Capriasca 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

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 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 ...

. The municipality was created in 2001 by a merger of Cagiallo,

Lopagno Lopagno is a village and former municipality in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. In 2001 the municipality was merged with the other, neighboring municipalities Cagiallo, Roveredo, Sala Capriasca, Tesserete and Vaglio to form a new and larger ...

Roveredo Roveredo is a municipality in the Moesa Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. Geography Roveredo has an area, , of . Of this area, 8.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 75% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.1% is ...

Sala Capriasca Sala Capriasca is a village and former municipality in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. In 2001 the municipality was merged with the other, neighboring municipalities Cagiallo, Lopagno, Roveredo, Tesserete and Vaglio to form a new and larger muni ...

Tesserete Tesserete is a village and former municipality in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. In 1976 the neighboring municipality Campestro was incorporated into Tesserete. In 2001 Tesserete municipality was merged with the other, neighboring municipal ...

and

Vaglio Vaglio is a village and former municipality in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. In 2001 the municipality was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Cagiallo, Lopagno, Roveredo, Sala Capriasca, and Tesserete to form a new municipality, Cap ...

.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 14 January 2010

History

Cagiallo is first mentioned in the 13th Century as ''Guzallo''. In 1335 it was mentioned as ''Cazallo''. Sala Capriasca is first mentioned in 1078 as ''Sale''. In 1467 it was mentioned as ''Salla''. Lopagno is first mentioned in 1335 as ''Lopagnio''. Roveredo is first mentioned in 1583 as ''Roveretro''.

Cagiallo

Together with Lopagno and Campestro, Cagiallo formed a '' Bürgergemeinde'' from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

through the modern era. The

late medieval The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

church of S. Matteo was rebuilt 1672, but retained the romanesque clock tower. The village was part of 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 ...

. The Chapel of St. Lucia is first mentioned in 1606, and the Chapel of St. Sebastian in Almatro was built in 1682. The pre-industrial economy was based on agriculture and emigration. In the 18th and 19th Centuries, the Battaglini family played an important role throughout the valley. Cagiallo supports the tourist facilities and hotels of the village of Tesserete, and has become a suburb of it in recent years.

Sala Capriasca

Sala Capriasca was originally a Lombard walled village. In the 15th century, it formed a '' Vicinanza'' with Bigorio. In the first half of the 16th century, had rights to

the commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

in the

of Capriasca. It was part of the Tesserete parish until 1933. 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 St. Anthony was first mentioned in 1413. In the 15th and 16th Centuries it was totally rebuilt. The monastery of Bigorio was founded in 1535 as the first seat of the

Capuchins Capuchin can refer to: *Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from t ...

in Switzerland. Economically the village was dominated by agriculture and rural handicrafts. The traditional seasonal migration brought extra income. In the second half of the 20th century, it developed into a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

. In 2000, four-fifths of the working population were commuters, especially to

Lopagno

Lopagno, together with Cagiallo and Campestro, formed a ''Vicinanza'' since the

. In the 16th and 17th Centuries there were several large-scale emigrations from the village. The economy of the village was based on agriculture, trade and construction activities. The inhabitants of Lopagno were among the leaders of the popular uprising against the authorities of the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (, , ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

on 26 January 1802. Since 1952, the Institute Don Orione for the care of the mentally disabled, is active in Lopagno. The S. Apollonia chapel dates back to the 16th century and is a dependent of the parish of Tesserete. In 2000 about three-quarters of the working population worked outside the village.

Roveredo

Roveredo belonged to the

Pieve In the Middle Ages, a pieve (, ; la, plebe, link=no; plural ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. The Italian word ''pieve'' is descended from Latin ''plebs'' which, after th ...

of Capriasca and the

of Tesserete. The local Chapel of St. Bernard of Clairvaux was built in 1403. Agriculture and

pastoralism Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The animal ...

were once the main sources of income. Starting in the 1960s, Roveredo developed into a residential community, due to its proximity to Lugano and Tesserete. In 2000, approximately four-fifths of the workforce in Roveredo commutes.

Geography

Capriasca has an area, , of . Of this area, or 1.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 5.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 1.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and or 0.2% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.2%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 0.2% is used for growing crops.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010 Cagiallo village also contained the settlements of Sarone, Almatro, Bettagno and San Matteo-Muralta. The village of Sala Capriasca is located in the Capriasca valley at the foot of Mount Bigorio and includes the settlements of Sala, Bigorio, Lelgio and Pezzolo. The village of Lopagno is located in the Capriasca valley at the entrance to Val Colla and includes the

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

of Treggia, Somazzo and Oggio. The village of Roveredo is located in the upper Capriasca valley on the right side of the entrance to the Val Colla.

Demographics

Capriasca has a population () of . , 10.0% of the population are resident foreign nationals.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Superweb database - Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008
accessed 19 June 2010 , the gender distribution of the population was 49.6% male and 50.4% female. The population was made up of 2,765 Swiss men (44.1% of the population), and 347 (5.5%) non-Swiss men. There were 2,874 Swiss women (45.8%), and 288 (4.6%) non-Swiss women. In there were 50 live births to Swiss citizens and 7 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 58 deaths of Swiss citizens and 3 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 8 while the foreign population increased by 4. There were 16 Swiss men and 6 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 13 non-Swiss men and 14 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 90 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 49 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 2.3%. The age distribution, , in Capriasca is; 664 children or 10.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 694 teenagers or 11.1% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 607 people or 9.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 815 people or 13.0% are between 30 and 39, 1,101 people or 17.5% are between 40 and 49, and 922 people or 14.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 728 people or 11.6% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 459 people or 7.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 284 people or 4.5% who are over 80.01.02.03 Popolazione residente permanente
accessed 23 November 2010

Historic population

The historical population is given in the following timeline: ImageSize = width:600 height:350 PlotArea = height:300 left:100 bottom:50 right:100 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:2400 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:400 start:0 PlotData= bar:Year color:yellowgreen width:25 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:Year color:yellowgreen width:50 from:start till:600 text:Cagiallo bar:Year color:green width:50 from:600 till:1200 text:Sala Capriasca bar:Year color:blue width:50 from:1200 till:1800 text:Lopagno bar:Year color:red width:50 from:1800 till:2400 text:Roveredo bar:1574 color:yellowgreen from:start till:265 text:"265" bar:1574 color:green from:265 till:656 text:"391" bar:1574 color:blue from:656 till:773 text:"117" bar:1574 color:red from:773 till:886 text:"113" bar:1638 color:yellowgreen from:start till:233 text:"233" bar:1638 color:green from:233 till:738 text:"505" bar:1638 color:blue from:738 till:831 text:"93" bar:1638 color:red from:831 till:901 text:"70" bar:1850 color:yellowgreen from:start till:288 text:"288" bar:1850 color:green from:288 till:837 text:"549" bar:1850 color:blue from:837 till:1247 text:"410" bar:1850 color:red from:1247 till:1320 text:"73" bar:1900 color:yellowgreen from:start till:298 text:"298" bar:1900 color:green from:298 till:876 text:"578" bar:1900 color:blue from:876 till:1273 text:"397" bar:1900 color:red from:1273 till:1368 text:"95" bar:1950 color:yellowgreen from:start till:315 text:"315" bar:1950 color:green from:315 till:864 text:"549" bar:1950 color:blue from:864 till:1223 text:"359" bar:1950 color:red from:1223 till:1311 text:"88" bar:2000 color:yellowgreen from:start till:538 text:"538" bar:2000 color:green from:538 till:1717 text:"1,179" bar:2000 color:blue from:1717 till:2213 text:"496" bar:2000 color:red from:2213 till:2339 text:"126"

Politics

In the federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 25.87% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (22.35%), the SP (19.08%) and the

Ticino League The Ticino League ( it, Lega dei Ticinesi) is a regionalist, national-conservative political party in Switzerland active in the canton of Ticino. The party was founded in 1991 by entrepreneur Giuliano Bignasca and journalist Flavio Maspoli. Af ...

(15.1%). In the federal election, a total of 1,708 votes were cast, and the

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...

was 49.2%. In the '' Gran Consiglio'' election, there were a total of 3,471 registered voters in Capriasca, of which 2,208 or 63.6% voted. 26 blank ballots and 5 null ballots were cast, leaving 2,177 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT which received 451 or 20.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PPD+GenGiova (with 414 or 19.0%), the SSI (with 362 or 16.6%) and the PS (with 361 or 16.6%). Elezioni cantonali: Gran Consiglio, Consiglio di Stato
accessed 23 November 2010 In the ''Consiglio di Stato'' election, 18 blank ballots and 9 null ballots were cast, leaving 2,182 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the LEGA which received 505 or 23.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PS (with 434 or 19.9%), the PLRT (with 429 or 19.7%) and the PPD (with 423 or 19.4%).

Education

In Capriasca there were a total of 1,133 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 cent ...

and in Capriasca there were 193 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 323 students attended the standard primary schools and 11 students attended the special school. 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 280 students in the two-year middle school, while 136 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 67 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 114 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 9 students in the professional program. , there were 416 students in Capriasca who came from another municipality, while 99 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

Economy

There were 590 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.2% of the workforce. , there were 432 workers who commuted into the municipality and 442 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.0 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 10.0% of the workforce coming into Capriasca are coming from outside Switzerland.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010 , there were 7 hotels in Capriasca with a total of 48 rooms and 103 beds. Settori alberghiero e paralberghiero
accessed 23 November 2010

Notable people

Alfonsina Storni Alfonsina Storni (22 May 1892 – 25 October 1938) was an Argentine poet and playwright of the modernist period. Early life Storni was born on May 29, 1892 in Sala Capriasca, Switzerland. Her parents were Alfonso Storni and Paola Martignoni, who ...

(1892–1938), poet

References

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control Municipalities of Ticino