Sementina Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Sementina 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, Sementina has an area of 8.25 square kilometers (3.19 sq mi). It is situated on the dejection cone at the mouth of the Sementina valley, on the right bank of the Ticino river.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 19.5% - agricultural purposes
 * 67.4% - forested
 * 10.2% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 2.5% - rivers or lakes
 * 3.2% - unproductive land

History
The first mention of Sementina was in 1230 as somentina.

On 2 April 2017, these former neighboring municipalities merged into Bellinzona:
 * Camorino
 * Claro
 * Giubiasco
 * Gnosca
 * Gorduno
 * Gudo
 * Moleno
 * Monte Carasso
 * Pianezzo
 * Preonzo
 * Sant'Antonio
 * Sementina

The population history of Sementina is: 1591 - 300 inhabitants 1692 - 160 inhabitants 1795 - 170 inhabitants 1850 - 310 inhabitants 1900 - 345 inhabitants 1950 - 534 inhabitants 1960 - 618 inhabitants 2000 - 2646 inhabitants

The cathedral chapter of Como owned goods and rights in Sementina, which it gave to the Muralto family (in 1264), to the da Gnosca family (in 1277), and to the Orelli family (in 1335). Sementina and Muyro (Moiro), the current hamlet of Sant'Antonio, are documented as municipalities in 1335. The municipality register of 1363 of the county of Bellinzona, the hilltop settlement of Piancalardo is also mentioned as an independent municipality. The chapter of Bellinzona held the tithe rights there in 1465. Spiritually, Sementina came under the mother church of Bellinzona until 1440, when the village formed a parish with Moiro, Piancalardo and Gudo. Gudo detached in 1631. The parish church of S. Michele (mentioned in 1291), built to replace the medieval church of S. Eusebio (cited in 1285, destroyed by a flood), was rebuilt in the seventeenth century, probably enlarged in 1761, and most likely restored other times (most recently in 2000-2002).

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Sementina can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Sementina 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)