Zeno Zoccatelli

Journalist

A member of the Swiss Abroad editorial team, I mainly write about Switzerland's most peculiar features and stories. After completing my master's degree in Asian Studies in Geneva (with a detour at Tokyo University and Kyoto University), I worked on the newsdesk at RSI, occasionally collaborating with Presence Switzerland during the Expo in South Korea and Milan. I have been working for SWI swissinfo.ch since 2016.

Italian Department

Swiss oddities

No glasses for chickens – and other odd Swiss animal laws

This content was published on Aug 9, 2025 Switzerland animal welfare laws appear to go further than other countries. But is this really the case?

Swiss oddities

The Swiss national anthem: outdated but resilient

This content was published on Jul 26, 2025 It’s hardly the most stirring national anthem, and few know it by heart, but the Swiss Psalm has survived all attempts at replacement.

Swiss oddities

The Zytglogge, the mechanical heart of the city of Bern

This content was published on Jul 5, 2025 The Zytglogge in Bern has one of the very few astronomical clocks in Europe that still works and is fully mechanical.

Swiss Abroad

Cross purposes: the unique Swiss flag

This content was published on May 17, 2025 Square and versatile: Switzerland's unusual national flag has a fascinating history.

Swiss oddities

Spring begins in Geneva when the official horse chestnut tree says so

This content was published on Jan 25, 2025 It's spring in Geneva when the secretary general of the cantonal parliament sees the first leaf on the city's official horse chestnut.

Swiss oddities

The CHF1,000 dance of death and other unforgettable Swiss banknotes

This content was published on Nov 30, 2024 The Swiss National Bank puts a lot of thought into the design of its banknotes, some of which really grabbed the public’s imagination.

Swiss oddities

The surprising boom of Switzerland’s least-loved coin

This content was published on Oct 19, 2024 Switzerland’s five-centime/Rappen coin is one of the least popular coins in Swiss wallets, so why is the number in circulation shooting up?

Swiss Politics

Biodiversity initiative: Reactions to the rejection

This content was published on Sep 22, 2024 Our reporters, Zeno Zoccatelli and Christian Raaflaub, have been speaking to both the initiative committee and the group opposing the referendum.

Swiss oddities

A Swiss Ig Nobel laureate talks about side effects and placebo effects

This content was published on Sep 21, 2024 SWI swissinfo.ch speaks to the Swiss laureate of the 2024 Ig Nobel prize for medicine, who explains how his “winning” study is far from irrelevant.

Swiss oddities

‘That mummy is my great-grandfather’

This content was published on Sep 14, 2024 Former Swiss diplomat Claudio Mazzucchelli tells the incredible story of the discovery in Egypt of the mummy of his illustrious great-grandfather.

Culture

Libby Heaney’s quantum soup served in Basel

This content was published on Apr 6, 2024 Quantum Soup is the first solo exhibition of visual artist and quantum physicist Libby Heaney in Switzerland.

Former CERN head has served science and peace for 100 years

This content was published on Mar 17, 2024 In his 100 years, Herwig Schopper has learnt above all that positive breakthroughs only happen through collaboration.

Swiss research uses VR to reduce pre-surgery anxiety

This content was published on Feb 25, 2024 The use of virtual reality (VR) in medicine is becoming increasingly popular. For example, to reduce preoperative anxiety.

Drones capture DNA in cutting-edge biodiversity research

This content was published on Jul 17, 2023 Robotics and genetics researchers team up to develop a technique that could change our understanding of the Earth's biodiversity.

Extracting DNA traces of biodiversity in water, air and soil

This content was published on Jul 17, 2023 Swiss scientists are experimenting with drones and a mobile laboratory to collect and analyse traces of animal and plant DNA at Zurich Zoo.

COP 15, a summit to halt the mass extinction of species

This content was published on Dec 6, 2022 The UN Conference on Biodiversity, opening this week in Montreal, hopes to reach an agreement to stem the ongoing disappearance of fauna and flora.

Diplomatic ecosystem aims to save Red Sea corals

This content was published on Oct 13, 2022 A Swiss-led mission is working to safeguard one of the richest marine ecosystems and is emblematic of Swiss efforts in scientific diplomacy.

Key Swiss sanctuary reveals challenges, opportunities in biodiversity protection

This content was published on Jun 26, 2022 How can animal and plant species be best protected? We visit the Bolle di Magadino, a nature preserve of international importance.

‘Scientific diplomacy is a must, not a fad’

This content was published on Oct 23, 2021 An interview with the head of a project to safeguard and study corals in the Red Sea, which are particularly resistant to climate change.