Paradiso 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 in the
canton of Ticino in
Switzerland. It lies on the shore of
Lake Lugano
__NOTOC__
Lake Lugano ( it, Lago di Lugano or , from la, Ceresius lacus; lmo, Lagh de Lugan) is a glacial lake which is situated on the border between southern Switzerland and northern Italy. The lake, named after the city of Lugano, is situated ...
and, although administratively independent of the
city of Lugano, it is surrounded on all other sides by that city.
History
Paradiso is first mentioned in 1335 as ''Calprino''. In 1835 it was first called ''Paradiso'' from a district of the village, though that didn't become the official name until 1929, also to avoid confusion with the hamlet of Caprino, across the lake.
[
Excavations in 1951 in Calprino discovered evidence of a ]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 ...
settlement in the area. In the 7th century, there was a small Langobard
The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...
settlement in the same area. The settlement of Morchino goes back to the 8th Century, while Calprino, Fontana and Guidino are each mentioned between the 12th and 14th centuries. In 1040 the Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monastery S. Carpoforo owned land in Calprino. Between 1264-1375, they owned extensive lands and an episcopal fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
in the village. In the 12th century, the Benedictine Abbey S. Ambrogio in Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
owned land in Guidino. By about 1335, the settlements that now make up Paradiso, formed part of the Council of ''sancti Petri di Pamio''. The Council existed until the 19th Century and administered the community properties.[
]
The church of Paradiso was 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 ...
of Pambio. The Chapel of Beata Vergine alla Geretta has been occupied since the 16th Century.
The village economy was based on agriculture, mostly grain and vineyards. Then, in the 18th and 19th Century, the silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...
industry entered the village. Thanks to the views over Lake Lugano, Paradiso became a popular holiday resort after the opening of the Gotthard Railway in 1882. The funicular railway up Monte San Salvatore opened in 1890. The funicular and increasing lake traffic contributed to the further development of the hotel and tourism industry in Paradiso. At the same time, the population grew. The construction of the highway along the municipal border with Lugano in 1966 began to change the character of the municipality. At the beginning of the 21st Century, tourism began to decline and Paradiso began to develop into a residential community with many luxury buildings.
Geography
Paradiso is located at the foot, and up the lower slopes, of Monte San Salvatore
The Monte San Salvatore (912 m) is a mountain in the Lepontine Alps above Lake Lugano and the city of Lugano in Switzerland. The Monte San Salvatore funicular links the city with the summit of the mountain. The village on top of its peaks, Ca ...
, on the shores Lake Lugano
__NOTOC__
Lake Lugano ( it, Lago di Lugano or , from la, Ceresius lacus; lmo, Lagh de Lugan) is a glacial lake which is situated on the border between southern Switzerland and northern Italy. The lake, named after the city of Lugano, is situated ...
. The municipality consists of the village of Paradiso, which is made up of the sections of Calprino, Guidino, Fontana and Morchino.[
Paradiso has an area, , of . Of this area, or 37.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 36.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 58.4% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.1% is either rivers or lakes.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 33.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 20.2%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.1% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 3.4%. Out of the forested land, 30.3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 5.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 2.2% is used for growing crops, while 1.1% is used for orchards or vine crops and 33.7% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in lakes.
]
Coat of arms
The blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...
of the municipal coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
is ''Vert a lion rampant or and in a base argent three bendlets wavy of the first''.
Demographics
Paradiso has a population of 4999, based on the official 2020 figures published by the town, of which 2026 are Swiss nationals and 2973 foreign nationals (mostly Italians).
Most of the population () speaks 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 ...
(66.7%), 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
**Ge ...
being second most common (10.0%) and Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...
being third (6.9%).[Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 24 January 2011 Of the Swiss national languages (), 370 speak German, 99 people speak French, 2,463 people speak Italian, and 3 people speak Romansh. The remainder (759 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 2310 male and 2214 female.
In there were 25 live births to Swiss citizens and 19 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 21 deaths of Swiss citizens and 13 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 4 while the foreign population increased by 6. There were 3 Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland and 3 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 100 non-Swiss men and 65 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 66 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 53 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 3.4%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Superweb database - Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008]
accessed 19 June 2010
The age distribution, , in Paradiso is; 270 children or 7.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 287 teenagers or 7.8% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 414 people or 11.3% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 587 people or 16.0% are between 30 and 39, 598 people or 16.3% are between 40 and 49, and 483 people or 13.2% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 430 people or 11.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 365 people or 10.0% are between 70 and 79, there are 224 people or 6.1% who are over 80.[01.02.03 Popolazione residente permanente]
accessed 23 November 2010
the average number of residents per living room was 0.7 which is more people per room than the cantonal average of 0.6 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 15.1% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 1,762 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2. persons per household.[ there were 45 single family homes (or 16.9% of the total) out of a total of 267 inhabited buildings. There were 16 two family buildings (6.0%) and 121 multi-family buildings (45.3%). There were also 85 buildings in the municipality that were multipurpose buildings (used for both housing and commercial or another purpose).
The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.01%. there were 2,359 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 3 room apartment of which there were 682. There were 442 single room apartments and 157 apartments with five or more rooms.][ 09.02.02 Abitazioni](_blank)
accessed 23 November 2010 Of these apartments, a total of 1,755 apartments (74.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 443 apartments (18.8%) were seasonally occupied and 161 apartments (6.8%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.1 new units per 1000 residents.[
The historical population is given in the following chart:]
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id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8)
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PlotArea = height:150 left:100 bottom:50 right:100
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Period = from:0 till:4410
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color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center
bar:1850 from:start till:254 text:"254"
bar:1860 from:start till:275 text:"275"
bar:1870 from:start till:404 text:"404"
bar:1880 from:start till:348 text:"348"
bar:1890 from:start till:426 text:"426"
bar:1900 from:start till:791 text:"791"
bar:1910 from:start till:1320 text:"1,320"
bar:1920 from:start till:1309 text:"1,309"
bar:1930 from:start till:1469 text:"1,469"
bar:1941 from:start till:1534 text:"1,534"
bar:1950 from:start till:1660 text:"1,660"
bar:1960 from:start till:1819 text:"1,819"
bar:1970 from:start till:3101 text:"3,101"
bar:1980 from:start till:3261 text:"3,261"
bar:1990 from:start till:3372 text:"3,372"
bar:2000 from:start till:3694 text:"3,694"
bar:2010 from:start till:4408 text:"4,408"
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 ...
the most popular party was the CVP which received 22.77% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (22.44%), 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. ...
(21.38%) and the SP (15.29%). In the federal election, a total of 607 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 Univ ...
was 40.3%.
In the '' Gran Consiglio'' election, there were a total of 1,517 registered voters in Paradiso, of which 759 or 50.0% voted. 12 blank ballots and 5 null ballots were cast, leaving 742 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT which received 175 or 23.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the LEGA (with 150 or 20.2%), the SSI (with 122 or 16.4%) and the PS (with 116 or 15.6%).[ Elezioni cantonali: Gran Consiglio, Consiglio di Stato]
accessed 23 November 2010
In the ''Consiglio di Stato'' election, 6 blank ballots and 4 null ballots were cast, leaving 749 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the LEGA which received 186 or 24.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 170 or 22.7%), the PS (with 131 or 17.5%) and the SSI (with 121 or 16.2%).[
]
Economy
, Paradiso had an unemployment rate of 5.96%. , there were 11 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 3 businesses involved in this sector. 194 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 constructi ...
and there were 33 businesses in this sector. 1,671 people were employed in the tertiary sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
, with 234 businesses in this sector.[ There were 1,790 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 45.0% of the workforce.
, there were 1,742 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,277 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.4 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 14.5% of the workforce coming into Paradiso are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.8% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work.][Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb]
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 19.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 38.6% used a private car.[
, there were 10 hotels in Paradiso with a total of 621 rooms and 1,160 beds.
]
Religion
From the , 2,270 or 61.5% 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 let ...
, while 267 or 7.2% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. There are 890 individuals (or about 24.09% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 267 individuals (or about 7.23% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Paradiso about 56.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a '' Fachhochschule'').[
In Paradiso there were a total of 370 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 ce ...
and in Paradiso there were 69 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 101 students attended the standard primary schools and 5 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 94 students in the two-year middle school and 1 in their pre-apprenticeship, while 27 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 26 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 46 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 was 1 student in the professional program. Allievi e studenti, secondo il genere di scuola, anno scolastico 2009/2010
accessed 23 November 2010
, there were 23 students in Paradiso who came from another municipality, while 317 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[
]
Transport
Paradiso railway station, on the Swiss Federal Railway
Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...
's Gotthard Railway, is served by regular trains of the Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia
TILO ( it, Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia) is a limited company established in 2004 as a joint venture between Italian railway company Trenord and Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS); both companies participate in the equity of TIL ...
(TILO), which operate every half-hour between Bellinzona
Bellinzona ( , , Ticinese ; french: Bellinzone ; german: Bellenz ; rm, Blizuna )is a municipality, a historic Swiss town, and the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The town is famous for its three castles (Castelgrande, Montebell ...
, 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 ...
and Chiasso
Chiasso (; lmo, Ciass ) is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
As the southernmost of Switzerland's municipalities, Chiasso is on the border with Italy, in front of Ponte Chiasso (a frazione of Co ...
. Some TILO trains continue to Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
in Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, but most international trains pass through Paradiso without stopping, necessitating a change at Chiasso.
Paradiso is also connected to central Lugano by frequent bus services, operated by the Trasporti Pubblici Luganesi
Trasporti Pubblici Luganesi (TPL) is a public transport operator in and around the Swiss city of Lugano. Previously known as the Società luganese dei tramway elettrici, Tranvie elettriche comunali, Azienda comunale del traffico (ACT) and Azienda ...
(TPL). TPL routes 1 and 2 both serve Paradiso, and each provides a bus every 15 minutes or less.
Boats of the Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano (SNL) provide services on Lake Lugano
__NOTOC__
Lake Lugano ( it, Lago di Lugano or , from la, Ceresius lacus; lmo, Lagh de Lugan) is a glacial lake which is situated on the border between southern Switzerland and northern Italy. The lake, named after the city of Lugano, is situated ...
, principally for tourist purposes, but also connecting Paradiso with other lake-side communities, some of which have no road access. The Monte San Salvatore funicular connects Paradiso with the summit of Monte San Salvatore
The Monte San Salvatore (912 m) is a mountain in the Lepontine Alps above Lake Lugano and the city of Lugano in Switzerland. The Monte San Salvatore funicular links the city with the summit of the mountain. The village on top of its peaks, Ca ...
.
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Ticino
Populated places on Lake Lugano