Contone
Encyclopedia
Contone is a former municipality
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...

 in the district of Locarno
Locarno (district)
The district of Locarno is a district of Canton Ticino, Switzerland. It has a population of .-Geography:...

 in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 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 Ticino
Ticino
Canton 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 Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

.

On 25 April 2010, the former municipalities of Caviano
Caviano
Caviano is a former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.On 25 April 2010, the former municipalities of Caviano, Contone, Gerra Gambarogno, Indemini, Magadino, Piazzogna, San Nazzaro, Sant'Abbondio and Vira Gambarogno merged in the new municipality of...

, Contone, Gerra Gambarogno
Gerra (Gambarogno)
Gerra is a former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.On 25 April 2010, the former municipalities of Caviano, Contone, Gerra Gambarogno, Indemini, Magadino, Piazzogna, San Nazzaro, Sant'Abbondio and Vira Gambarogno merged in the new municipality of...

, Indemini
Indemini
Indemini is a former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.On 25 April 2010, the former municipalities of Caviano, Contone, Gerra Gambarogno, Indemini, Magadino, Piazzogna, San Nazzaro, Sant'Abbondio and Vira Gambarogno merged in the new municipality of...

, Magadino
Magadino
Magadino is a former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.On 25 April 2010, the former municipalities of Caviano, Contone, Gerra Gambarogno, Indemini, Magadino, Piazzogna, San Nazzaro, Sant'Abbondio and Vira Gambarogno merged in the new municipality of...

, Piazzogna
Piazzogna
Piazzogna is a former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.On 25 April 2010, the former municipalities of Caviano, Contone, Gerra Gambarogno, Indemini, Magadino, Piazzogna, San Nazzaro, Sant'Abbondio and Vira Gambarogno merged in the new municipality of...

, San Nazzaro
San Nazzaro, Switzerland
San Nazzaro is a former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.On 25 April 2010, the former municipalities of Caviano, Contone, Gerra Gambarogno, Indemini, Magadino, Piazzogna, San Nazzaro, Sant'Abbondio and Vira Gambarogno merged in the new municipality of...

, Sant'Abbondio and Vira Gambarogno
Vira (Gambarogno)
Vira is a former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.On 25 April 2010, the former municipalities of Caviano, Contone, Gerra Gambarogno, Indemini, Magadino, Piazzogna, San Nazzaro, Sant'Abbondio and Vira Gambarogno merged in the new municipality of...

 merged in the new municipality of Gambarogno
Gambarogno
Gambarogno is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It was created on 25 April 2010 through the merger of the municipalities of Caviano, Contone, Gerra Gambarogno, Indemini, Magadino, Piazzogna, San Nazzaro, Sant'Abbondio and Vira...

.

History

Contone is first mentioned in 1152 as Gondono. However, three tombs have been discovered in Contone, which can be dated earlier than the Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...

. These tombs date to the reopening of the alpine
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....

 passes.

Some time before 1219, a Hospital of the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

 was built in the village. However, the exact foundation year and location are controversial. It was later Commandry
Commandry (feudalism)
Commandry , or commandery , was the smallest division of the European landed estate or manor under the control of a commendator, or commander, of an order of knights...

 of the Order of Malta. In the 16th Century, the Commandry estates went to the hospital in Lugano and in 1811 to the Antognini family of Bellinzona
Bellinzona
Bellinzona is the administrative capital of the canton Ticino in Switzerland. The city is famous for its three castles that have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2000....

.

In 1104, the Lombard
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...

 nobleman Wido Samarate built or rebuilt a church and presented it to the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

 monastery of S. Giorgio in Quartino
Quartino
Quartino is a small village in Ticino, Switzerland.Quartino also refers to:* an Italian word for a small carafe for wine containing 8oz...

. The church, which was dedicated to St. Nicholas, was incorporated in 1152 into the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 of Locarno. It was closed in 1769 and fell apart. The parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

 of S. Giovanni Battista was built in the 16th Century church, on the site of the hospital church.

The inhabitants of Contone lived as herders and farmers, mostly on the lowest part of the slope of Mount Ceneri. After 1850, the employment situation changed because of the decline of the port of Magadino and railway construction. Many inhabitants emigrated abroad and found work as painters, plasterers and stove-makers. With immigration of, mainly Italian, day laborers, the population began to grow. At the end of the 20th Century most jobs were in the services sector. After the correction of the Ticino river, the vast, formerly marshy plain became home to a number of commercial and industrial buildings.

Geography

Contone has an area, , of 2.32 square kilometre (0.895757007934681 sq mi). Of this area, 1.41 km² (0.544404043615474 sq mi) or 60.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.61 km² (0.235522316741446 sq mi) or 26.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.41 km² (0.158301885022939 sq mi) or 17.7% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.9% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.9% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 9.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.6%. Out of the forested land, 23.3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 43.5% is used for growing crops, while 8.2% is used for orchards or vine crops and 9.1% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, and .

The village is located in the Locarno district, in the Magadino valley on the eastern edge of the Gambarogno region.

Coat of arms

The blazon
Blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...

 of the municipal coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 is Per pale azure and gules overall an eight-pointed cross argent. As early as 1367 the Order of St John owned a commandery and a hospital which belonged to the Italian Langue. In 1932 permission was given to the former commandery to use the cross of the Order in its armorial shield. The officiating pastor of Contone is, through his office, a chaplain of magistral grace of the Order of Malta.

Demographics

Contone had a population of 750. , 25.0% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997-2007) the population has changed at a rate of 20.9%.

Most of the population speaks Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 (86.9%), with German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 being second most common (9.0%) and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 being third (1.6%). Of the Swiss national languages , 63 speak German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

, 2 people speak French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, 611 people speak Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

, and 2 people speak Romansh. The remainder (25 people) speak another language.

, the gender distribution of the population was 46.9% male and 53.1% female. The population was made up of 281 Swiss men (33.2% of the population), and 116 (13.7%) non-Swiss men. There were 338 Swiss women (40.0%), and 111 (13.1%) non-Swiss women.

In there were 7 live births to Swiss citizens and 4 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 5 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 2 while the foreign population increased by 4. There were 8 non-Swiss men and 4 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 21 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 12 people. This represents a population growth rate of 4.2%.

The age distribution, , in Contone is; 72 children or 8.5% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 107 teenagers or 12.6% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 113 people or 13.4% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 124 people or 14.7% are between 30 and 39, 180 people or 21.3% are between 40 and 49, and 91 people or 10.8% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 76 people or 9.0% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 66 people or 7.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 17 people or 2.0% who are over 80.

the average number of residents per living room was 0.57 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.6 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 44.8% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...

 or a rent-to-own agreement).

, there were 307 private households in the village, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. there were 153 single family homes (or 75.0% of the total) out of a total of 204 inhabited buildings. There were 15 two family buildings (7.4%) and 19 multi-family buildings (9.3%). There were also 17 buildings in the village that were multipurpose buildings (used for both housing and commercial or another purpose).

The vacancy rate for the village, , was 1.33%. there were 350 apartments in the village. The most common apartment size was the 4 room apartment of which there were 107. There were 9 single room apartments and 101 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 306 apartments (87.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 37 apartments (10.6%) were seasonally occupied and 7 apartments (2.0%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 6.4 new units per 1000 residents.

The historical population is given in the following table:
year population
1591 70
1683 71
1795 71
1850 139
1900 199
1950 305
1990 430
2000 703

Politics

In the 2007 federal election
Swiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...

 the most popular party was the CVP
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...

 which received 39.84% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP
FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals is a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It is the joint-largest party in the Federal Council, third-largest party in the National Council, and second-largest in the Council of States....

 (24.57%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 (9.94%) and the Ticino League
Ticino League
The Ticino League is an isolationist, national conservative political party in Switzerland active in the canton of Ticino.In 1991, after some public campaigning in the Sunday journal Mattino della Domenica against political power and use of public money, the editor Giuliano Bignasca and the...

 (9.23%). In the federal election, a total of 185 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...

 was 40.1%.

In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 455 registered voters in Contone, of which 273 or 60.0% voted. 2 blank ballots and 1 null ballot were cast, leaving 270 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT
FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals is a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It is the joint-largest party in the Federal Council, third-largest party in the National Council, and second-largest in the Council of States....

 which received 78 or 28.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PPD
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...

+GenGiova (with 76 or 28.1%), the SSI (with 43 or 15.9%) and the PS
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 (with 29 or 10.7%).

In the Consiglio di Stato election, 1 blank ballot and 2 null ballots were cast, leaving 270 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD which received 77 or 28.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 62 or 23.0%), the SSI (with 42 or 15.6%) and the LEGA (with 40 or 14.8%).

Economy

, Contone had an unemployment rate of 3.02%. , there were 29 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 6 businesses involved in this sector. 51 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 13 businesses in this sector. 268 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 54 businesses in this sector. There were 361 residents of the village who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 40.4% of the workforce.

, there were 408 workers who commuted into the village and 263 workers who commuted away. The village is a net importer of workers, with about 1.6 workers entering the village for every one leaving. About 12.7% of the workforce coming into Contone are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 3.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 71.2% used a private car. , there were 2 hotels in Contone.

Religion

From the , 598 or 85.1% were Roman Catholic, while 34 or 4.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
Swiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...

. There are 54 individuals (or about 7.68% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 17 individuals (or about 2.42% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Contone about 65.2% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...

).

In Contone there were a total of 147 students . The Ticino education system
Education in Switzerland
The education system in Switzerland is very diverse, because the constitution of Switzerland delegates the authority for the school system mainly to the cantons...

 provides up to three years of non-mandatory kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

and in Contone there were 16 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years. In the village, 43 students attended the standard primary schools. In the lower secondary school system, students either attend a two year middle school followed by a two year pre-apprenticeship or they attend a four year program to prepare for higher education. There were 52 students in the two year middle school, while 11 students were in the four year advanced program.

The upper secondary school includes several options, but at the end of the upper secondary program, a student will be prepared to enter a trade or to continue on to a university or college. In Ticino, vocational students may either attend school while working on their internship or apprenticeship (which takes three or four years) or may attend school followed by an internship or apprenticeship (which takes one year as a full-time student or one and a half to two years as a part-time student). There were 7 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 15 who attend part-time.

The professional program lasts three years and prepares a student for a job in engineering, nursing, computer science, business, tourism and similar fields. There were 3 students in the professional program.

, there were 6 students in Contone who came from another village, while 54 residents attended schools outside the village.
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