Sant'Antonio is a former

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

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 ...

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. It includes the hamlet of Carena. On 2 April 2017 the former municipalities of Camorino, Claro, Giubiasco, Gnosca, Gorduno, Gudo, Moleno, Monte Carasso, Pianezzo,

Preonzo Preonzo is a former municipality in the district of Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 2 April 2017, the former municipalities of Camorino, Claro, Giubiasco, Gnosca, Gorduno, Moleno, Monte Carasso, Pianezzo, Sant'Antonio and ...

and Sementina merged into the municipality of

History

A grave from the Early

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

(750-400 BC) has been discovered in the village. The so-called ''Squadra'' or part of the village made up the

medieval 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 ...

municipality of Vallemorobbia. In 1803, it became a part of the political municipality of Vallemorobbia. Sant'Antonio became an independent municipality in 1831. Before 1600 the village 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 o ...

, followed by the parish of Pianezzo until 1680. The first mention of 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 SS Antonio Abate e Abbondio is in 1371, and the church was rebuilt in the 16th Century. The inhabitants of the village lived on grazing and farming or many emigrated. In 1464, iron ore mining began in Carena, which was operated with varying success and various owners until 1831. The alpine pasture of ''Giumello'', which belongs to the Canton and the cantonal Agricultural School at Mezzana, is located in the municipality. In 2000, over three quarters of the workforce were commuters, especially to Bellinzona.

Geography

Sant'Antonio has an area, , of . Of this area, or 1.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 79.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 0.7% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.7% is either rivers or lakes and or 9.8% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.2%. Out of the forested land, 55.7% of the total land area is heavily forested, while 22.1% is covered in small trees and shrubbery and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.9% is used for growing crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 8.9% is unproductive vegetation. The municipality is located in the Bellinzona district on the heights above the right side of the upper Morobbia valley. It includes the ''Carena'' mountain, which is . It consists of the village of Sant'Antonio and the several

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 ...

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 ''Per pale Azure St. Anthony statant clead as a Monk haloed Or holding a staff and a book argent and behind him a Pig proper and Gules a Snake Argent''. Saint Anthony is the protector of animals, also known as ''Saint Anthony of the pig'' due to the classical iconography which always depicts him surrounded by animals, in particular by a little pig whose snout sticks out from the saint's clothes as on the coat of arms of Sant'Antonio.

Demographics

Sant'Antonio has a population () of . , 6.0% of the population are foreign nationals.Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Superweb database – Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008
. Retrieved 19 June 2010 Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 12.1%. 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 ...

(76.8%), 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 **Ge ...

being second most common (20.8%) and Romansh being third ( 0.6%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
Retrieved 2 November 2010 Of the Swiss national languages (), 35 speak

, 129 people speak

, and 1 person speaks Romansh. The remainder (3 people) speak another language.Popolazione residente, secondo la lingua principale e la religione, nel 2000
. Retrieved 23 November 2010 , the gender distribution of the population was 52.2% male and 47.8% female. The population was made up of 95 Swiss men (46.8% of the population), and 11 (5.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 91 Swiss women (44.8%), and 6 (3.0%) non-Swiss women. In there was 1 live birth to a Swiss citizen and in same time span there were 4 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 3 while the foreign population remained the same. There was 1 Swiss man who immigrated back to Switzerland and 1 non-Swiss man who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources) was a decrease of 2 and the non-Swiss population change was a decrease of 1 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 -1.5%. The age distribution, , in Sant'Antonio is; 11 children or 5.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 22 teenagers or 10.8% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 12 people or 5.9% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 25 people or 12.3% are between 30 and 39, 33 people or 16.3% are between 40 and 49, and 33 people or 16.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 36 people or 17.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 19 people or 9.4% are between 70 and 79, there are 12 people or 5.9% who are over 80.01.02.03 Popolazione residente permanente
. Retrieved 23 November 2010 , there were 88 private households in the municipality, and an average of 1.9 persons per household. there were 303 single family homes (or 93.2% of the total) out of a total of 325 inhabited buildings. There were 11 two family buildings (3.4%) and 2 multi-family buildings (.6%). There were also 9 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 335 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 3 room apartment of which there were 139. There were 21 single room apartments and 34 apartments with five or more rooms. 09.02.02 Abitazioni
. Retrieved 23 November 2010 Of these apartments, a total of 87 apartments (26.0% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 247 apartments (73.7%) were seasonally occupied and 1 apartments (0.3%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents. The historical population is given in the following table:

Heritage sites of national significance

The ancient mine at ''A Carena'' is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

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 FDP which received 49.63% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (23.32%), the SP (11.01%) and the SVP (6.34%). In the federal election, a total of 69 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 40.4%. In the '' Gran Consiglio'' election, there were a total of 165 registered voters in Sant'Antonio, of which 110 or 66.7% voted. 2 blank ballots were cast, leaving 108 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT which received 39 or 36.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the SSI (with 25 or 23.1%), the PS (with 15 or 13.9%) and the PPD+GenGiova (with 12 or 11.1%). Elezioni cantonali: Gran Consiglio, Consiglio di Stato
. Retrieved 23 November 2010 In the ''Consiglio di Stato'' election, there were 2 blank ballots, which left 108 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT which received 38 or 35.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the SSI (with 22 or 20.4%), the PS (with 15 or 13.9%) and the PPD (with 13 or 12.0%).

Economy

, Sant'Antonio had an unemployment rate of 3.84%. , there were 15 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 4 businesses involved in this sector. 1 person is 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 is 1 business in this sector. 3 people are 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 2 businesses in this sector. There were 61 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.6% of the workforce. , there were 0 workers who commuted into the municipality and 47 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with all workers leaving the municipality.Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Statweb
. Retrieved 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 3.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 70.5% used a private car. , there were 2 hotels in Sant'Antonio.

Religion

From the , 127 or 75.6% 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 13 or 7.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. There are 25 individuals (or about 14.88% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 3 individuals (or about 1.79% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Sant'Antonio about 70.4% 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 Sant'Antonio there are a total of 26 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 Sant'Antonio there are 5 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 4 students attend the standard primary schools and students attend 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 are 6 students in the two-year middle school and in their pre-apprenticeship, while 2 students are 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 are 4 vocational students who are attending school full-time and 5 who attend part-time. Allievi e studenti, secondo il genere di scuola, anno scolastico 2009/2010
. Retrieved 23 November 2010 , 29 students from Sant'Antonio attended schools outside the municipality.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:S Antonio Former municipalities of Ticino Cultural property of national significance in Ticino