The bailiffs in the Italian bailiwicks
Lugano, Locarno, Mendrisio, Cevio, Bellinzona
Key figures: the bailiffs and syndics of the twelve cantons
HLS (German): Bailiff, Common lordships
Who was the bailiff? The bailiff, landfogto in Italian, Landvogt in German, from the Latin ballivus or advocatus, was the lord’s representative in a defined territory. In the old Confederation every bailiwick, that is every subject territory, was governed by a bailiff sent by the sovereign canton or cantons. In the Italian bailiwicks he was called balivo or landfogto; in Lugano he was known as the capitano reggente, in Locarno as the commissario.
The Italian bailiwicks (1512–1798). In 1512, during the Italian Wars, the Confederates conquer Lugano, Mendrisio, Locarno and the Vallemaggia, which become common bailiwicks of the twelve cantons. Bellinzona, the Riviera and Blenio are instead governed by Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden (see the 1500 stage), and the Leventina depends on Uri alone. None of these lands has a voice in the Diet: they are subjects, not allies.
The bailiff “comes down”. Every two years, by a fixed rotation, one of the sovereign cantons chooses the bailiff, elected by its Council or its Landsgemeinde. The new bailiff takes his oath before his fellow citizens and comes down across the Alps to settle at the seat of the bailiwick: in Lugano, in the castle of Locarno, in Mendrisio, in the pretorio of Cevio in the Vallemaggia, whose façade is still covered today with the bailiffs’ coats of arms. The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland recalls the dark side of the office: some bailiffs from the rural cantons had paid for it and tried to recoup the cost from the revenues of the bailiwick.
What he did. The bailiff administers justice, including the most serious criminal cases, supervises local administration, collects the sovereigns’ revenues and, in Lugano, commands the militia of all the Italian bailiwicks in time of war. He is assisted by local officials: in Lugano a lieutenant he appoints, a landscriba (clerk), two fiscal officers and two chancellors; the executioner, the only one for the four bailiwicks, also lives in Lugano. Local communities nevertheless keep wide autonomy: the “Magnificent Community” of Lugano, divided into four pievi, meets in a general congress that decides on taxes, public works and the supply of salt.
The syndicate. Every year the representatives of the twelve cantons, the syndics, meet in Lugano and Locarno to hold the “syndicate”: they check the conduct of the bailiffs, examine the subjects’ complaints against their decisions and hear appeals. The bailiff must account for revenues and expenditure.
A mixed verdict and the end. The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland describes the government of the common bailiwicks as lenient and discreet: the bailiffs change often, the cantons keep watch on one another and the administrative apparatus is minimal, so the communities keep their traditions. But the sale of offices, distant justice and the condition of subjects weigh heavily. In 1798, with the Helvetic revolution, the bailiwicks are abolished, and the cry “Liberi e svizzeri” opens the way to the Canton of Ticino (see the stage).
The pretorio of Cevio, seat of the bailiff of the Vallemaggia, its façade covered with the coats of arms of the bailiffs, 2021
Photo SchmalspurDVZO, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The bailiwicks of the Confederates and the Three Leagues south of the Alps, with the dates of conquest (modern map, German labels)
Marco Zanoli, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Part of the veranda built by the bailiffs in the Visconti castle in Locarno
Photo Marco Del Torchio, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0
The Visconti castle in Locarno, seat of the cantons’ commissario
Photo Irene Grassi, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0