Grancia Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Grancia 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, Grancia has an area of 0.63 square kilometers (0.24 sq mi). The municipality is situated in the Lugano district. It includes the village of Grancia made up of four sections, including Campestro.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 23.8% - agricultural purposes
 * 38.1% - forested
 * 49.2% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 4.8% - rivers or lakes

History
The first mention of Grancia was in 1309 as in loco Grancie.

It was part of the municipality of Carabbia until 1825.

The population history of Giornico is: 1567 - 115 hearths 1745 - 510 inhabitants 1850 - 707 inhabitants 1880 - 2147 inhabitants 1900 - 768 inhabitants 1950 - 820 inhabitants 1970 - 1389 inhabitants 2000 - 885 inhabitants 2010 - 848 inhabitants

In the Middle Ages, the great Vicinanza Giornico consisted of 15-20 settlements or villages spread over several degagne, some of whose boundaries have not yet been clarified; this organizational structure lasted until 1803, when the canton of Ticino was formed. The plague struck Giornico in 1484, 1566 and 1629 with 265 victims. In 1567, the parish is mentioned as independent, but the date of separation from the mother church in Biasca is not known.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Grancia can be accessed here (starting with line 73).

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Grancia 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)