Baruffini
Baruffini: the hamlet of Tirano
Baruffini, also known as "i Baruffini", is one of the four hamlets of the Municipality of Tirano, located in the province of Sondrio, in Valtellina. With its population of 249 inhabitants (as of 2011), it is situated at an altitude of 800 meters, on the southern slope of Monte Masuccio and is 4 km away from the Tirano railway station and the Rhaetian Railway. However, besides being a simple hamlet, Baruffini has a particular history, connected to an economic phenomenon that deeply modified the valley's economy: smuggling.
The origin of the toponym
The name "Baruffini" has different possible derivations: some believe that it could come from the Lombard verb "rauffen" or "baraufen", meaning "to fight", or from the Provençal "barruffautz", meaning quarrelsome. However, the most credited legend is related to the clashes between the hamlet's inhabitants and the numerous travellers who crossed their lands, following the path connecting Valtellina and the San Romerio hospice in the Swiss territory. The inhabitants of Baruffini were not inclined to tolerate incursions into their territories, as evidenced by the testimonies present in the parish archives of Tirano during the predatory raids carried out by the French militias in 1625.
Anthropogenic geography
The hamlet's territory is divided into nine historic districts: Bottigioli, Buglio, Case alte, Dossello, Mocchioni, Parlenti, Piazzo, Selva, and Santo Stefano. The area's landscape still offers corners of spontaneous rural architecture of great ethnographic interest, with narrow alleys and a panorama that extends over the Adda Valley, up to the Teglio terrace and the debris cone of Valchiosa.
The phenomenon of smuggling
Baruffini is a hamlet that, in the past, experienced a particular and extremely widespread phenomenon: smuggling. The situation of a village bordering Switzerland, combined with the scarcity of job opportunities, led to an impressive criminal-economic activity on its territory, the proceeds of which profoundly modified the valley's economy. Smuggling in Valtellina, as in the rest of Italy, has always been a way to obtain goods at lower prices than the market, but also to earn money by evading taxes. The 1960s and the late 1970s were the golden years of Baruffini's smuggling. Thanks to its proximity to Switzerland, smugglers could obtain products of all kinds: from watches to clothing to cigarettes. Products that were transported on the back of mules, traversing steep paths where the carabinieri patrols had difficulty arriving.
Emigration from the XIV century to today
Life in this hamlet was extremely difficult, as the scarcity of land and job opportunities made the work of a vineyard cultivator, the only monoculture capable of producing an income, inadequate to support the cultivator for half of the year. For this reason, most of the inhabitants of Baruffini divided themselves between emigration or alternating with other jobs, including smuggling. Valtellina's emigration began as early as the XIV century, mainly towards Veneto and Trentino. The phenomenon grew until the end of the XVIII century, then settling in the early years of the 1900s.
In conclusion, Baruffini is a hamlet that can take us back to the past. The inhabitants' lifestyle, rural architecture, proximity to Switzerland, and smuggling phenomenon tell the story of these mountains. The scarcity of resources in the past could make living here still difficult, but today the beauty of the places and the peace that is breathed make them become an oasis of serenity and tranquillity, far from the stress and frenzy of the city.
