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'Bellinzona' ([] in French ''Bellinzone'' [], in archaic German ''Bellenz'' [] and ''Bilitio'' [] in Latin) is the capital city of the canton Ticino in Switzerland. The city is famous for its three castles (Castelgrande, Montebello, Sasso Corbaro) that are now part of the UNESCO world heritage.

Contents

Geography

History

Population

Transportation

Culture

Trivia

References

External links

Geography

The city lies east of the Ticino River. It stretches along the river valley, surrounded by the Gotthard Massif.

History

The Roman name of the city was ''Blizuna''. The city is mentioned in medieval sources in 1218 as ''Bilizone''. It was the capital of the canton of Bellinzona from 1798 to 1803, and of the new canton of Ticino from 1803 to 1814. From that date until 1878, Bellinzona, Lugano, and Locarno, took turns being capital every six years.
The includes the village of Artore and, since the incorporation in 1907, the former municipalities of Carasso , Daro, and Ravecchia

Population

In 2000, the city had 16,463 inhabitants. Of those, 14,392 speak Italian and 590 German. In that census, 30.6 percent were non-Swiss, mostly from Italy. The metropolitan area of Bellinzona has a population of 48,300, divided into 16 municipalities.

Transportation

It is an important stop for major trains heading either north toward Arth-Goldau and Zürich, or south toward Lugano, Chiasso and Italy or bound for the southwest to Locarno.
The A2 and A13 motorways, as well as some main roads, link here, thus making it an important transportational node.

Culture

The city is known for its carnival Rabadan, which has taken place for over 150 years.
The local football team is AC Bellinzona.

Trivia

On July 21, 1985, Swiss swimming sprinter Dano Halsall set a world record in the 50 m freestyle in Bellinzona's local pool, clocking in at 22.52 seconds.

References

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External links

★ Bellinzona official website

★ Rabadan carnival

★ Unesco