Giornico Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Giornico 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, Giornico has an area of 19.48 square kilometers (7.52 sq mi). The municipality is situated in the Leventina district, along the Ticino river, at the bottom of the Biaschina Gorge and at the top of the alluvial plain of the Ticino Valley.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 5.2% - agricultural purposes
 * 60.9% - forested
 * 7.3% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 2.1% - rivers or lakes
 * 26.1% - unproductive land

History
The first mention of Giornico was in 935-994 as de Iudicibus Giornicensis. Later in 1202, it was mentioned as Iornico, and around 1210-1258 as Zurnigo. Formerly, it was acknowledged by the German names of Yrnis or Girnis.

The population history of Giornico is: 1567 - 115 hearths 1745 - 510 inhabitants 1850 - 707 inhabitants 1880 - 2147 inhabitants 1900 - 768 inhabitants 1950 - 820 inhabitants 1970 - 1389 inhabitants 2000 - 885 inhabitants 2010 - 848 inhabitants

In the Middle Ages, the great Vicinanza Giornico consisted of 15-20 settlements or villages spread over several degagne, some of whose boundaries have not yet been clarified; this organizational structure lasted until 1803, when the canton of Ticino was formed. The plague struck Giornico in 1484, 1566 and 1629 with 265 victims. In 1567, the parish is mentioned as independent, but the date of separation from the mother church in Biasca is not known.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Giornico can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Giornico 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)