A few steps away from the small hamlet of Collode, where even now Pinocchio charms kids and adults with his lies, there is a mountain area which is better referred to as Svizzera Pesciatina (the adjective pesciatina comes from the name of the nearest town). It consists of an area that may be defined as both hilly and mountainous where the ten castella can be found. The ten castella are ten small towns all made of sandstone whose extensive use over Medieval time is well known.

This green valley of the Valleriana  is unique for its colors, vegetation and for the breathtaking landscape that remind us to Swiss Alps. The area was defined as “Swiss” by Jean Charles Sismondi , a historian, economist and writer born in Geneva with Italian origins. He literally  fell in love with this area because it reminded him his beloved Switzerland, where he settled after a lot of travelling through Europe.