Intragna is a village and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

in the municipality of Centovalli in the district of

Locarno Locarno (; ; Ticinese dialect, Ticinese: ; formerly in ) is a southern Switzerland, Swiss List of towns in Switzerland, town and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district Locarno (district), Locarno (of which it is the capita ...

of the canton of

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Intragna has good railway connection with

, Switzerland and

Domodossola Domodossola (; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy. It was also known as Oscela, Oscella, Oscella dei Leponzi, Ossolo, Ossola Lepontiorum, and Domo d'Ossola (due to it ...

, Italy, as well as bus connections that lead to various

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

routes – several interesting paths begin or end in Intragna itself. Intragna is an old town with ancient-style buildings and small narrow streets. It has artist workshops selling handmade lacework and ceramics, as well as several hotels. The church tower of Intragna is claimed to be the highest tower in Ticino.

History

In 1897, several pre-

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

graves were discovered, which show the colonization of the area before the 1st millennium BC. The modern village of Intragna is first mentioned in 1272 as ''Intranea'. During the

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

the landlords over the village included both the Bishop of Como and the ''Capitanei'' (noble families) of

. Together with Golino and Verdasio, Intragna was part of a '' Vicinanza''. The first statutes of the ''Vicinanza'' were written in 1365 and were revised in 1469. They possessed the right to appoint one representative to the Council of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Locarno. The mayor (or console) was alternately appointed during five years by Intragna, then by one provided by Golino and Verdasio. During the 16th to 18th centuries it was part of the

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. In English, the original French combi ...

of Locarno. In 1531, the

Swiss Confederation Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerlan ...

rejected an application from Intragna,

Ascona 300px, Ascona Ascona ( ) is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It is located on the shore of Lake Maggiore. The town is a popular tourist destination and holds the yearly Ascona Jazz Festival. ...

Onsernone Onsernone is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino, near the city of Locarno. The river Isorno (river), Isorno, known as the Onsernone River in Italy, runs through the Onse ...

and Centovalli to form a municipality that was independent of Locarno. Likewise, the conflict-ridden attempts of Golino to form an independent municipality failed in the 18th and 19th centuries. Originally, the religious center of the region was Golino with the Church of San Giorgio, which was built before 1297. In 1474, the chapel of S. Gottardo in Intragna was built. In 1653 it split from the

of Golino (which had been created in the 16th century). The parish of Intragna was elevated to have a

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

in 1747. The present church of S. Nome di Maria was built in 1722–38. In 1765–75 the bell tower was added, and with a height of it is the highest in the canton of Ticino. The parish of Palagnedra was established in the 12th century, and in 1622 Verdasio split from it, followed in 1644 by Rasa. The latter has had a rector since 2000. The church of S. Anna in Rasa was completed in 1753, while the church in Verdasio (SS Giacomo e Cristoforo), was built around 1800. Traditionally, the major sources of income have always been farming and animal husbandry. But in the 1950s, these lost importance. Starting in the 16th century, the income from seasonal migration (especially

chimney sweep A chimney sweep is a person who inspects then clears soot and creosote from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combust ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

and

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

) were added to the local economy. Between 1631 and 1847 the people of Rasa (along with Ronco, Losone and Terre di Pedemonte) possessed the monopoly for loading operations at the

Custom House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

of Livorno. In the second half of the 19th century there was a strong emigration overseas (America, Australia). The local industrial production; watch factory, the quarry, the carpentry factory and the Peduli factory (cloth shoes with hemp soles from the early 20th century to 1962) came to a halt in the 1960s. Centovalli Railway

Between 1889 and 1893, the main road was built, followed in 1923 by a station on the Domodossola – Locarno railway line. Pila and Costa (1953) and Rasa (since 1958) are accessible only by

cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** ...

. In 1929, an old-age and nursing home opened in San Donato. Intragna is the seat of the Regional Museum for the Centovalli and Terre di Pedemonte, which opened in 1989. While the population in the higher settlements has declined sharply (Rasa: 200 inhabitants at the beginning of the 16th century, while only 11 in 1970), Intragna and Golino, due to their proximity to Locarno, have grown since 1970. In 2000, two-thirds of the employed worked in the services sector, and about the same numbers commuted out of the municipality for work. Intragna was formerly a

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

. On 25 October 2009 Intragna merged with the municipalities of Borgnone and Palagnedra to re-form the

of Centovalli.

Location

The former municipality is in the Locarno district. The

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

on a promontory at the confluence of the Isorno and Melezza rivers. Golino, Verdasio, Pila, Vosa, Cremaso, Calezzo, Costa, Corcapolo and Rasa are ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

''s of Intragna. While Intragna and Golino are geographically and economically part of the Pedemonte (Tegna, Verscio, Cavigliano), the largest part of the township lies in the mountains and the alpine pastures of Centovalli.

History

Location

Historic population

References

External links