Brissago Parish, Ticino, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Brissago 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, Brissago has an area of 17.79 square kilometers (6.87 sq mi). The municipality is situated in the Locarno district, on the shores of Lake Maggiore. It is bordered by the Valmara and Valle di Creda and includes three mountainous shoreline sections. The three sections are separated by the Valli di Ponte and the Sacro Monte. Brissago lies on the road to Ascona along the Italian border. It includes: The 13 sections are dispersed in the hills on roads leading to Mount Gridone (2,188 m (7,178 ft)). On the opposite side of Mount Gridone is the Centovalli.
 * the village of Brissago
 * the 13 sections of:
 * Caccio
 * Cadogno
 * Cartogna
 * Gadero
 * Incella
 * Madonna di Ponte
 * Nevedone
 * Noveledo
 * Piazza
 * Piodina
 * Porta
 * Rossorino
 * Tecetto
 * the two islands Isola Grande and Sant'Apollinare

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 7.0% - agricultural purposes
 * 66.6% - forested
 * 7.0% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 1.8% - rivers or lakes
 * 19.2% - unproductive land

History
The first mention of Brissago was in 1244 as als Buscho de Quarinobis. Until 1934, it was known as Bosco-Vallemaggia, and in German as Gurin.

The population history of Brissago is: 1597 - 300 inhabitants 1801 - 235 inhabitants 1850 - 382 inhabitants 1900 - 266 inhabitants 1950 - 188 inhabitants 1990 - 58 inhabitants 2000 - 71 inhabitants 2010 - 46 inhabitants 2020 - 52 inhabitants

Bosco/Gurin is the only municipality in Ticino where German is a co-official language. The village began during Walser migration in the 13th century, with the first settlers arriving in 1244. In 1244, they leased the surrounding alpine pastures from aristocratic families from Locarno and from the villagers from Losone; later the land became their property. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Walser colony lived almost in isolation. The rare interactions with the outside world took place more with the Val Formazza or the Valais. The geographic isolation reinforced the village's independent living habits and traditions. The town was recurringly buried by avalanches. The parish church of St. James and St. Christopher was consecrated in 1253, probably at the same time that the village divided from the parish of Cevio. It was modified and rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries. The chapel of Madonna della Neve dates from the early 18th century.

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

The 1808 Ticino census for Brissago can be accessed here.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Brissago 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)