Medeglia
Encyclopedia
Medeglia 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 Bellinzona
Bellinzona (district)
The district of Bellinzona is a district of Canton Ticino, Switzerland. It has a population of .-Geography:The district has an area, , of . Of this area, or 13.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 68.7% 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....

. On 21 November 2010, the former municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico
Bironico
Bironico is a village in the northern end of the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.The municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged on 21 November 2010 into the new municipality of Monteceneri.-History:...

, Camignolo
Camignolo
Camignolo is a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged on 21 November 2010 into the new municiplaity of Monteceneri.-History:...

, Rivera
Rivera, Switzerland
Rivera is a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged on 21 November 2010 into the new municiplaity of Monteceneri.-History:...

 and Sigirino
Sigirino
Sigirino is a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged on 21 November 2010 into the new municiplaity of Monteceneri.-History:...

 merged in the new municipality of Monteceneri
Monteceneri
Monteceneri is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It was created on 21 November 2010 through the merger of the municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino.-History:...

.

History

Medeglia is first mentioned in 1195 as Medellia. It can be assumed that in the High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....

, Medeglia was part of the old valley community of Carvina. In 1501-03 changed area around Isone
Isone
Isone is a municipality in the district of Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.Isone is mainly known for being the location of the grenadier school of the Swiss Army. The Grenadiers are a corps of the infantry and is being instructed in Isone since 1970...

, Medeglia and 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...

 became part of the county 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....

, but remained in the Agno
Agno
Agno is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:Agno is first mentioned in 818 as Anium. It was known by its German name Eng, though this is no longer used.-Pieve of Agno:...

 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...

. It became part of the parish of Bironico
Bironico
Bironico is a village in the northern end of the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.The municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged on 21 November 2010 into the new municipality of Monteceneri.-History:...

 in the 13th Century. Then, in 1585, it broke away from that parish to become a vice parish. It was raised to a full parish in 1888. 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 St. Bartholomew was first mentioned in 1328. The romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

 core of the church was renovated and rebuilt in the 15th and 17 Centuries.

The local economy of the village was based on animal husbandry and forestry. Starting in the 16th Century the residents of Isone and Medeglia bought forests and pastures as far away as Robasacco, Contone
Contone
Contone 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...

, Cadenazzo
Cadenazzo
Cadenazzo is a municipality in the district of Bellinzona, in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 13 March 2005 the formerly independent municipality of Robasacco was absorbed into Cadenazzo.-History:...

, Sant'Antonino and Camorino
Camorino
Camorino is a municipality in the district of Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:From time immemorial the inhabitants of Isone regularly crossed the Tiglio alpine pass to arrive in the Camorino area, where they owned vineyards and arable land. Over the centuries, many of...

 while at the same time opening up trade relations with Bellinzona. In the 19th Century, many inhabitants emigrated with the majority going to Argentina and California. The mountain pastures of Medeglia were classified in 1996 as a wetland of national importance. In 2000, three quarters of the working population worked outside the municipality.

Geography

Medeglia has an area, , of 6.27 square kilometres (2.4 sq mi). Of this area, 0.48 km² (0.185329036124417 sq mi) or 7.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 4.96 km² (1.9 sq mi) or 79.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.24 km² (0.0926645180622084 sq mi) or 3.8% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.01 km² (2.5 acre) or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and 0.14 km² (34.6 acre) or 2.2% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.1%. Out of the forested land, 71.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 5.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 3.8% is used for growing crops, while 1.1% is used for orchards or vine crops and 2.7% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 1.9% is unproductive vegetation and .

The municipality is located in the Bellinzona district, in the upper Vedeggio
Vedeggio
The Vedeggio is a river of the Swiss Canton Ticino which rises on the slopes of Monte Camoghè between Bellinzona and Lugano, crosses the plain of Vedeggio , and enters Lake Lugano at Agno.-References:...

 valley. It consists of the village of Medeglia and multiple hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 including Drossa. Until 1805, the village of Robasacco (now part of Cadenazzo
Cadenazzo
Cadenazzo is a municipality in the district of Bellinzona, in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 13 March 2005 the formerly independent municipality of Robasacco was absorbed into Cadenazzo.-History:...

) belonged to Medeglia. The municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico
Bironico
Bironico is a village in the northern end of the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.The municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged on 21 November 2010 into the new municipality of Monteceneri.-History:...

, Camignolo
Camignolo
Camignolo is a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged on 21 November 2010 into the new municiplaity of Monteceneri.-History:...

, Rivera
Rivera, Switzerland
Rivera is a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged on 21 November 2010 into the new municiplaity of Monteceneri.-History:...

 and Sigirino
Sigirino
Sigirino is a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged on 21 November 2010 into the new municiplaity of Monteceneri.-History:...

 are seeking approval from the voters to merge on some time in the future into a new municipality which will be known as Monteceneri.

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 Azure a Sun in her Splendour Or between two Roses Argent slipped growing from a Mount of 3 Coupeaux of the second.

Demographics

Medeglia has a population of . , 5.7% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997-2007) the population has changed at a rate of -2%.

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...

(89.4%), 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 ( 4.8%) 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 ( 2.4%). Of the Swiss national languages , 16 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....

, 8 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...

, 295 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 (11 people) speak another language.

, the gender distribution of the population was 48.4% male and 51.6% female. The population was made up of 156 Swiss men (44.4% of the population), and 14 (4.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 173 Swiss women (49.3%), and 8 (2.3%) non-Swiss women.

In there were 4 live births to Swiss citizens and births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 7 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 3 while the foreign population remained the same. There . At the same time, there was 1 non-Swiss man who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources) was an increase of 6 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 3 people. This represents a population growth rate of 2.6%.

The age distribution, , in Medeglia is; 34 children or 9.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 23 teenagers or 6.6% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 29 people or 8.3% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 48 people or 13.7% are between 30 and 39, 69 people or 19.7% are between 40 and 49, and 49 people or 14.0% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 47 people or 13.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 27 people or 7.7% are between 70 and 79, there are 25 people or 7.1% 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 69% 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 144 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. there were 211 single family homes (or 88.7% of the total) out of a total of 238 inhabited buildings. There were 26 two family buildings (10.9%) and 1 multi-family buildings (0.4%). There were also 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%. there were 264 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 3 room apartment of which there were 76. There were 23 single room apartments and 51 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 142 apartments (53.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 122 apartments (46.2%) were seasonally occupied. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents.

The historical population is given in the following chart:

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 36.13% 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....

 (33.01%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 (16.1%) and the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...

 (7.99%). In the federal election, a total of 218 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 73.6%.

In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 296 registered voters in Medeglia, of which 243 or 82.1% voted. 1 blank ballots and 1 null ballots were cast, leaving 241 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 74 or 30.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; 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....

 (with 74 or 30.7%), the PS
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 (with 39 or 16.2%) and the SSI (with 25 or 10.4%).

In the Consiglio di Stato election, there were blank ballots and 1 null ballots, which left 242 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD which received 81 or 33.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 73 or 30.2%), the PS (with 44 or 18.2%) and the SSI (with 23 or 9.5%).

Economy

, Medeglia had an unemployment rate of 2.8%. , there were people employed in the primary economic sector and about businesses involved in this sector. 4 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 11 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 4 businesses in this sector. There were 150 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 34.7% of the workforce. , there were 4 workers who commuted into the municipality and 116 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 29.0 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 7.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 79.3% used a private car. , there were 0 hotels in Medeglia.

Religion

From the , 289 or 87.6% were Roman Catholic, while 10 or 3.0% 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 22 individuals (or about 6.67% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 9 individuals (or about 2.73% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Medeglia about 71.7% 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 Medeglia there are a total of 44 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 Medeglia there are 12 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 11 students attend the standard primary schools and students attend the special school. 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 are 9 students in the two year middle school and in their pre-apprenticeship, while 4 students are 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 are 3 vocational students who are attending school full-time and 4 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 are 1 students in the professional program.

, there were 2 students in Medeglia who came from another municipality, while 35 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
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