Dalpe

History

In Dalpe a small cemetery from a 5th-century BC Golasecca culture settlement was discovered. Dalpe is first mentioned in 1217 as Albe. In the 13th century the Gotthard route went through Faido to Cornon and Prato. Dalpe and Cornon formed a Degagna within the Vicinanza of Prato. The church is first mentioned in 1338, the church in Cornon is from the late 15th century. In 1640, Dalpe broke away from the parish of Prato and became an independent parish. The parish church of SS Bernardo e Carlo is from 1661. In 1866, the Vicinanza of Dalpe separated from Prato and formed a separate civil parish. Due to emigration to France, the population decreased strongly in the 2nd half of the 19th century. It wouldn't increase until 1941–1960, when it increased slightly, due to the establishment of a construction company. Road construction starting in 1957 made Dalpe into an attractive summer resort in the Levantine and promoted the construction of second homes. The first road to the village opened in 1904. In 1940, a marble quarry opened, but closed shortly thereafter due to the war. For centuries cattle have been the main source of revenue, but now it employs only a few families. In 1998, the municipality began building a small hydroelectric power plant, which is fed by the river Piumogna.

Geography

Dalpe has an area, , of . Of this area, or 6.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 46.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 1.5% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.2% is either rivers or lakes and or 31.5% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.2%. Out of the forested land, 38.3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.5% is used for growing crops and 1.2% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2% is in lakes and 1.0% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 12.1% is unproductive vegetation and 19.5% is too rocky for vegetation. The municipality is located in the Leventina district, on a terrace at an elevation of above the Piottino. It consists of the village of Dalpe with the settlement of Cornone.

Most-observed species

• Marbled White

  Melanargia galathea Linnaeus, 1758 · Insecta
  4,409
• Small Heath

  Coenonympha pamphilus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  2,317
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  2,295
• Swiss Brassy Ringlet

  Erebia tyndarus Esper, 1777 · Insecta
  2,167
• Large Ringlet

  Erebia euryale Esper, 1777 · Insecta
  2,166
• red deer

  Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  1,957
• Small Tortoiseshell

  Aglais urticae (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  1,872
• Scotch Argus

  Erebia aethiops Esper, 1777 · Insecta
  1,762

Most recent

• M 3.7 — 2026-04-26
  4 km N of Quarten, Switzerland
• M 4.1 — 2025-07-21
  4 km E of Frutigen, Switzerland
• M 4.2 — 2024-06-04
  2 km NNW of Unteriberg, Switzerland
• M 3.8 — 2022-09-01
  2 km WSW of Sevelen, Switzerland
• M 2.7 — 2022-08-23
  4 km S of Turtmann, Switzerland
• M 4 — 2020-10-25
  5 km ESE of Ennenda, Switzerland