'Canton Ticino' or 'Ticino' ([];
French and
German: ''Tessin'' [] and []) is the southernmost
canton of
Switzerland. The written language is
Italian in almost the entire
canton (except the
Walser municipality of
Bosco Gurin, where it is
German). It surrounds the
Italian exclave of
Campione d'Italia. Together with areas of the canton of
Graubünden it makes up the so-called ''Svizzera Italiana'' (
Italian Switzerland).
Lombard dialects (
Ticinese) are still spoken, especially in the valleys, but they have no official status. It is named after the
Ticino river.
Geography
Lake Lugano
Lago Maggiore from Locarno.
The canton of Ticino is located in the south of Switzerland. It is almost entirely surrounded by
Italy which lies to its east, west and south. To the north lie the cantons of
Valais and
Uri, to the northeast the canton of
Graubünden.
Its area is 2,812 km², of which about three quarters are considered productive. Forests cover about a third of the area, but also the lakes
Maggiore and
Lugano make up a considerable part of the total area. These lakes are known with the above listed names, but are officially named Lake Verbano and Lake Ceresio.
The canton is split geographically in two parts by the
Monte Ceneri pass. The northern, more mountainous part, called ''Sopraceneri'', is formed by the two major Swiss valleys around the lake Maggiore: Ticino Valley and Maggia Valley. The southern part, called ''Sottoceneri'', is the region around the Lake Lugano.
The
River Ticino is the largest river in the canton. It drains most of the canton, flowing from the northwest through the
Bedretto Valley and the
Leventina valley to enter Lake Maggiore near
Locarno. Its main tributaries are the
Brenno in the
Blenio Valley and the
Moesa in the
Mesolcina Valley in
Graubünden. The lands of the canton are shaped by the river, which in its mid portion forms a wide valley, commonly known as the ''Riviera''.
The western lands of the canton, however, are drained by the
Maggia River. The
Verzasca Valley is located between the Ticino river and the Maggia river. There is also a smaller area that drains directly into the
Lake Lugano. Most of the land is considered within the
Alps, but a small area is part of the plain of the
River Po which drains the north of
Italy.
History
In ancient times the area of what is today Ticino was settled by the
Lepontii, a
Celtic tribe. Later, probably around the rule of
Augustus, it became part of the
Roman Empire. After the fall of the Western Empire, was ruled by the
Ostrogoths, the
Lombards and the
Franks. Around 1100 CE it was the centre of struggle between the free communes of
Milan and
Como: in the 14th century it was definitively acquired by the
Visconti, Dukes of
Milan. In the
15th century the
Swiss Confederates conquered the valleys south of the Alps in three separate conquests.
The
Canton of Uri conquered the
Leventina Valley in
1440. Between
1403 and
1422 some of these lands were already annexed by forces from Uri, but subsequently lost. In a second conquest Uri,
Schwyz and
Nidwalden gained the town of
Bellinzona and the Riviera in
1500. Some of the land and the town Bellinzona itself were previously annexed by Uri in
1419 but lost again in
1422. The third conquest was fought by troops from the entire Confederation (at that time constituted by 12 cantons). In
1512 Locarno, the
Maggia Valley,
Lugano and
Mendrisio were annexed. Subsequently, the upper valley of the
Ticino River, from the
St. Gotthard to the town of Biasca (
Leventina Valley) was part of Canton
Uri. The remaining territory (''Baliaggi Ultramontani'', ''Ennetbergische Vogteien'', the Bailiwicks Beyond the Mountains) was administered by the Twelve Cantons.
The lands of the canton of Ticino are the last lands to be conquered by the Swiss Confederation. (After the
battle of Marignano in
1515 the king of
France Francis I defeated the Confederates, and they gave up any further conquests.) In February
1798 an attempt of annexation by the
Cisalpine Republic was repelled by a volunteer militia in
Lugano. Between
1798 and
1803, during the
Helvetic Republic, the districts of
Bellinzona and
Lugano were separate cantons, but in
1803 the two were unified to form the canton of Ticino that joined the Swiss Confederation as a full member in the same year. During the Napoleonic Wars, many Ticinese (as was the case for other
Swiss) served in Swiss military units allied with the
French.
Until
1878 the three largest cities, Bellinzona, Lugano and Locarno, alternated as capital of the canton. In
1878, however, Bellinzona became the only and permanent capital.
The current constitution
[1] dates from
1997. The previous constitution, heavily modified, dates from
1830, nearly 20 years before the constitution of actual
Swiss Confederation.
Government
The cantonal
parliament is the ''Grand Council'' (Italian: ''Gran Consiglio''), with 90 members and the government (''Consiglio di Stato'') has 5 members (''Consiglieri di Stato''). In the both councils the members are elected with the
proportional electoral system. The canton sends two deputies to the
Swiss Council of States (upper house), and eight deputies to the
National Council (lower house). It's regional capitol is
Bellinzona.
Agriculture
The main agricultural production is
wine, mostly
merlot, a type of red wine. It is followed by
horticulture,
milk and
cheese production.
Economy
The hilly slopes of the canton are used extensively for the production of hydroelectricity. The electricity produced is used at home and sold for export. There is cattle breeding in the northern areas. The production of wine is important in the canton and exported to mainly other areas in
Switzerland. The vineyards are mostly concentrated in the southern half of the canton where the climate is warmer. Other agricultural produce includes corn (maize), potatoes, tobacco and vegetables.
The weather in the canton is often inverse to that north of the
Alps. This, and a warmer climate in general, attracts many tourists from other Swiss cantons. The lakes together with the sunshine are considered attractive. Tourism is the single most important economic factor in the canton.
There is also light industry, mostly concentrated around the three largest towns of Lugano, Locarno and Bellinzona.
The canton is well connected to the rest of Switzerland. There are tunnels underneath the
Gotthard massive, both for rail and road. The canton of Grisons (Graubünden) is connected with a direct coach link, whereas the canton of Valais is connected by rail through a tunnel at the
Simplon Pass. There are good rail links to
Milan and
Rome in
Italy as well as
Germany via
Basel and
Zürich.
Because of the tourist trade there are a number of small railways in scenic areas in the mountains. Winter sports is important, despite being less developed.
There are two major centres of education and research located in the canton of Ticino. The
University of Italian speaking Switzerland (USI, Università della Svizzera Italiana) is the only Swiss university teaching in
Italian. The
University of Applied Sciences of Italian speaking Switzerland (SUPSI, Scuola Universitaria Professionale della Svizzera Italiana) on the other hand is a professional training college focused on a practical method of teaching in the areas of applied art, economy, social work, technology and production science.
Three daily newspapers are published in Ticino: Corriere del Ticino, La Regione, and Giornale del Popolo. These represent the only
Italian daily publications in
Switzerland.
Language
The official language, and the one used for most written communication, is
Italian. Despite being very similar to standard Italian, Swiss Italian presents some differences to the Italian spoken in Italy due to the imponent presence of French and German from which it assimilates words. A clear example would be the driving licence. In standard Italian it is called "patente di guida" while in
Swiss Italian it becomes "Licenza di condurre", from the French "Permis de conduire". Another example is the bus. In standard Italian it would be "Autobus" while in
Swiss Italian it is the "Autopostale". Just like american English and British English. In oral communication Western
Lombard (
Ticinese)
varieties, although receding in favour of
Italian (especially in the cities of
Lugano, Ascona and
Locarno and among the younger generations), are still well preserved. These are further subdivided into local variations, with the northern valleys speaking a dialect more closely aligned with Romansch, Switzerland's fourth official language. There is a certain amount of popular literature (poems, comedies, etc.) in
Ticinese, and the national radio and sometimes televisions trasmit program in Ticinese (mainly comedies).
Religion
The population is mostly
Roman Catholic (75%) and Protestant (7%).
Districts
The Canton of Ticino is divided into 8
districts (''distretti'') and 38
circles (''circoli''):
★
Distretto di Mendrisio
★
Distretto di Lugano
★
Distretto di Locarno
★
Distretto di Vallemaggia
★
Distretto di Bellinzona
★
Distretto di Riviera
★
Distretto di Blenio
★
Distretto di Leventina
Municipalities
There are 195
municipalities in the canton (
as of February 2006). These municipalities (''comuni'') are grouped in 38 ''circoli'' (circles or sub-districts) which are in turn grouped into districts (''distretti''). Since late 1990 there is an ongoing project of aggregate some municipalities.
★ ''For the changes see the article:''
Municipalities of the canton of Ticino
★ ''See also:''
Municipalities of Switzerland
See also
★ ''
Corriere del Ticino''
★ ''
Giornale del Popolo''
★ ''
laRegione Ticino''
★ ''
Tessiner Zeitung''
★
Azienda Elettrica Ticinese
External links
★
Cantone Ticino official site
★
Official Statistics
★
Tourism office, official tourism office of Ticino.
★
official website for wine of Ticino.
★
Virtual Tour of Canton Ticino, QuickTime VR virtual tour of Canton Ticino.
★
Differences between Italian and Swiss Italian (in Italian)
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