Mergoscia 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

Locarno , neighboring_municipalities= Ascona, Avegno, Cadenazzo, Cugnasco, Gerra (Verzasca), Gambarogno, Gordola, Lavertezzo, Losone, Minusio, Muralto, Orselina, Tegna, Tenero-Contra , twintowns =* Gagra, Georgia * Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic ...

in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

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 ...

History

Mergoscia is first mentioned in 1061 as ''Mergossia'', though this comes from a copy of the original from 1402. In 1300 it was mentioned as ''Mergosia''. In 1313, Mergoscia split from the '' Vicinanza'' of Minusio and Brione. However, the majority of the

common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

property of the former ''vicinanza'' remained undivided until 1952. To avoid paying a

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...

to the nobles of

, at the beginning of the 15th Century, the village split from Locarno to join the valley community of Verzasca and Valle Maggia. The village church, split away from the mother church of Locarno, S. Vittore in Muralto, in 1591. 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 San Gottardo was built in 1597, over the foundation of a church that was first mentioned in 1338. The bell tower dates from 1697. Most of the villagers worked as farmers, shepherds or cattle herders. Already in 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 ...

they had a

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 ...

between the alpine pastures and the winter pastures in the Magadino valley. Until 1920 they shared grazing rights with Minusio and Locarno and owned part of the shared Terricciole territory. The scarce economic resources forced many villagers to emigrate oversees, starting in the 15th Century and running until the 19th Century. In 1900 the old road was built to the village. The tunnel of Mergoscia was built in 1997-98. With easier access to the village, many of the houses became vacation homes.

Geography

Mergoscia has an area, , of . Of this area, or 3.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 67.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 2.6% is settled (buildings or roads), or 5.2% is either rivers or lakes and or 10.3% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.7%. Out of the forested land, 53.9% of the total land area is heavily forested, while 10.7% is covered in small trees and shrubbery and 2.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 1.0% is used for growing crops and 1.7% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 4.6% is in lakes and 0.6% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 8.7% is unproductive vegetation and 1.6% is too rocky for vegetation. The municipality is located in the Locarno district, above

Lago di Vogorno __NOTOC__ Lago di Vogorno is a reservoir near Tenero, in Ticino, Switzerland. The reservoir on the Verzasca river is formed by the Verzasca Dam, built 1961–1965. The water surface area is . See also *List of lakes of Switzerland This article ...

in the

Verzasca Valley The Valle Verzasca is a valley in the Locarno district of the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It comprises the municipalities of Mergoscia, Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione, Gerra, Frasco, and Sonogno. As of 2004, the total population is 3,20 ...

Demographics

Mergoscia has a population () of . , 9.0% of the population are resident foreign nationals.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Superweb database - Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008
accessed 19 June 2010 Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 19.9%. Most of the population () speaks Italian (71.8%), with

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

being second most common (24.3%) and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

being third (2.2%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 07-December-2010 Of the Swiss national languages (), 44 speak German, 4 people speak French, 130 people speak Italian. The remainder (3 people) speak another language.Popolazione residente, secondo la lingua principale e la religione, nel 2000
accessed 23 November 2010 , the gender distribution of the population was 50.0% male and 50.0% female. The population was made up of 96 Swiss men (44.0% of the population), and 13 (6.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 104 Swiss women (47.7%), and 5 (2.3%) non-Swiss women. In there were 5 live births to Swiss citizens and 1 death of a Swiss citizen. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 4 while the foreign population remained the same. There were 4 non-Swiss men 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 11 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 7 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 8.8%. The age distribution, , in Mergoscia is; 19 children or 8.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 24 teenagers or 11.0% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 13 people or 6.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 20 people or 9.2% are between 30 and 39, 48 people or 22.0% are between 40 and 49, and 30 people or 13.8% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 35 people or 16.1% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 15 people or 6.9% are between 70 and 79, there are 14 people or 6.4% who are over 80.01.02.03 Popolazione residente permanente
accessed 23 November 2010 , there were 84 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.1 persons per household. there were 395 single family homes (or 95.2% of the total) out of a total of 415 inhabited buildings. There were 10 two family buildings (2.4%) and 2 multi-family buildings (0.5%). There were also 8 buildings in the municipality that were multipurpose buildings (used for both housing and commercial or another purpose). The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0%. there were 428 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 3 room apartment of which there were 132. There were 36 single room apartments and 44 apartments with five or more rooms. 09.02.02 Abitazioni
accessed 23 November 2010 Of these apartments, a total of 84 apartments (19.6% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 344 apartments (80.4%) were seasonally occupied. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents. The historical population is given in the following table:

Politics

In the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

the most popular party was the FDP which received 36.43% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (30.09%), the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

(11.54%) 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 ...

(5.88%). In the federal election, a total of 56 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 35.9%. In the '' Gran Consiglio'' election, there were a total of 154 registered voters in Mergoscia, of which 84 or 54.5% voted. 3 blank ballots and 1 null ballot were cast, leaving 80 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PS which received 24 or 30.0% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 19 or 23.8%), the SSI (with 17 or 21.3%) and the

Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...

(with 11 or 13.8%). Elezioni cantonali: Gran Consiglio, Consiglio di Stato
accessed 23 November 2010 In the ''Consiglio di Stato'' election, 2 blank ballots were cast, leaving 82 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PS which received 28 or 34.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 15 or 18.3%), the LEGA (with 14 or 17.1%) and the SSI (with 13 or 15.9%).

Economy

, Mergoscia had an unemployment rate of 2.67%. , there were 18 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 6 businesses involved in this sector. 2 people were employed in the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construction. ...

and there were 2 businesses in this sector. 8 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 3 businesses in this sector. There were 72 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 34.7% of the workforce. , there were 43 workers who commuted away from the municipality.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 4.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 55.6% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 129 or 71.3% were

Roman Catholic 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 ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, while 25 or 13.8% belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...

. There are 20 individuals (or about 11.05% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 7 individuals (or about 3.87% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Mergoscia about 78.1% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a ''

Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts ...

''). In Mergoscia there were a total of 36 students (). The Ticino education system 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 Mergoscia there were 6 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years. In the village, 11 students attended the standard primary schools. 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 15 students in the two-year middle school, while 2 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 was 1 vocational student who was attending school full-time and 1 who attend part-time. Allievi e studenti, secondo il genere di scuola, anno scolastico 2009/2010
accessed 23 November 2010 , there were 17 students from Mergoscia who attended schools outside the municipality.

References

{{Authority control Municipalities of Ticino