Locarno Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Locarno 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 Locarno is in the Locarno district and the Ticino canton. It is the capital of that district. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ticino canton and on the northern shore of Lake Maggiore at the southern foot of the Swiss Alps. Italian is the official language of Locarno. Locarno (as of 1997) has an area of 19.27 km² (7.44 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 43.5% - agricultural purposes
 * 31.0% - forested
 * 25.5% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 6.5% - rivers & lakes
 * 4.7% - non-productive

History
In 807, Locarno was first mentioned as Leocarni. It was also known as Luggarus, Lucarius, and Lucaris in German. Locarno is in the Locarno district and the Ticino canton. Locarno and Solduno merged into a new municipality of Locarno on 8 May 1928.

The population history of Locarno is: 1591 - 3,725 inhabitants 1597 - 3,029 inhabitants 1719 - 3,515 inhabitants 1769 - 1,751 inhabitants 1795 - 1,471 inhabitants 1801 - 1,308 inhabitants 1824 - 1,463 inhabitants 1836 - 1,572 inhabitants 1850 - 2,944 inhabitants 1870 - 2,885 inhabitants 1888 - 3,430 inhabitants 1900 - 3,981 inhabitants 1910 - 5,486 inhabitants 1930 - 6,575 inhabitants 1950 - 7,767 inhabitants 1970 - 14,143 inhabitants 1990 - 13,796 inhabitants 2000 - 14,561 inhabitants

Per the 2000 census:
 * 69.9% were Roman Catholic
 * 7.4% were Swiss Reformed Church
 * 15.8% belong to another church

In 1353, the parish church of Saint Anthony Abbot was built in Locarno. It was replaced in 1664. In 1424, the church of Santa Maria in Selva was consecrated. In 1621, the church of Sainte-Trinité-des-Monts was consecrated. In 1230, the church of Saint-François was consecrated. It was rebuilt and expanded from 1538 to 1675.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Locarno can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Locarno 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)