Novazzano Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Novazzano 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, Novazzano has an area of 5.18 square kilometers (2.00 sq mi). The municipality is situated in the Mendrisio district, in the hilly country along the Swiss-Italian border. It includes the village of Novazzano and the hamlet of Brusata.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 53.7% - agricultural purposes
 * 33.0% - forested
 * 24.5% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.2% - rivers or lakes
 * 1.2% - unproductive land

History
The first mention of Novazzano was in 875 as Nepotiano. It was mentioned later in 1152 as Novezano.

The population history of Novazzano is: 1591 - 450 inhabitants 1723 - 603 inhabitants 1801 - 698 inhabitants 1850 - 1038 inhabitants 1900 - 1254 inhabitants 1950 - 1340 inhabitants 2000 - 2369 inhabitants

Novazzano was already inhabited in Roman times, in Castel di Sotto Roman altar fragments have been found. In the Middle Ages, Novazzano belonged to the county of Seprio and has been mentioned as a municipality since 1335. In 1567, the village separated from the political and religious authority of the Pieve Balerna and became an independent parish. The parish church of Saints Quirico e Giulitta (known as Saints Giovanni e Quirico in the 13th century) is first mentioned in 1330 but is of older origin (the Roman bell tower is from the 12th century). It was rebuilt in 1776-1779 and last renovated and archaeologically investigated in 1998-1999.

Politically the following municipalities were part of the Pieve of Balerna:
 * Balerna
 * Boffalora
 * Castel San Pietro
 * Chiasso
 * Coldrerio
 * Novazzano
 * Pedrinate
 * Seseglio
 * Vacallo
 * Valle di Muggio
 * Villa

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Novazzano can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Novazzano 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)