Trasquera

Trasquera lies in the Val Divedro, on the Simplon road, and touches the Swiss border: the customs post stands in the hamlet of Iselle, with a Guardia di Finanza barracks, and nearby the Simplon tunnel returns to daylight after crossing the mountain; the border line passes by Paglino. Balmalonesca, Bugliaga and Osone, the other hamlets, lie scattered on the slopes. The municipal arms show two goats fighting across the trunk of a golden Scots pine, one party white and black, the other the reverse.

The parish church of Saints Gervasius and Protasius stands alone on a spur above the valley, ringed by its cemetery. The building is from the later sixteenth century, but the bell tower looks older: its squared blocks, arrow slit and two rows of mullioned windows recall the Ossola towers of the twelfth century. The Val Divedro statutes of 1321 already mention the church and obliged residents to bring a candle there each year on Saint Magdalene's day: it grew from a chapel dedicated to her.