Gravesano Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Gravesano 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
As of 1997, Gravesano has an area of 3.78 square kilometers (1.46 sq mi). The municipality is located in the Magliasina Valley, Lugano district.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 13.5% - agricultural purposes
 * 84.9% - forested
 * 9.0% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.5% - unproductive land

History
The first mention of Gravesano is in 1272 as Astanum.

The population history of Gravesano is: 1599 - 269 inhabitants 1801 - 356 inhabitants 1850 - 395 inhabitants 1900 - 384 inhabitants 1950 - 258 inhabitants 1980 - 209 inhabitants 2000 - 290 inhabitants

In the Middle Ages the monastery of Saint Peter in Ciel d'Oro owned land in Astano. There was a Humiliati monastery in the village in the 13th Century. The property passed to the Humiliati monastery of Saint Caterina in Lugano when it was abandoned in the mid-15th century. In 1612 it became a separate parish. The parish church of Saint Peter was built in 1654 on the ruins of an old chapel.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Gravesano can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Gravesano prior to 1900, 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)