San Nazzaro, Switzerland
Encyclopedia
San Nazzaro 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
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...

, 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, 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

San Nazzaro is first mentioned in 1258 as sancto Nazario.

In the hamlet
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...

 of Vairano, cremation urns have been found which may date back to the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

 cremations. Additionally, Roman era
Switzerland in the Roman era
The history of Switzerland in the Roman era encompasses the roughly six centuries during which the territory of modern Switzerland was a part of the Roman Republic and Empire...

 pottery and coins have also been discovered. In the hamlet of Mossana, a number of Roman graves were discovered. In the hamlet of Taverna, there used to stand a tower, which had probably given by Frederick I Barbarossa
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...

 in 1186 to the Orelli family. The tower later passed into the possession of the nobility of Locarno and was used in the control of trade in the Upper Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...

 and Gambarogno river areas. Even in 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...

 it was a center place in the Gambarogno valley. In the 13th Century, the Vicinanza
Bürgergemeinde
The Bürgergemeinde is a statutory corporation in public law in Switzerland...

meetings were held in the church square in Taverna. In 1487, the Gambarogno became independent of Locarno
Locarno
Locarno 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...

, and San Nazzaro became the seat of the Podestà
Podestà
Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...

 and the court.

It was part of 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 Vira, until it became an independent parish in 1558. 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 SS Nazzaro e Celso was first mentioned in 1258. It was rebuilt in 1790 in the classicist style and enlarged.

The population lived, primarily, from agriculture and grazing. The local economy was supplemented in the 15th Century by emigration, mostly of bricklayers and builders, to Italy. In the second half of the 20th Century there was a strong population growth, as the village became home to a few tourist hotels and many second homes. In 2000, approximately two thirds of the workers in the municipality were commuters.

Geography

San Nazzaro has an area, , of 5.53 square kilometres (2.1 sq mi). Of this area, 0.65 km² (0.250966403085148 sq mi) or 11.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 4.19 km² (1.6 sq mi) or 75.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.67 km² (0.258688446256998 sq mi) or 12.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.1 km² (24.7 acre) or 1.8% is either rivers or lakes and 0.24 km² (0.0926645180622084 sq mi) or 4.3% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 9.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.5%. Out of the forested land, 64.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 1.4% is used for growing crops and 9.6% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 3.3% is unproductive vegetation and 1.1% is too rocky for vegetation.

The village is located in the Locarno district, east of Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...

. It consists of the 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...

 of Casenzano, Taverna and Vairano.

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 fess argent a tower gules issaunt and quartered gules and argent.

Demographics

San Nazzaro has a population of 698. , 17.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997-2007) the population has changed at a rate of 18.4%.

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...

 (69.7%), 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 (24.8%) 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 (1.4%). Of the Swiss national languages , 159 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....

, 9 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...

, 447 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 (26 people) speak another language.

, the gender distribution of the population was 48.1% male and 51.9% female. The population was made up of 276 Swiss men (39.5% of the population), and 60 (8.6%) non-Swiss men. There were 310 Swiss women (44.4%), and 52 (7.4%) non-Swiss women.

In there were 5 live births to Swiss citizens and 1 birth to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 4 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 1 while the foreign population increased by 1. There were 2 Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland and 1 Swiss woman who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 6 non-Swiss men 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 2 and the non-Swiss population change was a decrease of 4 people. This represents a population growth rate of -0.8%.

The age distribution, , in San Nazzaro is; 50 children or 7.2% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 62 teenagers or 8.9% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 52 people or 7.4% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 66 people or 9.5% are between 30 and 39, 115 people or 16.5% are between 40 and 49, and 113 people or 16.2% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 115 people or 16.5% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 76 people or 10.9% are between 70 and 79, there are 49 people or 7.0% who are over 80.

the average number of residents per living room was 0.51 which is less people per room than 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 58.3% 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 278 private households in the village, and an average of 2.1 persons per household. there were 444 single family homes (or 75.3% of the total) out of a total of 590 inhabited buildings. There were 82 two family buildings (13.9%) and 31 multi-family buildings (5.3%). There were also 33 buildings in the village that were multipurpose buildings (used for both housing and commercial or another purpose).

The vacancy rate for the village, , was 0%. there were 816 apartments in the village. The most common apartment size was the 3 room apartment of which there were 227. There were 42 single room apartments and 169 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 278 apartments (34.1% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 531 apartments (65.1%) were seasonally occupied and 7 apartments (0.9%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 26.6 new units per 1000 residents.

The historical population is given in the following table:
year population
1591 375
1683 346
1795 340
1850 477
1900 314
1950 291
2000 641

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 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....

 which received 33.86% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 (21.2%), 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...

 (18.43%) 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...

 (14.1%). In the federal election, a total of 216 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 41.0%.

In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 512 registered voters in San Nazzaro, of which 265 or 51.8% voted. 4 blank ballots were cast, leaving 261 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 29.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PS
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 (with 49 or 18.8%), the SSI (with 46 or 17.6%) and 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 35 or 13.4%).

In the Consiglio di Stato election, 3 blank ballots were cast, leaving 262 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT which received 71 or 27.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PS (with 53 or 20.2%), the SSI (with 50 or 19.1%) and the LEGA (with 36 or 13.7%).

Economy

, San Nazzaro had an unemployment rate of 3.04%. , there were 15 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 3 businesses involved in this sector. 68 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 10 businesses in this sector. 156 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 24 businesses in this sector. There were 253 residents of the village who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.9% of the workforce.

, there were 256 workers who commuted into the village and 128 workers who commuted away. The village is a net importer of workers, with about 2.0 workers entering the village for every one leaving. About 34.0% of the workforce coming into San Nazzaro are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 4.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 59.3% used a private car. , there were 3 hotels in San Nazzaro with a total of 81 rooms and 184 beds.

Religion

From the , 430 or 67.1% were Roman Catholic, while 93 or 14.5% 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 93 individuals (or about 14.51% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 25 individuals (or about 3.90% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In San Nazzaro about 74% 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 San Nazzaro there were a total of 94 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 San Nazzaro there were 8 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the village, 33 students attended the standard primary schools and 1 student attended 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 were 29 students in the two year middle school, while 9 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 2 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 10 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 15 students in San Nazzaro who came from another village, while 39 residents attended schools outside the village.

External links

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