Sonvico (''Sonvìch'' in the

Lombard language The Lombard language (,Classical Milanese orthography, and . ,Ticino, Ticinese orthography. Modern Western orthography and Classical Cremish Orthography. or ,Eastern Lombard, Eastern unified orthography. depending on the orthography; pronuncia ...

) is a quarter of the city of

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

and former

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' ...

of the

district in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

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 ...

in Switzerland. On 14 April 2013 the municipality of Sonvico merged into the municipality of

becoming a new neighborhood.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 2 January 2013 The medieval part of Sonvico village consist is an old citadel with a compacted structure full of narrow and intricate lanes.

History

Sonvico is first mentioned in 1040 as Summo Vico, from the Latin "Summus Vicus", meaning "the higher located village" Regula Frei-Stolba, Hans Lieb, "Ein neuer Quattuorvir von Como : der Fund von Sonvico TI", Archeologia svizzera : bollettino della Società svizzera di preistoria e d'archeologia, Basel : .n. 1989. Prehistoric settlement in the area are proved by the findings of a

Golasecca culture The Golasecca culture (9th – 4th centuries BC) was a Prehistoric Italy#Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age/Prehistoric Italy#Iron Age, Early Iron Age culture in northern Italy, whose type-site was excavated at Golasecca in the province of Varese, Lomb ...

grave and a plate with a northern Etruscan inscription. During the archaeologic explorations in the San Martino church, Roman and Lombard objects (including a woman's grave with a cross brooch from about 650-700 AD) were discovered. From around the 9th to 10th centuries, the villages of Sonvico, Dino and Villa (later the municipality Villa Lugano, now part of Lugano) formed a community. Tracce romane a sonvico 2

The Castellanza

In 1326 was testified that Sonvico and neighbors merged into a community known as The Castellanza. During the 16th century, the village of Cimadera joined The Castellanza. Sonvico was strategically located on top of Lugano valley, which was a necessary passage to the Nordic versant of the Alps, through the Gotthard Pass. Additionally, it was strongly fortified with a ring wall and a castle, which was built before 1326 and renovated around the end of the 15th century. These qualities made the Castellanza a strategic base for the

House of Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia fr ...

and the

House of Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. Sforza rule began with the family's acquisition of the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century and ended with the d ...

of the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan (; ) was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti of Milan, Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277. At that time, ...

until the

Battle of Novara (1513) The Battle of Novara (also known as the battle of Ariotta) was a battle of the War of the League of Cambrai fought on 6 June 1513, near Novara, in Northern Italy. A French attacking force was routed by allied Milanese–Swiss troops. As a consequ ...

. Due to its importance, Sonvico obtained a privilege status from the Duchy and was thus allowed to set many of its own laws enjoying tax and customs exemptions. The first book of law known as "Libbro degli Statuti della Magnifica Comunità di Sonvico" dates from 1473. During the

Italian War of 1499–1504 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

the Swiss took power over the Ticino region and The Castellanza was officially annexed by the

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...

into their occupied territories in 1512. The village resisted for a while isolated, and only after the signing of a pact for the maintenance of the old privileges respected by the Duchy, ceded its sovereignty to the Swiss. The Swiss accepted the pact, but posed as condition the castle destruction. The Castle was finally destroyed by its inhabitants in 1517. Although the privileges were guaranteed by the pact, their maintenance was only partly respected and the Castellanza felt betrayed by the Swiss.

Chestnut-based economy

The local economy was based on crops (mainly of

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

), viticulture and animal husbandry. Sonvico was almost completely self-sufficient and during the centuries developed a chestnut based economy: common in the area. The crops - today still visible - are property of the community and their exploitation was ruled under the right of the old Sonvico's families: a public organization today known as :it:Patriziato (Svizzera), Patriziato
(''official page'')
The chestnut based economy of Sonvico lasted until the introduction of the potato and the crop's exploitation lasted until the Second World War and over.

Recent history

Due to limited farming land many residents emigrated abroad seeking job opportunities generally as construction craftsmen and masons. Initially, emigration was limited to the neighboring European countries, but starting from the 19th century, The United States and Argentina were the main destinations. At the beginning of the 20th century some tourist hotels opened in the village and between 1911 and 1979 a regional train line connecting Lugano and Sonvico was in operation. During the economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s new residential buildings were built in the area. Nowadays Sonvico is a residential quarter and the surrounding agricultural lands have mainly become forest. In 2000, around 80% of the workforce were commuters, working for the service sector, around the area of Lugano. Sonvico community restored or renovated many of its historical symbolic buildings. * The old wine-walnut press building (Torchio delle Noci) was renovated in 1983, * The old communal water-mill situated in the Franscinone Valley was renovated during the 90s. * The old administrative building (Casa della Ragione) renovated in 2012 * The main :it:Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista (Sonvico), Church of San Giovanni Battista in Corcaréi renovated in 1997-1998

Geography

Before the merger, Sonvico had a total area of . Of this area, or 12.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 80.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 6.7% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and or 3.8% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.2%. Out of the forested land, 76.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 7.0% is used for growing crops and 4.6% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. The quarter is located in the northern edge of the Cassarate valley. It consists of the village of Sonvico and the large village section of Dino, which has about 600 inhabitants. Until 1878 it also included the village of Cimadera.

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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

of the municipal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

is ''Gules a saltire argent and in chief tower of the same''. The St. Andrew cross refers to the patron saint of the church." The Castellanza's coat of arms was a white unicorn in a blue background. It is still visible in the "Casa della ragione" entrance fresco, in the main square "Piazza Grande". The current municipal blazon was donated by the milan Sforza's family in the 15th century.

Demographics

Sonvico had a population (as of 2011) of 1,852.Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 18 April 2013 , 9.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals.
accessed 19 June 2010 Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 19.5%. Most of the population () speaks Italian (90.1%), with German being second most common (5.1%) and French being third (2.6%). Of the Swiss national languages (), 82 speak German, 42 people speak French, 1,442 people speak Italian. The remainder (34 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 48.9% male and 51.1% female. The population was made up of 797 Swiss men (43.1% of the population), and 107 (5.8%) non-Swiss men. There were 872 Swiss women (47.2%), and 72 (3.9%) non-Swiss women. In there were 18 live births to Swiss citizens and were 10 deaths of Swiss citizens and 1 non-Swiss citizen death. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 8 while the foreign population decreased by 1. There were 2 Swiss men who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 5 non-Swiss men and 1 non-Swiss woman 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 13 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 12 people. This represents a

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 70 million annu ...

of 1.4%. The age distribution, , in Sonvico is; 183 children or 9.9% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 209 teenagers or 11.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 149 people or 8.1% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 264 people or 14.3% are between 30 and 39, 330 people or 17.9% are between 40 and 49, and 243 people or 13.1% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 211 people or 11.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 160 people or 8.7% are between 70 and 79, there are 99 people or 5.4% who are over 80.01.02.03 Popolazione residente permanente
accessed 23 November 2010 , there were 646 private households in Sonvico, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. there were 624 single family homes (or 78.1% of the total) out of a total of 799 inhabited buildings. There were 108 two family buildings (13.5%) and 49 multi-family buildings (6.1%). There were also 18 buildings in the village that were multipurpose buildings (used for both housing and commercial or another purpose). The vacancy rate for Sonvico, , was 1.17%. there were 1,034 apartments in the quarter. The most common apartment size was the 4 room apartment of which there were 323. There were 80 single room apartments and 270 apartments with five or more rooms.09.02.02 Abitazioni
accessed 23 November 2010 Of these apartments, a total of 645 apartments (62.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 369 apartments (35.7%) were seasonally occupied and 20 apartments (1.9%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.5 new units per 1000 residents. The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:1140 height:210 PlotArea = height:150 left:100 bottom:50 right:100 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:1600 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:300 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:60 start:0 PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1600 from:start till:894 text:"894" bar:1643 from:start till:842 text:"842" bar:1670 from:start till:775 text:"775" bar:1850 from:start till:1004 text:"1,004" bar:1860 from:start till:1006 text:"1,006" bar:1870 from:start till:1216 text:"1,216" bar:1880 from:start till:898 text:"898" bar:1890 from:start till:936 text:"936" bar:1900 from:start till:815 text:"815" bar:1910 from:start till:889 text:"889" bar:1920 from:start till:914 text:"914" bar:1930 from:start till:908 text:"908" bar:1941 from:start till:955 text:"955" bar:1950 from:start till:1004 text:"1,004" bar:1960 from:start till:1005 text:"1,005" bar:1970 from:start till:1129 text:"1,129" bar:1980 from:start till:1236 text:"1,236" bar:1990 from:start till:1361 text:"1,361" bar:2000 from:start till:1600 text:"1,600"

Heritage sites of national significance

The Provost's Church of S. Giovanni Battista a Corcaréi and the Oratory of S. Martino are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The entire village of Sonvico is listed in the

Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage. Sites of national importance Types The types are based on t ...

Politics

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 24.51% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the

Ticino League The Ticino League () 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. After some public camp ...

(22.26%), the SP (18.32%) and the FDP (18.15%). In the federal election, a total of 666 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 is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...

was 49.9%. In the '' Gran Consiglio'' election, there were a total of 1,333 registered voters in Sonvico, of which 848 or 63.6% voted. 10 blank ballots and 3 null ballots were cast, leaving 835 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the LEGA which received 191 or 22.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 150 or 18.0%), the PS (with 140 or 16.8%) and the PPD+GenGiova (with 134 or 16.0%).Elezioni cantonali: Gran Consiglio, Consiglio di Stato
accessed 23 November 2010 In the ''Consiglio di Stato'' election, 14 blank ballots and 2 null ballots were cast, leaving 834 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the LEGA which received 259 or 31.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PS (with 158 or 18.9%), the PLRT (with 130 or 15.6%) and the PPD (with 123 or 14.7%).

Economy

, Sonvico had an unemployment rate of 2.86%. , there were 15 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 6 businesses involved in this sector. 62 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 16 businesses in this sector. 148 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 ...

, with 26 businesses in this sector. There were 703 residents of the quarter who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 38.7% of the workforce. , there were 187 workers who commuted into the quarter and 563 workers who commuted away. Sonvico is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.0 workers leaving the district for every one entering. About 25.7% of the workforce coming into Sonvico are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.0% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 10.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 67.9% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 1,275 or 79.7% were

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, while 102 or 6.4% belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...

. There are 170 individuals (or about 10.63% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 53 individuals (or about 3.31% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Sonvico about 78.8% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory

upper secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

or additional higher education (either university or a

SUPSI The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI, ) is a public vocational university located in Ticino, Switzerland. It offers over 30 bachelor's and master's programs, blending theoretical scientific knowledge with pra ...

. In Sonvico there were a total of 328 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 cen ...

and in Sonvico there were 48 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the quarter, 94 students attended the standard primary schools and 3 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 86 students in the two-year middle school, while 43 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 22 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 23 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 were 9 students in the professional program.Allievi e studenti, secondo il genere di scuola, anno scolastico 2009/2010
accessed 23 November 2010 , there were 5 students in Sonvico who came from another municipality, while 132 residents attended schools outside the quarter.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Former municipalities of Ticino Cultural property of national significance in Ticino Districts of Lugano