Ravecchia Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Ravecchia 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.



Ravecchia has been part of the municipality of Bellinzona since 1907.

Geography
Since 1907, Ravecchia has been part of the municipality of Bellinzona.

History
The first mention of Ravecchia was in 1213 as Rovegia.

Since the incorporation in 1907, the former municipalities of Carasso, Daro, and Ravecchia have been part of the municipality of Bellinzona.

The settlements of Ravecchia (1213 Rovegia) and Prada (1381 Prata) were part of the territory of Bellinzona from early times. In the Middle Ages, the inhabitants had the same legal status as those of Bellinzona: they were represented on the council, shared in the city's expenses, and enjoyed its privileges. The oldest villages with the greatest population density were on the slopes or directly at the foot of the mountain, while the lower-lying settlement cores south of the Dragonato torrent developed later along the main traffic artery. The mountain village of Prada, of which only ruins remain today, still had a good number of families until the end of the 16th century. The number of families (grouped around the church of Saints-Jérôme-et-Roch) was cited in 1498. In the plain at the edge of the road, the church of Saint-Blaise, the hospital, as well as the church and the Augustinian convent of Saint-Jean were built. The patronage of Saint-Blaise belonged to the community; considered by some to be the original parish church, it was probably built before the year 1000 and refurbished in the late Middle Ages. In sources from the 13th century, there is also talk of a monastery being founded nearby, possibly originating from Disentis. The S. Giovanni hospital, extended in 1387 and maintained by the municipality, was also transferred to the vicinity of Saint-Blaise in the 17th century. The more northerly buildings of the monastery and the church of SS. Giovanni Battista e Evangelista from the first half of the 15th century was flooded in 1768.

Locations within Ravecchia
See Bellinzona for more information.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Ravecchia can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Ravecchia 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)