Many artists and cultural figures have lived and worked on the slopes of Montebrè. Here are just a few: Carlo Cattaneo (patriot, philosopher, politician and writer), Rainis -Janis Pliecksans (the greatest Latvian poet of all time, in exile), Aspazija -Elza Rozenberga (also from Latvia, poet in exile), Fernando Corena (opera singer), Giuseppe Scaniello (musician and promoter of countless concerts in Lugano), Giorgio Strehler (conductor), Helmuth and Allison Gernsheim (the most important photography historian of all time, photographer and collector) Nadja Tiller (world famous actress), Walter Giller (world famous actor), Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon (in terms of importance, the second largest collector in the world) and Carlo Antonio Gianinazzi (painter and writer, editor of the magazine Voce di Castagnola). Those still active include Rosanna Carloni (graphic artist and painter), Ivo Pogorelic (international musician), Corinne Hofmann (writer- The White Masai), Megan Gale (model and actress) and many others.