Biasca Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Biasca 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, Biasca has an area of 59.13 square kilometers (22.83 sq mi). The municipality is situated in the Riviera district, between the Leventina, Blenio and Riviera valleys. It is a critical community in the so-called Ambrosian Valleys. The Ambrosian Valleys were several alpine valleys that were traditionally the center of Ambrosian Rite churches. It is located 19 km (12 mi) north of Bellinzona, on the banks of the Brenno. About 3 km (1.9 mi) east of Biasca is the little lake of Carigiolo, from which a stream with an 80 m (260 ft) waterfall flows. The villages of Loderio, Ponte, Pontirone, Sant'Anna, and Valle are part of the municipality.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 4.8% - agricultural purposes
 * 45.0% - forested
 * 4.9% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 2.0% - rivers or lakes
 * 36.7% - unproductive land

History
The first mention of Biasca was in 830 as Aviasca in the Liber viventium of Pfäfers Abbey (a Benedictine monastery). It was again mentioned in 1119 as Abiasca.

The population history of Biasca is: 1602 - 397 inhabitants 1833 - 1912 inhabitants 1850 - 2035 inhabitants 1900 - 2733 inhabitants 1910 - 3299 inhabitants 1950 - 2882 inhabitants 2000 - 5795 inhabitants 2010 - 6097 inhabitants 2020 - 6094 inhabitants

The parish church of San Pietro dates back to the migration period after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. It is the oldest Ambrosian Rite church in the area that came to be known as Ambrosian Valleys, which included the Levantine and Blenio valleys and the villages of the Riviera village down to Gnosca and Claro. It was the center of a parish at Biasca. However, it appears that the Church of San Martino in Olivone formed another separate parish, at least until the mid-12th century. The Church of San Martino was probably constructed in the 11th century. Biasca became a collegiate church with a dean and canons. The collegiate chapter's statutes began in 1398. It was authorized to collect tithes in the Riviera and Levantine valleys. The Church of SS Giacomo e Filippo was completed in 1468, but was destroyed, along with other religious and secular buildings, during the wars of the early 16th century.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Biasca can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Biasca 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)