Church art, archaeological layers, and local craft traditions shape Solduno’s cultural character. Solduno is a district of the municipality of Locarno in the canton of Ticino and lies in the Maggia delta. The town is also at a road junction leading towards the Maggia Valley, Centovalli, and Brissago. For your travel planning, this means a combination of local history and geographical orientation, with themes that are not limited to a single era.

Churches and Art History

The Church of San Giovanni Battista was consecrated in 1385. The present building was constructed beside the earlier church and consecrated in 1795. The dome decoration depicts the Glory of the Baptist and the four Evangelists; it is a work by Milanese painter Luigi Fratini dating from 1848. A side altar preserves a painting from 1731 attributed to Baldassare Orelli. It shows the Virgin and Child between Saints Defendente and Anthony of Padua. The building’s history and furnishings thus point to different periods of religious art.

Near Solduno, Santa Maria in Selva stands on Via Vallemaggia, along the road from Locarno to Solduno. Only the rectangular choir remains of the original 14th-century building. Its paintings make the church one of the most important surviving architectural monuments of the 15th century in the Lombard region. The history of the original building and the surviving choir provide a distinct architectural point of reference.

Archaeology and Craft

Archaeological finds also reveal different layers of time. An important Iron Age necropolis was discovered in Solduno from the mid-1930s onwards. The archaeological site “Locarno, Solduno: struttura dell'età del Bronzo” indicates settlement or use phases dating from the Bronze Age or possibly an earlier prehistoric period, the transition to the Iron Age, Roman times, and the post-medieval period. The earliest dating may therefore go back to before the Bronze Age; the different phases span a long period.

Solduno’s crafts are represented by the Incontro 1 workshop. It has been based at Casa Bastoria in Solduno since 1999. As part of its weaving work, Incontro 1 makes Pezzotti rugs. Alongside church art and traces of archaeological periods, the focus here is on making a specific local product.

Exhibitions and Local Traditions

Since 2015, the Fondazione Marguerite Arp has had a modern art storage facility and exhibition space at its headquarters, Ronco dei Fiori, in Locarno-Solduno. A new exhibition layout is presented there each year. As seasonal access may vary, check visiting options in advance. Group visits are available on request.

At the Sagra dei tortelli on Piazza di Solduno, volunteers make traditional sweet tortelli by hand on St Joseph’s Day, with or without filling. If this culinary event is important to your travel plans, check the specific event dates in advance.

Discover more destinations: Onsernone, Contone, Corippo, Vogorno, Ronco Sopra Ascona, Cavigliano, Locarno, Ascona

Go to the main travel overview: Locarno.