Preonzo Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Preonzo 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, Preonzo has an area of 16.44 square kilometers (6.35 sq mi). The municipality is situated in the Bellinzona district, on the right bank of the Ticino river between Bellinzona and Biasca.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 7.4% - agricultural purposes
 * 60.4% - forested
 * 3.3% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 2.4% - rivers or lakes
 * 25.0% - unproductive land

History
The first mention of Preonzo was in 1335 as Prevonzo.

On 2 April 2017, these former neighboring municipalities merged into Bellinzona:
 * Camorino
 * Claro
 * Giubiasco
 * Gnosca
 * Gorduno
 * Gudo
 * Moleno
 * Monte Carasso
 * Pianezzo
 * Preonzo
 * Sant'Antonio
 * Sementina

The population history of Preonzo is: 1850 - 402 inhabitants 1900 - 315 inhabitants 1950 - 347 inhabitants 2000 - 484 inhabitants

In the 14th Century, Moleno and Preonzo formed a neighborhood. In 1335, it became one of the municipalities in the County of Bellinzona. During the first conquest of the Ticino in 1403–1422, it was controlled by the cantons of Uri and Obwalden. They granted the villages its statutes and customary rights (Statuti, ordini), although, unlike Moleno, it was not incorporated in the Levantine. The parish church of SS Simone e Giuda was constructed in 1459. In the 17th century, it was remodeled and then renovated in 1963–66 and 1996–97. It separated from the Church of S. Vittore in Moleno in 1545. Along with Gnosca and Moleno, it was one of the three churches that used the Ambrosian Rite in the County of Bellinzona.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Preonzo can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Preonzo 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)