Bellinzona Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Bellinzona 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, the town Bellinzona has an area of 19.15 square kilometers (7.39 sq mi).
 * Bellinzona is located in the valley of the river Ticino, at an altitude of 240 metres (790 ft).
 * The town center lies about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) east of the river, with the urban area restricted to the bottom and lower slopes of the valley.
 * However, the municipality's boundaries spread up both sides of the valley, to altitudes of 2,240 metres (7,350 ft) to the west, and 2,195 metres (7,201 ft) to the east.
 * The town is situated at a point at which the river Ticino, which has been flowing in a generally southerly direction, makes a turn to the west, to flow through the wide Pionoa di Magadino before entering the Lake Maggiore, and after it finally reaches to the Italian Po Valley and Lombardy.
 * Upstream, several valleys extend into the high Alps, with access to northern Switzerland over or through the Passo del San Gottardo via the Valle Leventina, the upper valley of the Ticino, and further to the west with access to the Valais over the Nufenen Pass via the Val Bedretto, and access to the Grisonian Surselva of the Anterior Rhine via the Valle di Blenio over the Lukmanier Pass.
 * The river Moesa, running down the Valle Mesolcina from the San Bernardino Pass with access to the Gresionian valley Rheinwald of the Posterior Rhine, connects the Ticino on the northern boundary of the town.
 * To the south the Monte Ceneri Pass crosses the Lugano Prealps to give entrance to Lake Lugano and an alternate route to Lombardy, whilst the San Jorio Pass provides a possible route east to the upper Lake Como.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 22.0% - agricultural purposes
 * 62.5% - forested
 * 23.8% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 2.5% - rivers or lakes
 * 0.5% - unproductive land

Bellinzona includes the village of Artore and the former municipalities of Carasso, Daro, and Ravecchia.

History
Bellinzona is a historic Swiss town and the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The town is known for its three castles (Castelgrande, Montebello, Sasso Corbaro) that have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2000.

The first mention of Bellinzona was in 1218 as Bilizone.

Bellinzona includes since the incorporation on 20 November 1907, the former municipalities of Carasso, Daro, and Ravecchia.

On 2 April 2017, these former neighboring municipalities merged into Bellinzona:
 * Camorino
 * Claro
 * Giubiasco
 * Gnosca
 * Gorduno
 * Gudo
 * Moleno
 * Monte Carasso
 * Pianezzo
 * Preonzo
 * Sant'Antonio
 * Sementina

The population history of Bellinzona is: 1591 - 200 hearths 1781 - 1,100 inhabitants 1808 - 1,260 inhabitants 1850 - 3,209 inhabitants 1880 - 4,036 inhabitants 1910 - 10,406 inhabitants 1930 - 10,706 inhabitants 1970 - 16,979 inhabitants 1990 - 16,849 inhabitants 2000 - 16,463 inhabitants 2020 - 55,906 inhabitants

The beginnings of the collegiate church of SS. Pietro e Stefano have not been fully clarified but was probably built in the 13th century and is mentioned in 1421 as a collegiate church. In the late 14th century and early 15th century, and again in 1733-64, it was remodeled and enlarged. The church of S. Maria delle Grazie, built in the late 15th century, suffered serious damage in a fire on December 31, 1996. It was part of a Franciscan monastery founded around 1480, which was secularized in 1848 and whose buildings have been used as a home for the elderly since 1919. The church of S. Maria del Ponte likely dates back to the mid-14th century. In the 16th century, it took the name of the Brotherhood of S. Rocco, of which it became the oratory in 1583.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Bellinzona can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Bellinzona 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)