Gerra (Verzasca) Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Gerra (Verzasca) 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
Gerra (Verzasca) is in the Locarno district and the Ticino canton in the Verzasca Valley. Until 2009, Berra was an independent municipality when it merged to form Cugnasco-Gerra.

History
In 1387, Gerra was first mentioned as Giera. It was part of Brione until 1852. Gerra merged into a new municipality of Cugnasco-Gerra on 1 January 2009.

The population history of Gerra is: 1801 - 304 inhabitants 1870 - 186 inhabitants 1900 - 413 inhabitants 1950 - 451 inhabitants 2000 - 1,098 inhabitants 2007 - 1,297 inhabitants

In 1742, the Gerra parish was created from a split from Brione. The San Giovanni Evangelista church existed in the 15th century and was destroyed twice over the years. In 1819, the present church was rebuilt. In 1930, the Church of Sacro Cuore was built. It is located in Gerra Piano.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Gerra can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Gerra 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)