Ponte Tresa

Ponte Tresa is a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland, standing on Lake Lugano along the Swiss-Italian border about 12 km from Lugano. It takes its name from the river Tresa and shares it with the neighbouring Italian town of Lavena Ponte Tresa. Its history is tied to the river crossing, first mentioned in 590 by Gregory of Tours, and the settlement itself is first recorded in 818 as ad Tresiae Pontem. Until the Melide causeway opened in 1847 the village gave strategically important access to Italy, and it held privileges over border control, tolls and bridge upkeep. The present stone bridge dates from 1962, and the Lugano-Ponte Tresa railway opened in 1912. The municipality had 773 inhabitants in 2019, mostly Italian speaking, and on 18 April 2021 it merged with Croglio, Monteggio and Sessa to form the new municipality of Tresa.