Gentilino Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Gentilino 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
Gentilino is a village and former municipality located in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland, close to Lake Lugano and the city of Lugano.

History
The first mention of Gentilino is in 1210 as Gentarino.

In 2004, the municipality was merged with two other, neighboring municipalities Agra and Montagnola, to form a new and larger municipality Collina d'Oro. Until the merger, Gentilino included the north side of the Collina d'Oro valley, and the settlement of Viglio.

The population history of Gentilino is: 1591 - 470 inhabitants (with Montagnola) 1850 - 333 inhabitants 1900 - 427 inhabitants 1950 - 558 inhabitants 2000 - 1328 inhabitants

In the High Middle Ages Gentilino was belonged to the royal court of Agnuzzo that Emperor Louis the Pious donated to the clergy of Como in 818 and which later became the property of the monastery of Saint- Abonde during the 11th century. The unification of the monastery estates probably led to the Concilium Sancti Abundii in 1335, which, in addition to Gentilino and Viglio, also included Montagnola and the hamlets belonging to it. At the beginning of the 18th century, this monastery wanted to acquire rights and triggered a long-lasting dispute, in which the federal locations were involved. It is assumed that the origin of the Saint-Abonde church, center of the homonymous district (concilium) where the vice-parish was established, dates back to the 11th century, even if the first written mention dates from 1140. Current appearance of the building is due to an enlargement during the 17th century.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Gentilino can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Gentilino 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)