Gnosca Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Gnosca 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, Gnosca has an area of 7.45 square kilometers (2.88 sq mi). The municipality is situated in the Bellinzona district, on the right bank of the Ticino river at the entrance to the Riviera.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 11.9% - agricultural purposes
 * 77.3% - forested
 * 5.6% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 1.9% - rivers or lakes
 * 3.1% - unproductive land

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

History
The first mention of Gnosca was in 1198 as Niosca in the records of Como and the cathedral of Milan.

The population history of Gnosca is: 1602 - 240 inhabitants 1801 - 258 inhabitants 1850 - 195 inhabitants 1900 - 216 inhabitants 1950 - 280 inhabitants 2000 - 514 inhabitants

While it is likely that there were earlier settlements before 1198, nothing is known about them. An arbitration document of 1202 granted the San Giovanni church and the church of Saints Maurizio e Carpoforo, located in Gnosca Castle, to Como. The parish church of Saint Peter Martyr is listed in the register of churches in the diocese of Milan in the 13th Century. In 1335, Gnosca is mentioned as a village in the county of Bellinzona, although part of the population remained subordinate to the cathedral of Milan. This led to a situation where the church was used for both the Ambrosian and Roman Rites simultaneously.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Gnosca can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Gnosca 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)