Cevio is the capital of the district of
VallemaggiaThe district of Vallemaggia is a district of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The capital of the district is Cevio.- Circles and municipalities :* circle of the Rovana: Cevio, Linescio, Cerentino, Campo , Bosco Gurin;...
in the
cantonThe 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of
TicinoCanton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
in
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
. On 22 October 2006 Cevio grew by incorporating the villages of
BignascoBignasco is a village in the district of Vallemaggia, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. On 22 October 2006 Bignasco lost its status as an independent municipality when together with the village of Cavergno it was incorporated into the municipality of Cevio....
and
CavergnoCavergno is a village in the district of Vallemaggia, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. On 22 October 2006 Cavergno lost its status as an independent municipality when together with the village of Bignasco it was incorporated into the municipality of Cevio....
, previously municipalities in their own right.
Geography
Cevio lies 23 km northwest of
LocarnoLocarno is the capital of the Locarno district, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore in the Swiss canton of Ticino, close to Ascona at the foot of the Alps. It has a population of about 15,000...
in the upper Vallemaggia. The majority of the territory of the municipality (64.6 percent) is forested. About a quarter (25.1 percent) is mountainous, 5.2 percent is agricultural, and 5.1 percent is residential.
History
The municipality has long been the principal town of the district. In 1858 the municipality of
LinescioLinescio is a municipality in the district of Vallemaggia in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland....
was separated from it.
In the fall of 2006, Cavergno and Bignasco were incorporated into the municipality, despite an attempt by Bignasco to resist the incorporation in the courts.
Population
The population reached a high of 927 in 1850 (with Linescio). Since the separation, it has generally been around 500.
| Population of Cevio |
| Year |
Population |
| 1591* |
700 |
| 1801* |
491 |
| 1850* |
927 |
| 1860 |
602 |
| 1888 |
511 |
| 1920 |
326 |
| 1941 |
350 |
| 1950 |
504 |
| 1960 |
504 |
| 1870 |
562 |
| 2000 |
497 |
| 2004 |
476 |
| *With Linescio |
Languages
The inhabitants of Cevio speak a dialect that is very different from standard
ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by a total of around 70 million in the world. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four official languages. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City...
. In 2000 only 77.87 percent (down from 95.73 percent in 1970) still claimed Italian as their principal language. Some. 10.87 percent spoke
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
, and 4.23 percent
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
. Cevio is one of the municipalities of Ticino in which Italian has most notably lost ground.
Religion
In earlier times, the municipality was almost exclusively
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
. Because of the influx of residents from elsewhere, only 78.27 percent are now Catholic, with 7.66 percent Protestant, and 1.61 percent Orthodox Christians. Some 5.63 percent claim no religion, and 1.81 percent are
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
, mostly from
BosniaBosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( or (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Latin: Bosna i Hercegovina; Serbian Cyrillic: Босна и Херцеговина) is a country in Southeast Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula...
and
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
. Some 4.62 did not respond to the question in the census about religion.
Ethnic groups
Of the 476 residents, 364 (76.47 percent) are Swiss citizens. The largest non-Swiss groups are from
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
,
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
,
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( or (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Latin: Bosna i Hercegovina; Serbian Cyrillic: Босна и Херцеговина) is a country in Southeast Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula...
and
Sri LankaSri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India...
. The unusually high number of non-Swiss in the municipality is due to the abundance of jobs in the quarries and hospital.
External links