Emergency management: Extramuro closes between Ticino and Lombardy

Context

TL;DR

• The second edition of «Extramuro» concluded in Erba
• Around ten Ticinese officers attended the training across the border
• The program involves Ticino and Regione Lombardia
• The simulations took place between Erba, Merone and Pusiano

Key facts

• Programme → «Extramuro»
• Edition → 2026
• Ceremony venue → Erba Emergency Multipurpose Centre
• First phase → 8 and 11 June
• Second phase → 1 October in Pollegio, 5–9 October in Erba, Merone and Pusiano
• Coordination → Directorate General for Security and Civil Protection of the Lombardy Region
• Basis of cooperation → Italian-Swiss Convention of 2 May 1995

The second edition of «Extramuro», the joint training programme of the civil protection systems of the Canton of Ticino and the Lombardy Region, concluded in Erba (Como). Cross-border cooperation aims to ensure a rapid and coordinated response in shared emergencies.

In June, in Pollegio, Ticino had hosted around seventy Lombardy officers, officials and commanders; it subsequently sent around ten civil protection officers in training across the border. The ceremony took place on Friday, 9 October at the Erba Emergency Multipurpose Centre, in the presence of representatives of the Lombardy and Ticino authorities and of the organisations that collaborated on the initiative.

Two phases, from training to simulations

On 8 and 11 June, at the Cantonal Civil Protection Training Centre in Pollegio, the Military and Civil Protection Section (SMPP) provided Lombardy officials and commanders with training based on the Ticino model for managing major emergencies.

The second phase began on 1 October in Pollegio and, from 5 to 9 October, included training activities and field simulations in Erba, Merone and Pusiano. Coordination was entrusted to the Directorate General for Security and Civil Protection of the Lombardy Region, alongside the Fire Brigade, AREU Lombardia, the Province of Como and the Chiasso Police and Customs Cooperation Centre.

For a cross-border commuter, the picture above all shows the territorial dimension of crisis management: procedures, operating methods and response systems are compared when an emergency makes it necessary to activate the mutual assistance provided for by the agreements between Italy and Switzerland. To locate the places mentioned, mappa dei valichi is available.

Norman Gobbi, State Councillor and head of the Department of Institutions, stressed that dealing with emergencies requires people who know one another and have already worked together.

Operational details

The practical value of reciprocity

For those who work or live between the Canton of Ticino and Regione Lombardia, the most tangible element of the initiative is the mutual understanding built before the emergency. The source identifies three levels of work: procedures, operational methods and intervention systems. It is therefore not merely a matter of presenting two models, but of strengthening the ability to work together when an emergency requires activation of the mutual assistance provided for in the agreements between Italy and Switzerland.

The 2026 training therefore forms part of a relationship that, according to the source, already has an operational and institutional history.

The source recalls two instances. The first dates back to the migrant crisis in Como in the summer of 2016; the second concerns the forest fire on Monte Gambarogno in January 2022. These are different precedents, but they are cited to show that cooperation has already found concrete application in emergency situations.

The training program has a precedent: in 2024, in Erba, the pilot course had brought a contingent of future company commanders from Ticino civil protection together with their Lombard counterparts; the 2026 edition continues that experience. From that point on, according to the source, the exchange became reciprocal: Ticino first welcomed Lombard officials and officers, then sent its own officers across the border for training.

For a cross-border commuter, the point to bear in mind is continuity: if an event affects the territory of the two countries, the response is not described as an isolated intervention, but as a system based on shared knowledge and existing agreements. Civil protection cooperation remains distinct from ordinary mobility; tempi di attesa ai valichi are available for the daily commute, while «Extramuro» concerns operator training and mutual assistance.

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Key points

From the news to an operational reading

Those who live or work in the cross-border area can read «Extramuro» by following a simple sequence, without confusing operator training with an individual procedure for the public. The steps described by the source are these:

1. Identify the scope. The program connects the civil protection system of the Canton of Ticino with that of the Lombardy Region. The places mentioned are Pollegio, Erba, Merone and Pusiano; the police and customs cooperation center involved is the one in Chiasso. 2. Separate the roles. SMPP handled training on the Ticino model; the Directorate General for Security and Civil Protection of the Lombardy Region coordinated the cross-border phase, with the Fire Brigade, AREU Lombardia and the Province of Como. 3. Distinguish classroom and fieldwork. The activities were not limited to training: the second phase also included field simulations, a useful element for comparing the operational methods of the two countries. 4. Recognize the activation point. Mutual assistance comes into play when an emergency requires operating together according to the agreements between Italy and Switzerland. 5. Check the precedent. Cooperation has been active since 2016 and the source cites the migrant crisis in Como in summer 2016 and the forest fire on Monte Gambarogno in January 2022 as applications that have already taken place.

What remains for the reader

This framework makes it possible to interpret a future news report without attributing to «Extramuro» effects that the source does not indicate. The program concerns the preparation and coordination of Civil Protection. For the cross-border worker, the usable fact is therefore the presence of structured cooperation between Ticinese and Lombard institutions, with a police and customs cooperation center in Chiasso and a basis for mutual assistance in the agreements between the two countries.

Continuity is the operational thread: joint training, simulations, mutual knowledge and reciprocal support in crisis preparedness. These are the elements highlighted by the source and they can help interpret the relationship between the territories without adding indications extraneous to the program.

To complete the daily organization of cross-border work, consult the calcolatore fiscale dello stipendio.

Source: tio.ch