Ghirone was 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

Blenio Blenio is a municipality of the district of Blenio, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. Blenio was created on 22 October 2006 when it incorporated the formerly autonomous municipalities of Aquila, Campo Blenio, Ghirone, Olivone and Torre o ...

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. On 25 January 2005, the cantonal authorities announced that Ghirone would merge with Aquila,

Campo Blenio Campo Blenio was a municipality in the district of Blenio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 25 January 2005, the cantonal authorities announced that Campo Blenio would merge with Aquila, Ghirone, Olivone and Torre to form a new mu ...

Olivone Olivone was a municipality in the district of Blenio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 25 January 2005, the cantonal authorities announced that Olivone would merge with Aquila, Campo Blenio, Ghirone and Torre to form a new municipali ...

and Torre to form a new municipality to be called

. This union was carried through on 22 October 2006.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 14 January 2010

History

Ghirone is first mentioned in 1200 as ''Agairono''. In 1334,

Disentis Abbey Disentis Abbey (german: Reichskloster Disentis) is a Benedictine monastery in the Canton of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland, around which the present town of Disentis ( rm, Mustér) grew up. Early history Formerly the date of the foundation of ...

acquired rights over all the land in Ghirone. The village was part of the community of Aquila, and in 1803 it merged with the municipality of Ghirone. Then, in 1836, Buttino and Ghirone separated from Aquila and together founded their own community. Buttino was inhabited until the late 19th Century and was an autonomous village as far back as the 13th Century. The two municipalities rejoined Aquila in 1842 and 1846 and finally separated in 1853. The Citizens Community ('' Patriziato''), which still bears the name of Ghirone-Buttino was founded in 1914. The Church of SS Martino e Giorgio was first mentioned in 1215 and was rebuilt around 1700. 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 o ...

separated from Aquila in 1758 and became independent. As with the other municipalities of the Blenio Valley, much of the population emigrated to other European countries (often as chestnut roaster, servants and waiters). While this was a major source of revenue, it led to a steady population decline. In the late 1950s the Luzzone Dam (1995 and 1999 expanded) was built between the municipalities of Ghirone and Aquila. The dam is used to generate hydroelectric power. The large-scale construction of the dam and the new road tunnel at Toira in 1958, improved the local economy. The new tunnel allowed winter and summer tourism, and the development of a winter sports center (with Campo Blenio) gave the economy a definite boost. Livestock farming, which was for centuries had been the main occupation, however, fell sharply.

Historic population

The historical population is given in the following table: : includes Buttino : During construction of the Luzzone Dam

References

External links

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