Brione sopra Minusio Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Brione sopra Minusio 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, Brione sopra Minusio has an area of 3.84 square kilometers (1.48 sq mi). Brione sopra Minusio is located in the Locarno district, about 4 km (2.5 mi) north-east of Locarno.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 8.6% - agricultural purposes
 * 69.0% - forested
 * 8.9% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.5% - rivers or lakes
 * 9.4% - unproductive land

History
The first mention of Brione sopra Minusio was in 1313 as Briono.

The population history of Brione sopra Minusio is: 1596 - 277 inhabitants 1795 - 463 inhabitants 1850 - 639 inhabitants 1900 - 497 inhabitants 1941 - 324 inhabitants 1950 - 341 inhabitants 1990 - 413 inhabitants 2000 - 484 inhabitants

Before 1479, Brione and Minusio formed a neighborhood, which also included Mergoscia until 1313. Between 1479 and 1577, it gradually became an independent community. However, until 1952, some common property was shared between Brione sopra Minusio and other communities, which led to some disagreements. The church of S. Maria Lauretana was built in 1558-1559, and in the second half of the 19th Century, it was renovated. Until 1662, it was part of S. Vittore in Locarno, then received a chaplain and in 1777, a parish vicar.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Brione sopra Minusio can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Brione sopra Minusio 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)