Bedretto Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Bedretto 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, Bedretto has an area of 75.23 square kilometers (29.05 sq mi). Bedretto is situated in the Bedretto Valley running from the Nufenen Pass via the headwaters of the Ticino river down to Airolo. The municipality includes the village of Bedretto and the hamlets of Ronco, Villa (site of the municipal administration), and Ossasco, and forms part of the Leventina district.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 2.0% - agricultural purposes
 * 11.6% - forested
 * 0.9% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.9% - rivers or lakes
 * 55.9% - unproductive land

History
The population history of Bedano is: 1692 - 275 inhabitants 1801 - 197 inhabitants 1850 - 266 inhabitants 1900 - 243 inhabitants 1950 - 335 inhabitants 2000 - 1196 inhabitants

During the Middle Ages, Bedano was under the jurisdiction of the monastery of San Ambrogio in Milan, while the Bishop of Como possessed the right to tithe in Bedano. It belonged to the parish of Gravesano. In the village there are two chapels: the Chapel of Santa Maria (built in 1365, rebuilt before 1636) and San Rocco from the 16th Century. North of Bedano are remains of a small castle, which may have belonged to the Rusca family. Under Swiss Confederation rule, it was part of the district of Lugano.

Church Records
The parish church for Bedretto is located in Villa Bedretto.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Bedretto does not survive..

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Bedretto 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)