Avegno Gordevio is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the district of Vallemaggia in the canton of

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

in Switzerland. It was formed on 20 April 2008 when Avegno and Gordevio were merged.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 14 January 2010

History

Avegno is first mentioned in 1189 as ''Vegno''. Gordevio is first mentioned in 1200 as ''de gordauio''. In 1335 it was mentioned as ''de Gordavio''.

Avegno

In the 14th century, Avegno shared a chaplain with Gordevio. In 1645, they separated from the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metropo ...

in Maggia, and became separate

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

es. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of SS Luca e Abbondio was built in 1313. In the 17th century it was expanded and the rich stucco work was added. Agriculture, formerly the main occupation of the inhabitants, is today almost non-existent. Handicrafts (making baskets and pottery) and stone cutting were able to slow the exodus somewhat. The strong population growth in recent decades is due to the proximity to

Locarno , neighboring_municipalities= Ascona, Avegno, Cadenazzo, Cugnasco, Gerra (Verzasca), Gambarogno, Gordola, Lavertezzo, Losone, Minusio, Muralto, Orselina, Tegna, Tenero-Contra , twintowns =* Gagra, Georgia * Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic ...

. Some companies have settled in the valley and various sports facilities and campsites have been created. In 1982, the Wakker Prize was awarded to Avegno in recognition of the efforts to preserve the village's historic appearance.

Gordevio

The parish church of SS Giacomo e Filippo, is first mentioned in the 13th century. The current building was built in the 17th century on the remains of a previous church from the 14th century. It contains paintings by Giovanni Antonio Vanoni (19th century) and probably by Giuseppe Antonio Felice Orelli, who created frescoes in the adjacent

ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the ...

in 1753. In village of Brièè, in 1666, the chapel of S. Antonio Abate was built. In the 14th century both Gordevio and Avegno had their own chaplain. The two villages broke away from the mother church in Maggia, and parted from each other probably about 1645. The village center contains some houses from the 19th century. Due to lack of farming land, emigration (at first mainly to Rome, but in the second half of the 19th century overseas as well) lowered the number of inhabitants. In the last decades of the 20th century, the population has risen again. This increase is mainly due to its proximity to agglomeration of Locarno. Agricultural jobs have practically disappeared from the village.

Coat of arms

The present

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was adopted in 2008, replacing those of the two previous municipalities: ''Tierced per pale gules, argent and azure, overall a crenellated gateway between two towers triple-turreted argent masoned sable, in centre base the capital letters A and G in pale of the last.''

Demographics

Avegno Gordevio has a population () of , all Swiss citizens. , the gender distribution of the population was 47.5% male and 52.5% female. The population was made up of 608 Swiss men (43.1% of the population), and 62 (4.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 678 Swiss women (48.0%), and 64 (4.5%) non-Swiss women. In there were 12 live births to Swiss citizens and 1 birth to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 13 deaths of Swiss citizens and 1 non-Swiss citizen death. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 1 while the foreign population remained the same. There were 3 Swiss men and 15 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 5 non-Swiss men and 2 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 21 and the non-Swiss population change was a decrease of 1 people. This represents a

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

of 1.5%.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Superweb database - Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008
accessed 19 June 2010 The age distribution, , in Avegno Gordevio is; 142 children or 10.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 190 teenagers or 13.5% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 122 people or 8.6% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 167 people or 11.8% are between 30 and 39, 230 people or 16.3% are between 40 and 49, and 202 people or 14.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 169 people or 12.0% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 102 people or 7.2% are between 70 and 79, there are 88 people or 6.2% who are over 80.01.02.03 Popolazione residente permanente
accessed 23 November 2010

Historic Population

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:1100 height:500 PlotArea = height:350 left:100 bottom:90 right:100 Legend = columns:3 left:220 top:70 columnwidth:160 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:1400 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:200 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:50 start:0 Colors= id:AV value:yellowgreen legend:Avegno id:GO value:green legend:Gordevio PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:30 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from: 0 till:399 text:"399" color:AV bar:1860 from: 0 till:353 text:"353" color:AV bar:1870 from: 0 till:392 text:"392" color:AV bar:1880 from: 0 till:392 text:"392" color:AV bar:1890 from: 0 till:428 text:"428" color:AV bar:1900 from: 0 till:322 text:"322" color:AV bar:1910 from: 0 till:253 text:"253" color:AV bar:1920 from: 0 till:219 text:"219" color:AV bar:1930 from: 0 till:208 text:"208" color:AV bar:1940 from: 0 till:167 text:"167" color:AV bar:1950 from: 0 till:215 text:"215" color:AV bar:1960 from: 0 till:235 text:"235" color:AV bar:1970 from: 0 till:293 text:"293" color:AV bar:1980 from: 0 till:393 text:"393" color:AV bar:1990 from: 0 till:472 text:"472" color:AV bar:2000 from: 0 till:493 text:"493" color:AV bar:1850 from: 399 till:772 text:"373" color:GO bar:1860 from: 353 till:695 text:"342" color:GO bar:1870 from: 392 till:750 text:"358" color:GO bar:1880 from: 392 till:724 text:"332" color:GO bar:1890 from: 428 till:742 text:"314" color:GO bar:1900 from: 322 till:600 text:"278" color:GO bar:1910 from: 253 till:518 text:"265" color:GO bar:1920 from: 219 till:478 text:"259" color:GO bar:1930 from: 208 till:454 text:"246" color:GO bar:1940 from: 167 till:421 text:"254" color:GO bar:1950 from: 215 till:481 text:"266" color:GO bar:1960 from: 235 till:529 text:"294" color:GO bar:1970 from: 293 till:647 text:"354" color:GO bar:1980 from: 393 till:952 text:"559" color:GO bar:1990 from: 472 till:1143 text:"671" color:GO bar:2000 from: 493 till:1291 text:"798" color:GO

Sights

The entire villages of ''Avegno Chiesa e di dentro'' and ''Avegno di fuori'' are designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites

Economy

the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 370. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 36, of which 16 were in agricultureand 20 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 157, of which 129 or (82.2%) were in manufacturing and 21 (13.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 177. In the tertiary sector; 20 or 11.3% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 4 or 2.3% were in the movement and storage of goods, 50 or 28.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 or 0.6% were in the information industry, 6 or 3.4% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 2.3% were in education and 56 or 31.6% were in health care. , there were 3 hotels in Avegno Gordevio with a total of 15 rooms and 33 beds.

Education

In Avegno Gordevio there were a total of 298 students (). The Ticino

education system The educational system generally refers to the structure of all institutions and the opportunities for obtaining education within a country. It includes all pre-school institutions, starting from family education, and/or early childhood education ...

provides up to three years of non-mandatory

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

and in Avegno Gordevio there were 43 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years. In the village, 88 students attended the standard primary schools. In the lower secondary school system, students either attend a two-year middle school followed by a two-year pre-apprenticeship or they attend a four-year program to prepare for higher education. There were 88 students in the two-year middle school, while 32 students were in the four-year advanced program. The upper secondary school includes several options, but at the end of the upper secondary program, a student will be prepared to enter a trade or to continue on to a university or college. In Ticino, vocational students may either attend school while working on their internship or apprenticeship (which takes three or four years) or may attend school followed by an internship or apprenticeship (which takes one year as a full-time student or one and a half to two years as a part-time student). There were 13 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 27 who attend part-time. The professional program lasts three years and prepares a student for a job in engineering, nursing, computer science, business, tourism and similar fields. There were 7 students in the professional program. Allievi e studenti, secondo il genere di scuola, anno scolastico 2009/2010
accessed 23 November 2010

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of Ticino Articles which contain graphical timelines