Bioggio Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Bioggio 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, Bioggio has an area of 6.43 square kilometers (2.48 sq mi). The municipality is located in the lower Vediggio valley of the Lugano district. It includes the village of Bioggio and the hamlets of Gaggio and Mulini. In 2004, Cimo and Bosco Luganese merged into old town Bioggio to form a new municipality. In 2008, Iseo chose to be part of this new municipality.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 20.7% - agricultural purposes
 * 12.4% - forested
 * 18.5% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.8% - rivers or lake
 * 0.3% - unproductive land

History
The first mention of Bioggio is in 1335 as Biegio. In 1925, the Biogno municipality was separated into two parts and added to Breganzona and Bioggio.

The population history of Bioggio is: 1599 - 250 inhabitants 1801 - 323 inhabitants 1850 - 442 inhabitants 1900 - 568 inhabitants 1950 - 644 inhabitants 2000 - 1504 inhabitants

In the 13th century, the monastery of Saint Maria in Torello (Carona) owned numerous tenant farms, which passed to the monastery of Saint Antonio di Lugano in the 17th century. The canton confiscated these properties in 1852 and sold them at auction. A Saint-Maurice church is mentioned in 1261; according to the excavations of 1997-1998, it could date from the 5th-6th century. The new parish church was built in 1773-91 in classicist style, only the tower dates back to earlier times. The Chapel of Saint Ilario on the hill of the same name was enlarged in 1680 and has remained unchanged since then.

According to records from 1571, Bioggio Parish was part of the Agno Pieve. The Pieve was formed from the following parishes: In Swiss territory -

In what is now Italian territory. With the exception of Cremenaga, all these parishes were separated from Agno by 1633.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Bioggio can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Bioggio 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)