Coldrerio Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Coldrerio 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, Coldrerio has an area of 2.46 square kilometers (0.95 sq mi). The municipality is situated in the Mendrisio district, between Mendrisio and Balerna. It includes the village of Coldrerio and numerous small settlements, of which Villa is the most important.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 68.3% - agricultural purposes
 * 15.0% - forested
 * 39.8%- settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.8% - unproductive land

History
The first mention of Coldrerio was in 852 as Caledrano. Further mentions include: 1170 - Calderario 1185 - Caldirera 1187 - Coldrario

The population history of Coldrerio is: 1599 - 350 inhabitants 1643 - 265 inhabitants 1769 - 473 inhabitants 1801 - 535 inhabitants 1850 - 677 inhabitants 1900 - 855 inhabitants 1950 - 1158 inhabitants 2000 - 2538 inhabitants

Caledrano was first mentioned as a village during the Early Middle Ages, as were most of the surrounding villages. It was mentioned several times in the following centuries in connection with gifts given to religious institutions around Como, including San Abbondio, San Fedele and San Lazzaro Hospital. The gift and property records mention a castle, the village church and several sharecropping farms. It was part of the County of Seprio and by the late 13th Century, was listed as a municipality. In 1593, it separated from the parish of Balerna to form an independent parish. The current parish church of Saint George was built in the 16th Century and enlarged several times and stands in the center of the village. In 1287, the first church of Saint George was dedicated on a hill viewing the village below. Today, the cemetery church of San Gregorio, better known as San Apollonia, is located on the site of the first church.

Politically the following municipalities were part of the Pieve of Balerna:
 * Balerna
 * Boffalora
 * Castel San Pietro
 * Chiasso
 * Coldrerio
 * Novazzano
 * Pedrinate
 * Seseglio
 * Vacallo
 * Valle di Muggio
 * Villa

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Coldrerio can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Coldrerio 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)