Chironico Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Chironico 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, Chironico has an area of 57.77 square kilometers (22.31 sq mi). The municipality is situated in the Leventina district, on the right slope of the mid-Leventina valley at an elevation of 786 meters (2,579 ft). The municipality stretches from the Ticino river at the Biaschina-Schlucht (elevation 450 m (1,480 ft)) up to the Pizzo Campo Tencia (3,072 m (10,079 ft)) in the upper Piumogna valley. The core of the settlement, is made up of the sections of Grumo and Nivo, the latter is the only one in the valley bottom. Above the village center, located on steeply sloping rock terraces are the settlements of Cala, Doro, Olina, and Osadigo Chiesso. The mountain village of Gribbio has a road connection.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 1.1% - agricultural purposes
 * 40.2% - forested
 * 1.0% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 1.3% - rivers or lakes
 * 42.6% - unproductive land

On 1 April 2012, Chironico was incorporated into the municipality of Faido along with the following municipalities:
 * Anzonico
 * Calpiogna
 * Campello
 * Cavagnago
 * Mairengo
 * Osco

History
The first mention of Calpiogna is in 1246 as Calpiognia.

The population history of Calpiogna is: 1567 - 37 hearths (7 of them in Primadengo) 1639 - 93 inhabitants 1745 - 211 inhabitants 1850 - 354 inhabitants 1860 - 181 inhabitants 1900 - 147 inhabitants 1950 - 99 inhabitants 2000 - 40 inhabitants 2010 - 41 inhabitants 2011 - 50 inhabitants

Calpiogna was the seat of the still existing Degagna Fichengo, which is in Faido today. It was one of the three Degagne of the Vicinanza or village cooperative of Faido, to which - apart from Calpiogna - Primadengo, Campello, Fontanedo (abandoned in the 18th century), Chinchengo and part of Faido belonged to, and which also used to own some Alps in Graubünden. In the Middle Ages the village belonged to the parish of Mairengo. Since 1670, it has had its own parish, to which Campello also belonged until 1837. The chapel of Sant'Eutichio, listed in 1577, was rebuilt in 1665 and consecrated to Saint Athanasius. The chapel of Sant'Antonio da Padova in Primadengo dates back to 1651.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Chironico does not survive..

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Chironico 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)