Vacallo Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Vacallo 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
The municipality of Vacallo is in the Mendrisio district and the Ticino canton. It is located on a hill north of Chiasso and is the first village in the Muggio valley. Vacallo has an area of 1.61 km² (0.62 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 45.3% - agricultural purposes
 * 37.3% - forested
 * 45.3% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 1.9% - rivers & lakes
 * 2.5% - non-productive

History
In 1202, Vacallo was first mentioned with the name of Vacallo. Vacallo is in the Mendrisio district and the Ticino canton. Before 1416, Vacallo was a suburb of Como. Then it was incorporated into the Pieve of Balerna. In 1798, Vacallo formed part of the Lugano canton. In 1803, the Ticino canton was formed and Vacallo became part of it.

The population history of Vacallo is: 1599 - 240 inhabitants 1643 - 279 inhabitants 1723 - 271 inhabitants 1769 - 314 inhabitants 1801 - 285 inhabitants 1850 - 550 inhabitants 1860 - 574 inhabitants 1870 - 596 inhabitants 1880 - 615 inhabitants 1888 - 694 inhabitants 1900 - 923 inhabitants 1910 - 1,297 inhabitants 1920 - 1,325 inhabitants 1930 - 1,415 inhabitants 1941 - 1,430 inhabitants 1950 - 1,434 inhabitants 1960 - 1,799 inhabitants 1970 - 2,277 inhabitants 1980 - 2,532 inhabitants 1990 - 2,809 inhabitants 2000 - 2,758 inhabitants

Per the 2000 census:
 * 87.0% were Roman Catholic
 * 3.6% were Swiss Reformed Church
 * 0.3% were Orthodox church
 * 0.2% were Christian Catholic Church
 * 0.5% were Islamic
 * 1.1% belong to another church

Until 1573, Vacallo was part of the Balerna Pieve when it became its own parish. Between 1646 and 1671, the Saints-Simon-et-Jude parish church was built on the remains of a Middle Ages building. Restoration happen from 1968 to 1971.

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 Vacallo can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Vacallo 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)