Breno is a village and former municipality 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 . ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. In 2005 the municipality was merged with the other, neighboring municipalities

Arosio Arosio ( Brianzöö: ; locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about southeast of Como. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 4,521 and an area o ...

, Fescoggia, Mugena and Vezio to form a new and larger municipality

Alto Malcantone Alto Malcantone is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It was formed on 13 March 2005 from the earlier municipalities of Arosio, Breno, Fescoggia, Mugena and Vezio.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 14 January 2010

History

Breno is first mentioned in 1140 as ''Breno''. Archaeological digs have uncovered items from the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

in Breno. The village name is

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

in origin, though the exact meaning is unknown. At some time after the year 1000, the Abbey of S. Abbondio in

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

acquired some rights and land in Breno. The municipality bought itself out from under those rights in 1579. Modernly, the village includes the south land that once belonged to the municipality of Tortoglio. This land was abandoned in the wake of a

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

in the 15th Century. The village was involved in a land dispute with Miglieglia until 1890. The

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 or m ...

was established as Fescoggia parish in 1592. 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 S. Lorenzo was built in 1233, rebuilt in 1596 and expanded in 1852. The local economy included both agriculture and herding in alpine pastures. ''Alp Rettaiola'' (alpine pasture) was lost after a century-long dispute with the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Valle

Veddasca Veddasca was a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan and about north of Varese in the Val Veddasca, on the border with Switzerland. In 2014 it merges with Maccagno ...

, following a by a decision of the

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

Congress in 1752. In the upper Malcantone Valley many of the farmers own land both in the Valley and in the lower, hilly area between Neggio and Bosco Luganese. Before winter sets in, they move their animals down into the hills to their winter pastures. The

seasonal migration Animal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of Migration (ecology), migration in ecology. It is found in all major animal groups, including Bird migrat ...

began in the 16th century and was very common until the beginning of the 19th century. Between 16th and 19th centuries, limited land and resources led to a large exodus of construction workers from Breno. A strong philanthropic attitude and community life, often supported by grants from wealthy villagers who had emigrated, allowed the village to build a number of institutions in the 19th century. The most important is the school of drawing from 1883. By the end of the 20th century, many of the workers in Breno commuted to Lugano for work.

Historic population

The historical population is given in the following table:

References

* Former municipalities of Ticino Villages in Ticino {{Ticino-geo-stub