Mezzovico-Vira Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Mezzovico-Vira 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, Mezzovico-Vira has an area of 10.21 square kilometers (3.94 sq mi). The municipality is located in the Lugano district. It includes two settlements along the old road to Monte Ceneri.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 5.9% - agricultural purposes
 * 65.5% - forested
 * 8.3% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 1.3% - rivers or lakes
 * 14.1% - unproductive land

History
The first mention of Mezzovico-Vira is in 1335 as Medio Vico and Vira.

The population history of Mezzovico-Vira is: 1591 - 775 inhabitants 1801 - 345 inhabitants 1850 - 465 inhabitants 1950 - 493 inhabitants 1990 - 828 inhabitants 2000 - 938 inhabitants

It is assumed that around the year one thousand, Bironico was the civil and religious center of Carvina, a community that included the localities of the middle and upper valley of the Vedeggio, which were part of the former parish of Bironico:
 * Camignolo
 * Isone
 * Medeglia
 * Mezzovico-Vira
 * Rivera
 * Robasacco
 * Sigirino

During the High Middle Ages, Bironico was first dependent on the diocese and then on the city of Como for spiritual needs. It is believed that in the High Middle Ages the locality was a domain, comprising the villa (Vira), the middle vicus (Mezzovico) and Sigirino. Mezzovico and Vira were always a single community, but separated in spiritual matters when in 1838 the Church of San Antonio in Vira became a parish church. The second parish church of Saint Mamete, which belongs to the parish of Mezzovico, dates back to a Roman structure that was enlarged in the 12th, 15th and 16th centuries. Archaeological investigations under the parish church of Saint Abbondio by Mezzovico-Vira discovered a Roman cemetery with urn graves in 1990 and documented the building development from a small wooden church in the 6th century to the last important Baroque transformation.

According to records from 1571, Bironico Parish was part of the Agno Pieve. The Pieve was formed from the following parishes: In Swiss territory -

In what is now Italian territory. With the exception of Cremenaga, all these parishes were separated from Agno by 1633.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Mezzovico-Vira can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Mezzovico-Vira prior to 1900, 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)