Curio, Switzerland
Encyclopedia
Curio is a 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 Lugano
Lugano (district)
The district of Lugano is a district of Canton Ticino, Switzerland. It has a population of .-Geography:The Lugano District has an area, , of . Of this area, or 15.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 66.5% is forested...

 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....

.

History

Curio is first mentioned in 1196 as Coira. In 1298 it was mentioned as Cuyri.

During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 Curio, Novaggio
Novaggio
Novaggio is a municipality in the district of Lugano, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.-History:Novaggio is first mentioned in 1244 as Novagio....

, Banco and Bedigliora
Bedigliora
Bedigliora is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:Bedigliora is first mentioned in 1335 as Bedaliola. The settlement of Banco is first mentioned as Bango in 1421....

 formed a Kastlanei. The first village church, consecrated to St. Peter, was mentioned in 1352. The present church was built in 1609.

Historically, many residents emigrated to foreign countries for work. Some of these emigrant families became quite famous. They include the family Avanzini (notaries, doctors, construction workers) and Visconti (architects and engineers), who worked, from the end of the 18th and over the entire 19th Centuries, in Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...

 and Russia. Their success led them to perform a number of philanthropic works in Curio. In the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th Century, this resulted in a number of charitable foundations. The most significant was the art school, which was founded in 1850. In 1985, the Museum of Malcantone was founded in the old school building.

Today, the majority of the population works in Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...

, or in the lower Malcantone.

Geography

Curio has an area, , of 2.88 square kilometres (1.1 sq mi). Of this area, 0.41 km² (0.158301885022939 sq mi) or 14.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.35 km² (0.907340072692457 sq mi) or 81.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.2 km² (0.077220431718507 sq mi) or 6.9% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.04 km² (9.9 acre) or 1.4% is either rivers or lakes.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 5.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.7%. Out of the forested land, 75.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 5.9% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 7.6% is used for growing crops, while 1.4% is used for orchards or vine crops and 5.2% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.

The municipality is located in the Lugano district, in the Malcantone valleyu on the southern slope of Mount Gheggio. The old village center is built along two streets. It consists of the village of Curio and the exclave of Bombinasco, which became part of Curio in 1850.

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 Or a wolf's head eradicaed sable langued gules.

Demographics

Curio has a population of . , 13.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 8.1%.

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...

 (76.0%), 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 (17.9%) and 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...

 being third (3.6%). Of the Swiss national languages , 93 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....

, 19 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...

, 396 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...

. The remainder (13 people) speak another language.

, the gender distribution of the population was 48.1% male and 51.9% female. The population was made up of 218 Swiss men (41.0% of the population), and 38 (7.1%) non-Swiss men. There were 248 Swiss women (46.6%), and 28 (5.3%) non-Swiss women.

In there were 0 live births to Swiss citizens and 1 birth to a non-Swiss citizen, and in same time span there were 4 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 4 while the foreign population increased by 1. There were 2 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there was 1 non-Swiss man and 2 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 a decrease of 12 and the non-Swiss population change was a decrease of 6 people. This represents a population growth rate of -3.3%.

The age distribution, , in Curio is; 40 children or 7.5% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 70 teenagers or 13.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 52 people or 9.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 41 people or 7.7% are between 30 and 39, 101 people or 19.0% are between 40 and 49, and 91 people or 17.1% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 62 people or 11.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 38 people or 7.1% are between 70 and 79, there are 37 people or 7.0% who are over 80.

the average number of residents per living room was 0.58 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 59.2% 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 211 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. there were 137 single family homes (or 77.4% of the total) out of a total of 177 inhabited buildings. There were 20 two family buildings (11.3%) and 14 multi-family buildings (7.9%). There were also 6 buildings in the municipality that were multipurpose buildings (used for both housing and commercial or another purpose).

The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.42%. there were 224 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 4 room apartment of which there were 73. There were 3 single room apartments and 72 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 206 apartments (92.0% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 16 apartments (7.1%) were seasonally occupied and 2 apartments (0.9%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents.

The historical population is given in the following chart:

Heritage sites of national significance

The Del Malcantone Museum is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance
Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...

. The entire village of Curio is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage.-Sites of national importance:-Types:...

.

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 33.24% 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....

 (18.97%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 (16.44%) 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...

 (15.74%). In the federal election, a total of 181 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 46.5%.

In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 400 registered voters in Curio, of which 248 or 62.0% voted. 4 blank ballots were cast, leaving 244 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was 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 which received 53 or 21.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the SSI (with 46 or 18.9%), the LEGA
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...

 (with 45 or 18.4%) and the PS
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 (with 36 or 14.8%).

In the Consiglio di Stato election, 3 blank ballots were cast, leaving 245 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the LEGA which received 69 or 28.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PPD (with 51 or 20.8%), the PS (with 44 or 18.0%) and the SSI (with 37 or 15.1%).

Economy

, Curio had an unemployment rate of 2.23%. , there were 11 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 4 businesses involved in this sector. 26 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 7 businesses in this sector. 64 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 16 businesses in this sector. There were 244 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 38.1% of the workforce.

, there were 64 workers who commuted into the municipality and 171 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.7 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 21.9% of the workforce coming into Curio are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 6.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 62.3% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 355 or 68.1% were Roman Catholic, while 72 or 13.8% 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 61 individuals (or about 11.71% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 33 individuals (or about 6.33% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Curio about 80.8% 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 Curio there were a total of 85 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 Curio there were 8 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years. In the municipality, 22 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 32 students in the two year middle school, while 8 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 5 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 8 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 2 students in the professional program.

, there were 1 students in Curio who came from another municipality, while 99 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK