Verzasca, Switzerland Explained

Subject Name:Verzasca
Municipality Type:municipality
Imagepath Coa:CHE Verzasca COA.svg
Imagepath Flag:CHE Verzasca Flag.svg
Canton:Ticino
Iso-Code-Region:CH-TI
Coordinates:46.2211°N 8.86°W
Municipality Code:5399
Area:143.59
Elevation:461
Website:https://www.verzasca.swiss

Verzasca is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

On 17 October 2020 the former municipalities of Vogorno, Sonogno, Corippo, Brione (Verzasca) and Frasco merged to form the new municipality of Verzasca.[1]

History

Following a vote organized on 10 June 2018 in seven municipalities of the Valle Verzasca, the municipality was to be officially created on 5 April 2020 by the merger of seven municipalities of the Valle Verzasca, namely Brione, Corippo, Frasco, Lavertezzo Valle (locality of Lavertezzo), Sonogno, Vogorno and Gerra Valle (locality of Cugnasco-Gerra).[2] The creation of the municipality was delayed until 17 October 2020.

Corippo

Corippo is first mentioned in 1224 as Culipo. In 1374 it was mentioned as Quorippo.

Brione

During the Middle Ages it was part of a squadra in the community of Verzasca. Later, it formed a Vicinanza together with Gerra. In 1852 they both became independent municipalities. As one of the main towns of the upper valley, it and Vogorno alternately presented the candidates for the offices of Podestà and governor. The Castello Marcacci was built in Brione in the 17th century and was the summer residence of a traditional Podesta family, the Marcacci.

The Church of Beata Vergine Assunta (expanded in the 17th century and restored in the 19th century) stands on the remains of a chapel from 1295 and contains frescoes from the 14th (Giotto school in Rimini) and the 15th centuries. The parish separated from Vogorno before 1518. In 1644, it established a fund to support a school and chaplain.

The local economy was built mainly around agriculture and grazing. The seasonal migration is well documented since 1600. Since the 14th century many of the residents have spent their winters with their cattle in the Magadino valley.

Frasco

Frasco is first mentioned in 1235 as Felasco. During the Middle Ages, Frasco was part of the greater Vicinanza of Verzasca. In 1395, it and Sonogno formed a single political municipality, which existed until 1843. The village church of St. Bernhard was probably built in the 14th century. The present church dates from 1868 to 1869 and stands on the foundations of the old building. In 1518 Frasco and Sonogno separated from the parish of Vogorno and formed their own parish, which lasted until it divided again in 1734. For centuries, the inhabitants lived on agriculture and alpine seasonal migrations with livestock. Starting in 1870, the Val d'Efra, a vein of white marble, was exploited for limestone quarries. In 2000, the agricultural sector was the only sector providing jobs in Frasco, while about two-thirds of the workers were commuters. In the hamlet of Piede della Motta, there are frescoes from the 15th century. All of the old settlement areas of the municipality are now protected as historical buildings. More recently, however, many houses have been built in the municipality.

Sonogno

Sonogno is first mentioned in 1200 as Sornono. In 1417 it was mentioned as Senognio. During the Middle Ages, Sonogno was part of the Vicinanza of Verzasca and shared the fate of the valley. From 1395 to 1843, it formed a single community with Frasco.

It was part of the parish of Vogorno until 1519, when it formed a parish with Frasco. It formed an independent parish in 1734. The parish church of St. Maria Loreto, is first documented in 1519. It was rebuilt in 1854 and decorated with paintings by Cherubino Patà.

The local economy was based mostly on grazing. During the summer, the cattle grazed in the high alpine pastures, in the winter the cows were moved to their winter pastures in the Magadino. Due to limited jobs, many of the residents emigrated and after about 1850, many went overseas. Decedents of residents of Sonogno can be found in nearly 40 different countries.[3] The more recent exodus to urban centers, combined with emigration have caused a steady decline of population since the mid-nineteenth century. The Museum of Verzasca was built in Sonogno in 1974. In 2005 the agricultural sector still offered 47% of jobs in the municipality.

Geography

After the merger, Verzasca has an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey), of .

Demographics

The new municipality has a population of .

Historic population

The historical population is given in the following chart:[4] Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8)ImageSize = width:1100 height:500PlotArea = height:350 left:100 bottom:90 right:100Legend = columns:3 left:220 top:70 columnwidth:160AlignBars = justifyDateFormat = x.yPeriod = from:0 till:2700TimeAxis = orientation:verticalAlignBars = justifyScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:500 start:0ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:100 start:0Colors= id:VO value:yellowgreen legend:Vogorno id:SO value:green legend:Sonogno id:CO value:blue legend:Corippo id:BR value:red legend:Brione_(Verzasca) id:FR value:yellow legend:FrascoPlotData= color:yellowgreen width:30 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from: 0 till:658 text:"658" color:VO bar:1860 from: 0 till:454 text:"454" color:VO bar:1870 from: 0 till:672 text:"672" color:VO bar:1880 from: 0 till:617 text:"617" color:VO bar:1888 from: 0 till:496 text:"496" color:VO bar:1900 from: 0 till:661 text:"661" color:VO bar:1910 from: 0 till:548 text:"548" color:VO bar:1920 from: 0 till:504 text:"504" color:VO bar:1930 from: 0 till:403 text:"403" color:VO bar:1941 from: 0 till:408 text:"408" color:VO bar:1950 from: 0 till:364 text:"364" color:VO bar:1960 from: 0 till:351 text:"351" color:VO bar:1970 from: 0 till:252 text:"252" color:VO bar:1980 from: 0 till:263 text:"263" color:VO bar:1990 from: 0 till:268 text:"268" color:VO bar:2000 from: 0 till:304 text:"304" color:VO bar:2010 from: 0 till:286 text:"286" color:VO bar:1850 from: 658 till:992 text:"334" color:SO bar:1860 from: 454 till:797 text:"343" color:SO bar:1870 from: 672 till:980 text:"308" color:SO bar:1880 from: 617 till:819 text:"202" color:SO bar:1888 from: 496 till:661 text:"165" color:SO bar:1900 from: 661 till:954 text:"293" color:SO bar:1910 from: 548 till:811 text:"263" color:SO bar:1920 from: 504 till:797 text:"293" color:SO bar:1930 from: 403 till:519 text:"116" color:SO bar:1941 from: 408 till:567 text:"159" color:SO bar:1950 from: 364 till:515 text:"151" color:SO bar:1960 from: 351 till:485 text:"134" color:SO bar:1970 from: 252 till:338 text:"86" color:SO bar:1980 from: 263 till:355 text:"92" color:SO bar:1990 from: 268 till:344 text:"76" color:SO bar:2000 from: 304 till:390 text:"86" color:SO bar:2010 from: 286 till:378 text:"92" color:SO bar:1850 from: 992 till:1286 text:"294" color:CO bar:1860 from: 797 till:1017 text:"220" color:CO bar:1870 from: 980 till:1142 text:"162" color:CO bar:1880 from: 819 till:1018 text:"199" color:CO bar:1888 from: 661 till:770 text:"109" color:CO bar:1900 from: 954 till:1150 text:"196" color:CO bar:1910 from: 811 till:989 text:"178" color:CO bar:1920 from: 797 till:897 text:"100" color:CO bar:1930 from: 519 till:585 text:"66" color:CO bar:1941 from: 567 till:630 text:"63" color:CO bar:1950 from: 515 till:588 text:"73" color:CO bar:1960 from: 485 till:532 text:"47" color:CO bar:1970 from: 338 till:380 text:"42" color:CO bar:1980 from: 355 till:402 text:"47" color:CO bar:1990 from: 344 till:372 text:"28" color:CO bar:2000 from: 390 till:412 text:"22" color:CO bar:2010 from: 378 till:393 text:"15" color:CO bar:1850 from: 1286 till:2156 text:"870" color:BR bar:1860 from: 1017 till:1653 text:"636" color:BR bar:1870 from: 1142 till:1465 text:"323" color:BR bar:1880 from: 1018 till:1488 text:"470" color:BR bar:1888 from: 770 till:1210 text:"440" color:BR bar:1900 from: 1150 till:1826 text:"676" color:BR bar:1910 from: 989 till:1593 text:"604" color:BR bar:1920 from: 897 till:1420 text:"523" color:BR bar:1930 from: 585 till:839 text:"254" color:BR bar:1941 from: 630 till:932 text:"302" color:BR bar:1950 from: 588 till:937 text:"349" color:BR bar:1960 from: 532 till:869 text:"337" color:BR bar:1970 from: 380 till:588 text:"208" color:BR bar:1980 from: 402 till:587 text:"185" color:BR bar:1990 from: 372 till:530 text:"158" color:BR bar:2000 from: 412 till:615 text:"203" color:BR bar:2010 from: 393 till:597 text:"204" color:BR bar:1850 from: 2156 till:2601 text:"445" color:FR bar:1860 from: 1653 till:2036 text:"383" color:FR bar:1870 from: 1465 till:1908 text:"443" color:FR bar:1880 from: 1488 till:1817 text:"329" color:FR bar:1888 from: 1210 till:1459 text:"249" color:FR bar:1900 from: 1826 till:2171 text:"345" color:FR bar:1910 from: 1593 till:1855 text:"262" color:FR bar:1920 from: 1420 till:1598 text:"178" color:FR bar:1930 from: 839 till:955 text:"116" color:FR bar:1941 from: 932 till:1082 text:"150" color:FR bar:1950 from: 937 till:1065 text:"128" color:FR bar:1960 from: 869 till:978 text:"109" color:FR bar:1970 from: 588 till:653 text:"65" color:FR bar:1980 from: 587 till:648 text:"61" color:FR bar:1990 from: 530 till:587 text:"57" color:FR bar:2000 from: 615 till:715 text:"100" color:FR bar:2010 from: 597 till:708 text:"111" color:FR

Sights

The entire villages of Corippo, Brione (Verzasca) and Sonogno are designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Applikation der Schweizer Gemeinden . 2021 . bfs.admin.ch . Swiss Federal Statistical Office . 16 December 2020.
  2. Web site: Verzasca sarà un nuovo Comune ticinese. Ticinonline. it. 2018-06-10. 2020-03-11.
  3. http://www.sonogno.com/gendata/en/index.html Genealogical database of names in Sonogno
  4. https://www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch/default.aspx?px_language=de Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB Bevölkerungsentwicklung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, 1850-2000
  5. Web site: Kantonsliste A-Objekte:TI . 2009 . KGS Inventar . Federal Office of Civil Protection . de . 17 November 2020 .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Verzasca, Switzerland".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.