| Subject Name: | Breggia |
| Municipality Type: | municipality |
| Canton: | Ticino |
| Iso-Code-Region: | CH-TI |
| Coordinates: | 45.8667°N 11°W |
| Municipality Code: | 5269 |
| Area: | 25.85 |
| Elevation: | 704 |
| Population: | 1929 |
| Populationof: | December 2004 |
| Popofyear: | 2004 |
| Website: | www.comunebreggia.ch/ |
| Mayor Title: | Sindaco |
| Neighboring Municipalities: | Castel San Pietro, Moltrasio (IT-CO), Schignano (IT-CO) |
Breggia is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 25 October 2009 the municipalities of Bruzella, Cabbio, Caneggio, Morbio Superiore, Muggio and Sagno merged into the municipality of Breggia.[1]
Bruzella is first mentioned in 852 as Brusella. Cabbio is first mentioned in 1188 as Cabio. Caneggio is first mentioned in 1209 as Canegio. In 1335 it was mentioned as Canezio. Morbio Superiore is first mentioned in 1116 as Morbio de Supra. Muggio is first mentioned in 852 as Mugio. Sagno is first mentioned around 1296-99 as Sagnio.
Until 1609 it was united territorially with Monte, and until 1649 it was part of the parish of Caneggio. The Church of S. Siro is first mentioned in 1579. It was rebuilt in the 18th century, and restored in 1973.
Traditionally, cheese production and forestry (production of timber and charcoal) were the main economic sources. This was supplemented by periodic waves of emigration. By 1985, agriculture only employed six people. At the beginning of the 21st century, the population was largely made of retirees and commuters.
The village was mentioned in 1299 as a part of the holdings of Como Cathedral and Rusca Castle in Como. It was part of the parish of Muggio until the first half of the 17th century, and part of the political municipality until 1673. It was part of the parish of Balerna until the early 19th century. Until 1805, Cabbio also included the village of Casima (now part of Castel San Pietro. The parish church of S. Salvatore was first mentioned in 1579. It was rebuilt in 1780-95 and newly consecrated in 1818.
The village economy was traditionally based on forest and alpine farming, as well as emigration to other countries.
Roman era graves were discovered in Campora.
The village was part of the parish of Bruzella. They separated in 1649, and Caneggio, probably in the same century, joined the parish of Balerna. The church of S. Maria Assunta is first mentioned in 1566. In 1715, it was rebuilt and renovated in 1971-75.
The village had limited farming land, so the local economy was based on alpine pastures and forestry. Due to the limited land, many residents of the village emigrated to other countries. With the rise of the services sector in the second half of the 20th century the population stabilized. The residents are now mostly commuters.
In the Middle Ages (first mentioned in 1299) the village was owned by Como Cathedral and the Benedictine monastery of S. Abbondio in Como. The church of S. Vittore in Balerna also owned property in the village. From 1591 until the 17th century, Morbio and Sagno were a vice parish under the mother church at Balerna. In 1802 Morbio Superiore was a separate parish.
The parish church of S. Giovanni Evangelista was first mentioned in 1227. In the 18th century, it was totally rebuilt and then renovated in 1957. The chapel of San Martino, originally an Early Middle Ages romanesque building stands on the site of what might be an Ostrogoth watchtower from the 6th century. The Chapel of S. Anna is from the late Baroque period.
Formerly, the village was surrounded by vineyards, tobacco and mulberry cultivation, of which only the vineyards remain. In the last decades of the 20th century, Morbio Superiore developed into a residential community. Since 1960, Lattecaldo has been the headquarters of the Cantonal Forestry School. In 2000, four-fifths of the workforce worked outside the community.
The Muggio valley has been inhabited since ancient times, and by the 9th century farmers had settled in the village. It was included in the 1299 listing of land owned by Como Cathedral. At that time it was part of the parish of Cabbio. In 1673 it became a vice-parish, which was supported, until the 19th century, by the mother church at Balerna.
The Church of San Lorenzo was first mentioned in 1578. In 1760 it was rebuilt and it was renovated several times, most recently in 2003-04.
The inhabitants lived on agriculture and animal husbandry as well as emigration, especially of artists, to other countries. Several large waves of emigration occurred between 1850 and 1940. Since the 1950s the population has continued to decline.
Scattered finds from the Bronze Age suggest that the valley was settled prehistorically. During the Middle Ages it was part of the Pieve of Balerna. Together with Morbio Superiore it formed a vice-parish, which depended on the mother church at Balerna. They broke away in the 17th century and in 1802 became an independent parish.
The parish church of San Michele Arcangelo was first mentioned in 1330, but is of much older origin. In 1789-99 it was rebuilt in the Classicist style and it was renovated in 1982-83.
In 1843, near Mount Bisbino, a violent political conflict, the so-called Fatti del Bisbino broke out. Throughout Ticino in the 1830s and 1840s, there had been a conflict between the conservative, catholic side and the liberals. Following a religious celebration at Monte Bisbino, on 2 July 1843 a troupe of about 20 people were heading home, amusing themselves with singing. A group of radicals encountered the troupe and an argument broke out. A priest was wounded, and several members of the liberal group; Briester Bernasconi, one of his servants and Charles Casartelli, were killed. Reprisals for the attack led to the deaths of the Bruzella pastor, Father Michael Cereghetti, and the baker Antonio Ferrari.[2] [3]
Agriculture and livestock constitute the main long-term sources of income. This was supplemented, by a seasonal migration, especially of bricklayers and stonemasons from Italy. Starting in the 1970s, the population increased slightly. In 2000 about four-fifths of the working population of Sagno were commuters, mostly to Chiasso.
The present municipal coat of arms, adopted on the occasion of the creation of the new municipality, shows a branch of chestnut with 6 leaves and 6 chestnuts to represent the 6 former municipalities, and in the bottom left the River Breggia.[4]
Breggia has an area,, of 25.48km2. Of this area, 2.31km2 or 9.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 20.98km2 or 82.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.99km2 or 3.9% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.08km2 or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and 0.24km2 or 0.9% is unproductive land.[5]
The historical population is given in the following chart:[6]
PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:30 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from: 0 till:200 text:"200" color:BR bar:1860 from: 0 till:186 text:"186" color:BR bar:1870 from: 0 till:200 text:"200" color:BR bar:1880 from: 0 till:230 text:"230" color:BR bar:1890 from: 0 till:229 text:"229" color:BR bar:1900 from: 0 till:247 text:"247" color:BR bar:1910 from: 0 till:241 text:"241" color:BR bar:1920 from: 0 till:207 text:"207" color:BR bar:1930 from: 0 till:217 text:"217" color:BR bar:1940 from: 0 till:226 text:"226" color:BR bar:1950 from: 0 till:186 text:"186" color:BR bar:1960 from: 0 till:179 text:"179" color:BR bar:1970 from: 0 till:174 text:"174" color:BR bar:1980 from: 0 till:177 text:"177" color:BR bar:1990 from: 0 till:149 text:"149" color:BR bar:2000 from: 0 till:183 text:"183" color:BR bar:1850 from: 200 till:546 text:"346" color:CA bar:1860 from: 186 till:522 text:"336" color:CA bar:1870 from: 200 till:521 text:"321" color:CA bar:1880 from: 230 till:558 text:"328" color:CA bar:1890 from: 229 till:546 text:"317" color:CA bar:1900 from: 247 till:602 text:"355" color:CA bar:1910 from: 241 till:588 text:"347" color:CA bar:1920 from: 207 till:548 text:"341" color:CA bar:1930 from: 217 till:519 text:"302" color:CA bar:1940 from: 226 till:510 text:"284" color:CA bar:1950 from: 186 till:458 text:"272" color:CA bar:1960 from: 179 till:384 text:"205" color:CA bar:1970 from: 174 till:393 text:"219" color:CA bar:1980 from: 177 till:344 text:"167" color:CA bar:1990 from: 149 till:295 text:"146" color:CA bar:2000 from: 183 till:356 text:"173" color:CA bar:1850 from: 546 till:952 text:"406" color:CN bar:1860 from: 522 till:928 text:"406" color:CN bar:1870 from: 521 till:914 text:"393" color:CN bar:1880 from: 558 till:942 text:"384" color:CN bar:1890 from: 546 till:916 text:"370" color:CN bar:1900 from: 602 till:1021 text:"419" color:CN bar:1910 from: 588 till:1053 text:"465" color:CN bar:1920 from: 548 till:953 text:"405" color:CN bar:1930 from: 519 till:892 text:"373" color:CN bar:1940 from: 510 till:917 text:"407" color:CN bar:1950 from: 458 till:851 text:"393" color:CN bar:1960 from: 384 till:727 text:"343" color:CN bar:1970 from: 393 till:707 text:"314" color:CN bar:1980 from: 344 till:631 text:"287" color:CN bar:1990 from: 295 till:591 text:"296" color:CN bar:2000 from: 356 till:699 text:"343" color:CN bar:1850 from: 952 till:1258 text:"306" color:MO bar:1860 from: 928 till:1253 text:"325" color:MO bar:1870 from: 914 till:1253 text:"339" color:MO bar:1880 from: 942 till:1262 text:"320" color:MO bar:1890 from: 916 till:1232 text:"316" color:MO bar:1900 from: 1021 till:1324 text:"303" color:MO bar:1910 from: 1053 till:1407 text:"354" color:MO bar:1920 from: 953 till:1284 text:"331" color:MO bar:1930 from: 892 till:1183 text:"291" color:MO bar:1940 from: 917 till:1221 text:"304" color:MO bar:1950 from: 851 till:1178 text:"327" color:MO bar:1960 from: 727 till:1053 text:"326" color:MO bar:1970 from: 707 till:1108 text:"401" color:MO bar:1980 from: 631 till:1169 text:"538" color:MO bar:1990 from: 591 till:1192 text:"601" color:MO bar:2000 from: 699 till:1399 text:"700" color:MO bar:1850 from: 1258 till:1849 text:"591" color:MU bar:1860 from: 1253 till:1812 text:"559" color:MU bar:1870 from: 1253 till:1856 text:"603" color:MU bar:1880 from: 1262 till:1919 text:"657" color:MU bar:1890 from: 1232 till:1825 text:"593" color:MU bar:1900 from: 1324 till:1976 text:"652" color:MU bar:1910 from: 1407 till:1972 text:"565" color:MU bar:1920 from: 1284 till:1901 text:"617" color:MU bar:1930 from: 1183 till:1783 text:"600" color:MU bar:1940 from: 1221 till:1772 text:"551" color:MU bar:1950 from: 1178 till:1652 text:"474" color:MU bar:1960 from: 1053 till:1448 text:"395" color:MU bar:1970 from: 1108 till:1372 text:"264" color:MU bar:1980 from: 1169 till:1413 text:"244" color:MU bar:1990 from: 1192 till:1423 text:"231" color:MU bar:2000 from: 1399 till:1605 text:"206" color:MU bar:1850 from: 1849 till:2003 text:"154" color:SA bar:1860 from: 1812 till:1984 text:"172" color:SA bar:1870 from: 1856 till:2036 text:"180" color:SA bar:1880 from: 1919 till:2093 text:"174" color:SA bar:1890 from: 1825 till:1998 text:"173" color:SA bar:1900 from: 1976 till:2170 text:"194" color:SA bar:1910 from: 1972 till:2178 text:"206" color:SA bar:1920 from: 1901 till:2079 text:"178" color:SA bar:1930 from: 1783 till:1924 text:"141" color:SA bar:1940 from: 1772 till:1935 text:"163" color:SA bar:1950 from: 1652 till:1823 text:"171" color:SA bar:1960 from: 1448 till:1596 text:"148" color:SA bar:1970 from: 1372 till:1519 text:"147" color:SA bar:1980 from: 1413 till:1627 text:"214" color:SA bar:1990 from: 1423 till:1625 text:"202" color:SA bar:2000 from: 1605 till:1843 text:"238" color:SA
In 2014 the crime rate, of the over 200 crimes listed in the Swiss Criminal Code (running from murder, robbery and assault to accepting bribes and election fraud), in Breggia was 23.9 per thousand residents. This rate is lower than average, at only 55.1% of the rate in the district, 43.6% of the cantonal rate and 37.0% of the average rate in the entire country. During the same period, the rate of drug crimes and violations of immigration, visa and work permit laws was 0 per thousand residents.[7]
Between 1961 and 1990 Bruzella had an average of 104.4 days of rain or snow per year and on average received 1680mm of precipitation. The wettest month was May during which time Bruzella received an average of 213mm of rain or snow. During this month there was precipitation for an average of 13.1 days. The driest month of the year was December with an average of 74mm of precipitation over 5.8 days.[8]
Between 1981 and 2010 Morbio Superiore had an average of 97.9 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 1610.7mm of precipitation. The wettest month is May during which time Morbio Superiore receives an average of 196.7mm of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 12.2 days. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 65.2mm of precipitation over 4.8 days.[9]