Besso is a

quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25. Quarter or quarters may refer to: Places * Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town Placenames * Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland * Le Quartier, a settlement ...

of the city of

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

, in the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

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 . ...

. It forms the part of the city which is uphill of

Lugano railway station Lugano railway station ( it, Stazione di Lugano) is the main railway station of the city of Lugano, in the Swiss canton of Ticino. The station is on the Gotthard railway and is also the terminus of the Lugano Città–Stazione funicular. The met ...

, and is separated from the city centre by that station and its rail approaches. Besso was developed as a residential area in the late nineteenth century, driven by the opening of the railway in 1882. By 2011, it had a population of 4,993. Road access to the city centre is via a tunnel under the railway line, whilst access on foot is also possible using the station pedestrian subways, and thence the Lugano Città–Stazione funicular.

Trasporti Pubblici Luganesi Trasporti Pubblici Luganesi (TPL) is a public transport operator in and around the Swiss city of Lugano. Previously known as the Società luganese dei tramway elettrici, Tranvie elettriche comunali, Azienda comunale del traffico (ACT) and Azienda ...

(TPL) bus route 3 connects Besso to the city centre, operating four or more buses per hour, whilst TPL route 16 connects an inner terminus on the Besso side of the railway station to Muzzano on a less frequent basis. The station can be directly accessed from the Besso side. The administrative headquarters, and radio studios, of

Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana (; RSI, abbreviated as RTSI until 28 February 2009) is a Swiss public broadcasting organisation, part of SRG SSR. RSI handles production and broadcasting of radio and television programs in Italian f ...

(RSI), the Italian language Swiss TV and radio broadcaster, are in Besso. The former

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

, dedicated to

Saint Carlo Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat a ...

, now houses the Swiss Italian Conservatory and the Swiss National Sound Archive. Besso's church of Saint Nicholas of Flüe dates from 1950 and was built, by the architect Giuseppe Antonini, as a votive church. The facade is decorated with a

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

by Francois Romand Ribas, whilst the separate bell tower contains five bells. The interior is notable for a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

door by Venanzo Crocetti, a large ceramic by Angelo Biancini depicting four saints, and

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows by the Swiss artist Willy Kaufmann. Besso is home to a

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 cent ...

, an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

and a

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

, as well as a branch of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training. The Parco Tassino is a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to re ...

in the south-east of the quarter, famous for its display of

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

References

External links

*
Besso pages on City of Lugano web site
(in Italian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Besso Villages in Ticino Lugano Districts of Lugano