Astano Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Astano Parish, Ticino, Switzerland, ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, parish census, civil census, family history, area history, and military records.



Geography
Astano has an area, as of 1997, of 3.78 square kilometers (1.46 sq mi). Of this area, 0.51 km2 (0.20 sq mi) or 13.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.21 km2 (1.24 sq mi) or 84.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.34 km2 (0.13 sq mi) or 9.0% is settled (buildings or roads) and 0.02 km2 (4.9 acres) or 0.5% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 6.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.1%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.3%. Out of the forested land, 81.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 6.3% is used for growing crops and 6.6% is used for alpine pastures.[4]

The municipality is located in the Lugano district, in the middle Malcantone Valley.

History
Astano is first mentioned in 1272 as Astanum.[3] The old village center has some architecturally notable buildings, such as the Ca' da Roma. In the Middle Ages the monastery of S. Pietro in Ciel d'Oro owned land in Astano. In the 13th Century, there was a Humiliati monastery in the village. When it was abandoned in the mid-15th century, the property passed to the Humiliati monastery of S. Caterina in Lugano. In 1612 it became a separate parish. The parish church of S. Pietro was built in 1654 on the ruins of an old chapel.

The village produced a number of architects who emigrated to other countries for work, including Domenico Trezzini and members of the De Marchi and Donati families. Traditional agriculture included the use of the Alpe di Monte (alpine pasture) on Monte Rogoria. The gold-bearing strata of the Monte Sceree was mined, starting in the early 19th Century and running until after World War II, when the mine stopped producing. Today is a spa town with good tourist infrastructure and many commuters to the Lugano valley.

Census
(See here for information regarding Ticino census records.)

The 1808 Ticino census for Astano can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Astano prior to 1875, along with any known soprannomi. For more information about soprannomi, click here.

Related sources
The town's website (in Italian) can be found here.

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Ticino

Societies
Società Genealogica della Svizzera Italiana (SGSI)