Sigirino
Encyclopedia
Sigirino 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 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....

. The municipalities of Medeglia
Medeglia
Medeglia is a former municipality in the district of Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 21 November 2010, the former municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged in the new municipality of Monteceneri....

, Bironico, 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 merged on 21 November 2010 into the new municiplaity 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

Sigirino is first mentioned in 1335 as Sezelino. 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...

, Sigirino belonged to the territory of the Carvina valley community. Carvina included all the villages in the upper Vedeggio valley and its secular and religious capital was Bironico. In a land register of 1296, Como Cathedral
Como Cathedral
Como Cathedral is the Roman Catholic cathedral of the city of Como, Lombardy, Italy, and the seat of the Bishop of Como. It is dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The cathedral, located near Lake Como, is one of the most important buildings in the region...

 posseessed lands, pastures, forests, farmland and land with houses in Sigirino. It is likely that at that time Sigirino possessed some type of fortifications.

The Church of St. Andrew was first mentioned in 1296. It was totally rebuilt in the 16th Century and restored in the 18th. After its separation from Bironico in 1625, Sigirino had its own 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...

.

Economically, the village was dominated by agriculture and emigration. In the 21st Century, it belongs to commercial and industrial zone in the valley floor between Sigirino and the neighboring villages.

Geography

Sigirino has an area, , of 8.71 square kilometres (3.4 sq mi). Of this area, 0.31 km² (0.119691669163686 sq mi) or 3.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 6.89 km² (2.7 sq mi) or 79.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.57 km² (0.220078230397745 sq mi) or 6.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.1 km² (24.7 acre) or 1.1% is either rivers or lakes and 0.76 km² (0.293437640530327 sq mi) or 8.7% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.4%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.4% of the area Out of the forested land, 64.4% of the total land area is heavily forested, while 13.1% is covered in small trees and shrubbery and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 1.8% is used for growing crops and 1.1% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 7.3% is unproductive vegetation and 1.4% is too rocky for vegetation.

The village is located in the Lugano district, on the right side of the mid-Vedeggio valley near the entrance to the Cusella side valley.

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 Gules a saltire argent and in chief tower of the same. The St. Andrews cross refers to the patron saint of the village church.

Demographics

Sigirino has a population of 596. , 30.4% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997-2007) the population has changed at a rate of 45.7%.

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...

 (89.2%), 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 (4.9%) 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 (1.8%). Of the Swiss national languages , 19 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....

, 7 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...

, 348 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 (16 people) speak another language.

, the gender distribution of the population was 56.4% male and 43.6% female. The population was made up of 208 Swiss men (34.9% of the population), and 128 (21.5%) non-Swiss men. There were 214 Swiss women (35.9%), and 46 (7.7%) non-Swiss women.

In there were 4 live births to Swiss citizens and 2 births to non-Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 4 while the foreign population increased by 2. There were 2 Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 27 non-Swiss men and 10 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 19 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 51 people. This represents a population growth rate of 13.3%.

The age distribution, , in Sigirino is; 50 children or 8.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 61 teenagers or 10.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 76 people or 12.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 114 people or 19.1% are between 30 and 39, 126 people or 21.1% are between 40 and 49, and 92 people or 15.4% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 40 people or 6.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 19 people or 3.2% are between 70 and 79, there are 18 people or 3.0% 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 54.8% 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 166 private households in the village, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. there were 122 single family homes (or 73.5% of the total) out of a total of 166 inhabited buildings. There were 28 two family buildings (16.9%) and 9 multi-family buildings (5.4%). There were also 7 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 220 apartments in the village. The most common apartment size was the 5 room apartment of which there were 68. There were 22 single room apartments and 68 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 166 apartments (75.5% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 47 apartments (21.4%) were seasonally occupied and 7 apartments (3.2%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.8 new units per 1000 residents.

The historical population is given in the following chart:

Sights

The entire villaggio of Osignano is designated as 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 25.65% 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....

 (20.48%), 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...

 (20.02%) 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...

 (14.3%). In the federal election, a total of 144 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 297 registered voters in Sigirino, of which 189 or 63.6% voted. 1 blank ballot was cast, leaving 188 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was 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...

 which received 52 or 27.7% 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 45 or 23.9%), 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 33 or 17.6%) and the SSI (with 28 or 14.9%).

In the Consiglio di Stato election, The most popular party was the LEGA which received 63 or 33.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 42 or 22.2%), the PPD (with 33 or 17.5%) and the SSI (with 22 or 11.6%).

Economy

, Sigirino had an unemployment rate of 3.31%. , there were people employed in the primary economic sector and about businesses involved in this sector. 57 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 5 businesses in this sector. 42 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 6 businesses in this sector. There were 197 residents of the village who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 35.5% of the workforce.

, there were 106 workers who commuted into the village and 159 workers who commuted away. The village is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.5 workers leaving the village for every one entering. About 17.9% of the workforce coming into Sigirino are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 7.1% used public transportation to get to work, and 62.9% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 266 or 68.2% were Roman Catholic, while 33 or 8.5% 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 32 individuals (or about 8.21% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 59 individuals (or about 15.13% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Sigirino about 62.4% 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 Sigirino there were a total of 96 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 Sigirino there were 6 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the village, 31 students attended the standard primary schools and 3 students 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 24 students in the two year middle school, while 6 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 8 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 36 students from Sigirino who attended schools outside the village.
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