History
Like nearby
Chiasso 
, Vacallo was formerly a suburb of
Como 
, until, along with the rest of Ticino it was then annexed from Italian cities in the 15th century by various Swiss forces in the last transalpine campaigns of the Old Swiss Confederacy. More precisely it was 1416 when it was incorporated in the Pieve of
Balerna 
and given to the Rusca family to manage. In the Helvetic Republic, established 1798, it formed part of the canton of
Lugano 
. The creation of the Swiss Confederation in 1803 saw a merger with neighbouring canton of
Bellinzona 
to form the modern canton of Ticino.