Morbio Inferiore Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Morbio Inferiore 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
The municipality of Morbio Inferiore is in the Mendrisio district and the Ticino canton. It is located in the hills above Chiasso. It is a closely packed village that is irregular and unplanned. It is built around the central town square. Morbio Inferiore (as of 1997) had an area of 2.29 km² (0.88 square miles). The land use was divided up as follows:
 * 55.5% - agricultural purposes
 * 23.6% - forested
 * 48.5% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 2.6% - rivers or lakes
 * 2.2% - unproductive land

History
In 1148, Morbio Inferiore was first mentioned with the name of Morbio Subteriori. In 1198, it was known as Morbio inferiori. Morbio Inferiore is in the Mendrisio district and the Ticino canton.

The population history of Morbio Inferiore is: 1671 - 341 inhabitants 1703 - 374 inhabitants 1769 - 434 inhabitants 1850 - 700 inhabitants 1860 - 685 inhabitants 1870 - 717 inhabitants 1880 - 748 inhabitants 1888 - 800 inhabitants 1900 - 911 inhabitants 1910 - 1,058 inhabitants 1920 - 978 inhabitants 1930 - 1,053 inhabitants 1941 - 1,053 inhabitants 1950 - 1,255 inhabitants 1960 - 1,682 inhabitants 1970 - 2,260 inhabitants 1980 - 3,097 inhabitants 1990 - 3,752 inhabitants 2000 - 4,105 inhabitants

Per the 2000 census:
 * 84.3% were Roman Catholic
 * 3.2% were Swiss Reformed Church
 * 0.5% were Orthodox church
 * 0.2% were Christian Catholic Church
 * 0.8% belong to another church

In 1595, the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli was built. It was consecrated in 1613. In 1776, it became a parish church when it separated from the Balema parish. It was renovated in 1974 and again in 1999. In 1309, the church of San Giorgio was built and then restored in 1975. In 1578, the Chapel of San Rocco was first mentioned and then rebuilt in 1760 and renovated in 1985.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Morbio Inferiore can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Morbio Inferiore 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)