downturns in the border falls between two of Italy’s most popular lakes - Maggiore and Como. The small lake between those two, Lake Lugano, is part of Switzerland - and near the middle of that lake is a town called Campione d’Italia.
The small town of Campione d’Italia is what’s known as an “exclave,” in that it’s part of a county it’s not physically attached to. Practically speaking, however, people going from Switzerland into Campione d’Italia are unlikely to notice they’ve crossed any kind of border. The language doesn’t change, there’s no border guard, and although the euro is officially the currency, day-to-day life runs on the Swiss franc (euros are widely accepted). The local phones are still on the Swiss country code. Some ties have loosened, though: since 2020 the town has been inside the EU customs area, and local cars now carry Italian plates instead of Swiss ones. You’d know the difference if you lived in Campione d’Italia, however - you’d use Swiss hospitals despite the fact that your taxes would go to the Italian rather than the Swiss government.
In addition to tourism, the biggest contributor to the economy of Campione d’Italia is its casino - the Casinò di Campione. The casino dates back to 1917, and it’s owned by Italy’s government and run by the town. For decades its gambling income paid for the town’s facilities, which let residents enjoy a mostly tax-free life. Then the casino went bankrupt in 2018 and sat closed until it reopened in January 2022. The town’s status as a “tax haven” has shrunk as well: it used to be exempt from VAT altogether, and since 2020 VAT applies, though at the lower Swiss rate.
Getting to Campione d’Italia
As the crow flies, the shortest distance between Campione d’Italia and the Italian border is a scant one kilometer, but the mountainous terrain means the trip is closer to 15km to get to the nearest town in Italy. The closest airports to Campione d’Italia are those around Milan - Malpensa (MXP), Linate (LIN), and Bergamo’s Orio al Serio (BGY). If you’d rather skip the necessary border crossing between Italy and Switzerland en route to Campione d’Italia, however, then look for flights to Zurich (ZRH) and plan for a bit of a road trip.
>> Look for cheap flights to Milan or cheap flights to Zurich

Have you been to Campione d’Italia?
photos, top to bottom, by: the official Campione d’Italia website, Tschubby