Novaggio Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Novaggio 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, Novaggio has an area of 4.31 square kilometers (1.66 sq mi). The municipality is situated in the Lugano district, in the mid-Malcantone valley.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 12.3% - agricultural purposes
 * 78.2% - forested
 * 8.4% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 2.3% - unproductive land

History
The first mention of Novaggio was in 1244 as Novagio.

The population history of Novaggio is: 1670 - 373 inhabitants 1801 - 379 inhabitants 1850 - 441 inhabitants 1900 - 476 inhabitants 1950 - 432 inhabitants 2000 - 716 inhabitants

In the late Middle Ages, the monastery of Saint-Abonde de Côme owned property there, the cathedral chapter owned a farm and a mill. In 1294, houses and real estate belonging to the monastery of Astano are also mentioned. Novaggio formed a castellany with the municipalities of Curio, Banco and Bedigliora during the middle ages. The Saint-Cyr church, parochial since 1632, dates from 1625; a building dedicated to the same saint is mentioned in 1352. At the end of the 19th century, some families of Novaggio founded a Protestant community and they built a church in 1902 and created a denominational school.

According to records from 1571, Novaggio Parish was part of the Agno Pieve. The Pieve was formed from the following parishes: In Swiss territory -

In what is now Italian territory. With the exception of Cremenaga, all these parishes were separated from Agno by 1633.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Novaggio can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Novaggio prior to 1900, 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)