The mycollinadoro newsletter

Water at grade 0, CollinadoroCard and Sunday Hesse

24–30 September: a guide to the local card, garden collection, Hesse and weather.

Published 24 September 2026

Landscape of Collina d’Oro, archive photo — Photo: marco mini

Good Thursday morning from the Collina. There is a useful water update: the Municipality’s current drought-grade page now lists grade 0 for Agra, Carabietta, Gentilino and Montagnola (its Montagnola entry excludes Pian Scairolo). The Municipality had introduced grade 1 in three of these sections in August; the current table supersedes that earlier notice for those sections. Today’s garden waste round is also September’s last for households registered for kerbside collection.

This week also brings a practical CollinadoroCard guide: how to receive it, its published benefits, and how it differs from the municipal Saver Day Pass. This evening in Gentilino, the consortium responsible for watercourse protection works in Pian Scairolo and the Collina holds its ordinary assembly. The weekend brings two more days to see Giulia Santambrogio’s exhibition in Gentilino, followed by a Sunday Hesse reading at the museum in Montagnola. The official forecast for Montagnola suggests mostly sunny days through Wednesday.

Weather: seven mostly sunny days

This is the official MeteoSwiss forecast for 6926 Montagnola, 473 metres above sea level, updated on Wednesday 23 September at 4.10 pm CEST. Lows and highs are rounded to the nearest degree. These are Montagnola values; elevation and exposure can make conditions different in Agra, Gentilino and Carabietta.

Day	Low / high	Outlook	Estimated rain; range
Thursday 24	12 / 22 °C	High cloud at times	0 mm; 0–0 mm
Friday 25	14 / 20 °C	Fairly sunny	0 mm; 0–0 mm
Saturday 26	14 / 21 °C	Sunny	0 mm; 0–0 mm
Sunday 27	13 / 21 °C	Sunny	0 mm; 0–0 mm
Monday 28	14 / 22 °C	Fairly sunny	0 mm; 0–0 mm
Tuesday 29	13 / 22 °C	Fairly sunny	0 mm; 0–0 mm
Wednesday 30	14 / 22 °C	Fairly sunny	0 mm; 0–2 mm

The outlook looks favourable for Gentilino’s exhibition and Sunday travel. A zero in the rainfall estimate does not rule out rain entirely: Wednesday’s upper range reaches 2 mm. The local severe-weather tab showed no or low danger. The natural-hazards tab showed level 1 drought. This is a weather hazard indicator, separate from the municipal grades that govern water use. Local forecast and hazards.

Water: the municipal table now shows grade 0

Lake Lugano, archive photo; it does not show current water conditions

Lake Lugano, archive photo (date taken unknown; published in 2008). This photo does not show today's water conditions. Photo: Sensoryimage, public domain.

The Municipality’s “drought grades in force” table shows grade 0 for Agra, Carabietta, Gentilino and Montagnola (excluding Pian Scairolo). It also shows grade 0 for Grancia, served by the same municipal water office. Grade 1 was introduced on 17 August in Gentilino and Montagnola, and on 19 August in Carabietta; the current table shows it is no longer in force in the listed sections.

For household water use, the practical reference is the municipal table, which distinguishes private from public users and sets out permitted uses at each grade. At grade 0, its chart shows none of the limits attached to higher grades. It still makes sense to use drinking water sparingly, as the Municipality recommends; a recommendation is different from a ban.

Garden waste: September’s last collection is today

Thursday 24 September is the third and final September date for garden waste collection along public roads. This is a paid service for households that have registered; the calendar date does not mean free collection for everyone. For today’s round, material had to be put out yesterday: the Municipality requires it only on the day before collection, in suitable containers, open bags or tied bundles. Carabietta residents should use the municipal car park on via Municipio as their drop-off point.

Kitchen scraps, invasive plants, plastic, glass and stones do not belong with garden waste. Residents who do not use kerbside collection can take garden waste to the Viglio composting site free of charge during the hours listed by the Municipality. The next kerbside collection is scheduled for Thursday 8 October; registered users should prepare material on Wednesday 7. Municipal rules, hours and calendar.

CollinadoroCard: how to get it and use it

If your registered home is in Collina d’Oro and you are at least 10, the CollinadoroCard is issued free of charge. Under the March 2026 municipal ordinance, it should arrive within 45 days of your arrival in the municipality, by post or collection at the counter. It stays valid while you remain eligible; there is no annual renewal. Each family member aged 10 or over has their own card. If yours has not arrived, contact the municipal counter at Piazza Brocchi 2, Montagnola. Registration for the optional e-Cittadino portal is a separate process, not an application for the physical card. Municipal card information and contacts.

At the Centro ricreativo, scan the card at the ticket machine and take the receipt even if you have a season pass. The published resident rates are CHF 4 for adults and CHF 2 for young people and students; children up to six enter free. Entry between noon and 2 pm or after 5 pm costs CHF 2. Season passes are reserved for domiciled residents. You may bring up to three accompanied guests, who pay guest rates. The centre lists an opening season through 11 October 2026. Barbecue areas require separate booking and payment, with no pool access included. The card also gives access to the Pambio-Noranco and Breganzona recycling centres. The municipality says the household uses its head of household’s card for the Ecocard barcode. Waste and recycling centres.

Beyond municipal facilities, the benefits list advertises unlimited free rides on the Monte Brè and Monte San Salvatore funiculars during their 2026 operating seasons if you show the card at the ticket office; 20% off Museo in erba and Splash & SPA admission; 10% off Zoo al Maglio admission; and five free Circular Lugano rentals per person per month, each for up to three days, after account registration and document upload. The Hermann Hesse Museum confirms free admission for residents with the former tessera di domicilio, now called the CollinadoroCard. The municipal list also includes local businesses, such as 20% off home portraits and fine art printing from Studio Seti, confirmed on the studio’s website. Private offers require a valid card.

For rail travel, the municipal Saver Day Pass is a separate national product: a CollinadoroCard is not required. Second-class prices start at CHF 39 with a Half Fare Travelcard or CHF 52 without one, while the cheaper quota lasts; the later price tiers are CHF 59 and CHF 88. The lower tier can be bought until ten days before travel unless sold out sooner; all sales end the day before. Buy from a participating municipal counter; the national website shows availability but cannot reserve a pass. The official sales-point search lists Sorengo; its municipal bulletin says it sells to non-residents.

Tonight in Gentilino: CMAPS assembly

The Consorzio manutenzione opere di arginatura Pian Scairolo e Collina, or CMAPS, lists its ordinary assembly for Thursday 24 September, from 6.30 to 8.00 pm, at via Chioso 1 in Gentilino. CMAPS agenda.

Gentilino: two final days for A Feminine Saint Francis

Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September, from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm, the former Artebianca bakery at via Berenice 2 in Gentilino’s old centre hosts Giulia Santambrogio’s pop-up exhibition. This is the last advertised weekend for San Francesco al femminile, developed through the Hesse Artist in Residence programme. Santambrogio brings the Francis of Assisi described by Hesse into conversation with a contemporary female figure; her practice also moves between painting, textiles and the body.

The exhibition opened last weekend, so this is another chance to visit rather than a new opening night. Admission is pay what you want. If you are heading to Sunday’s reading at the museum, you could visit Gentilino first; the exhibition and museum are at different addresses. Museum exhibition details.

Sunday at the museum: poems and a story in two languages

Sunday 27 September at 4.00 pm, Lucilla Janssen reads in Italian and Morgan Powell in German at the Hermann Hesse Museum, Ra Cürta 2, Montagnola. The programme is Gioco d’ombra: Poesie e un racconto — poems and a story. It is September’s last weekly Sunday reading. From October through June, the regular readings return to the first Sunday of the month. This makes for a different encounter with Hesse from Santambrogio’s exhibition in Gentilino.

The museum’s standard reading price is CHF 10, or CHF 8 for students and pensioners.

Cyclomania ends on Wednesday

As noted last week, the Municipality’s Cyclomania challenge ends on Wednesday 30 September at 11.59 pm. Municipal Cyclomania listing.

An October date for the diary: five days at the ATTE centre

This was in last week’s letter too, but it deserves a place in the diary: the Collina d’Oro ATTE centre, at via dei Camuzzi 7 in Montagnola, has announced regular new hours from Monday 5 October. With the Municipality, Pro Senectute and ATTE working together, it will open Mondays and Thursdays from 2.00 to 5.30 pm, and Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9.00 to 11.30 am. The Municipality describes it as a place open to everyone to meet, read a newspaper or stop for a coffee. These hours begin on 5 October; they are not this week’s schedule.

For anyone looking for a daytime place to meet, this is a useful change as well as a social one. If you are helping an older neighbour or relative, the address and times may be worth passing on. Municipal announcement.

If an event time changes or you spot a local service update, write to us. See you next Thursday.