Contra Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Contra 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, Tenero-Contra has an area of 3.69 square kilometers (1.42 sq mi). The municipality is located in the Locarno district on the right bank of the river at the exit of the Verzasca Valley and stretches from Tenero on the shore of Lake Maggiore to Contra on the mountainside.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 27.4% - agricultural purposes
 * 45.5% - forested
 * 36.0% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 1.9% - rivers or lakes
 * 1.9% - unproductive land

History
The first mention of Tenero-Contra was in 1235 as Tendero, contra. The current name of the town dates from 1914.

The population history of Tenero-Contra is: 1850 - 198 inhabitants 1900 - 557 inhabitants 1950 - 966 inhabitants 1970 - 1690 inhabitants 2000 - 2295 inhabitants

In the Middle Ages and in the early modern period, the population of Tenero mainly consisted of tenant farmers who managed the extensive estates of the Locarnese upper class, while a rural community existed in Contra. Spiritually, Tenero was part of Gordola (until 1898) and Contra (from 1903), before becoming a parish (1921). The parish church of Saints-Pierre-et-Vincent, documented from the 13th century, was rebuilt from 1742 to 1761. The parish of Contra was always independent, except between 1921 and 1940 when it depended on Tenero. The originally Roman parish church of Saint-Bernard, attested to from the 15th century, was last renovated in 2004. Beginning with the Middle Ages, Contra was the center of the neighborhood; in the 19th century it became the seat of the political community. In 1910, this was moved to Tenero and in 1914 the community of Tenero-Contra received its current name.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Contra can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Contra 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)