A tiny Italian exclave unwillingly joins the EU’s customs union

“WE FEEL COMPLETELY abandoned,” says Giancarlo Bortoli, as a cormorant skims behind him to land on Lake Lugano. A retired croupier, Mr Bortoli is a citizen of one of Europe’s least-known micro-territories: Campione d’Italia, an exclave of Italy within Switzerland. With fewer than 2,000 residents, the exclave results from a territorial adjustment in the 16th century. Like similar geopolitical oddities, Campione has a colourful past. Its casino, owned by the local government, was founded in 1917, reputedly to help tease intelligence out of off-duty diplomats in the first world war. Among those who later found it convenient to establish themselves in Campione was Howard Marks, one of the world’s biggest cannabis-smugglers.