As the river Melezza flows from Italy eastward into Switzerland, it flows through a beautiful gorge. That gorge ends in the vicinity of Intragna and Golino, villages which are on opposite sides of the Melezza. Intragna is the uphill village on the north side of the river, while Golino is on the south side in the valley. Just past the end of the gorge, a tributary called the Isorno flows into the Melezza. The area of this confluence has become a popular nudist area.

As you approach from the village of Golino, you will intersect a road that runs along the river. At this "T" junction, walk to the left (west, upstream) just 100 meters or so, then cut through the trees to the riverbed. You'll be on a wide part of the riverbed where there is an island of trees in the middle. Looking toward these trees, veer toward the opposite shore of the river and you'll be in the nudist area. Toward the north side of the riverbed at the confluence with the Isorno, there are beautiful, deep pools in the otherwise shallow river.

Nudity is well established in the area of the confluence, and nudists and textiles tend to coexist without problems even when textiles are a majority. However, this site is not without controversy. Nudity is not officially allowed, and there has been a bit of backlash against nudity at this easily accessible location that is not well hidden from public view. Local authorities have stated that, while nudity is unofficially tolerated in secluded upstream areas of the Melezza Gorge, nudity is not allowed at Golina. Nonetheless, nudists continue to attend this site, and thus far there seems to have been no serious attempts at anti-nudity enforcement.

Another placemark details the more secluded upstream area of the Melezza, which requires more effort to reach.

This site is located in the canton of Ticino, which is the only part of Switzerland where Italian is the predominant language of the entire canton.

VISUAL RESOURCES

GPS: 46.1803, 8.7083

municipality, district, canton, country
  Centovalli, Locarno, Ticino, Switzerland

There are 13 placemarks related to these nearby sites: Melezza at Golino and Melezza Gorge.