Ronco sopra Ascona Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Ronco sopra Ascona Parish, Ticino, Switzerland, ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, parish census, civil census, family history, area history, and military records.



Geography
As of 1997, Ronco sopra Ascona has an area of 5.02 square kilometers (1.94 sq mi). The municipality is situated in the Locarno district. It includes the village of Ronco sopra Ascona and the hamlets Fontana Martina and Porto Ronco.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 8.8% - agricultural purposes
 * 77.1% - forested
 * 12.2% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.2% - rivers or lakes
 * 7.4% - unproductive land

History
The first mention of Ronco sopra Ascona was in 1264 as Roncha. Later in 1498, it was mentioned as Ronca de Scona.

The population history of Ronco sopra Ascona is: 1850 - 378 inhabitants 1900 - 257 inhabitants 1950 - 540 inhabitants 1980 - 745 inhabitants 2000 - 659 inhabitants

Ronco sopra Ascona formed a neighborhood with Ascona from 1321 with its own statutes (1369), from which it separated in 1641. In the early modern period it was included in the Bailiwick of Locarno. The Church of S. Martino is first recorded in 1498. In 1626 it separated from the parish of Ascona to form an independent parish but the local priest elected was chosen by the priest in Ascona from 1632 until 1813.

Census
(See here for information regarding Ticino census records.)

The 1808 Ticino census for Ronco sopra Ascona can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Ronco sopra Ascona prior to 1875, along with any known soprannomi. For more information about soprannomi, click here.

Related sources
The town's website (in Italian) can be found here.

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Ticino

Societies
Società Genealogica della Svizzera Italiana (SGSI)