Chiasso
Encyclopedia
Chiasso (ˈkjasso, or commonly [ˈkjaːso]; in Lombard: Ciass [tʃas]) is a municipality
in the district of Mendrisio
in the canton
of Ticino
in Switzerland
.
As the southernmost
of Switzerland's municipalities, Chiasso is located at the border with Italy
, in front of Ponte Chiasso (a Frazione
of Como
, Italy). The municipality of Chiasso includes the villages of Boffalora, Pedrinate
and Seseglio.
In 2007, the three mayors of Chiasso, Vacallo
and Morbio Inferiore
decided to unite into one commune. The new united commune with a population of approximately 15,300 people over a territory of 9.2 km², was rejected by the population in November 2007.
Because of the presence of the nearby Italian border and customs office, and later as part of an access route to the St. Gotthard's Tunnel
, the two villages merged and grew.
Chiasso's history and development were strongly influenced by its unique location. During its early history, a castle was built in Chiasso as part of the extended fortifications of the city of Como. It was a suburb of Como, until 1416 when it was incorporated in the Pieve
of Balerna
and given to the Rusca family to manage. The houses in the village center were owned by the Albrici family and were granted imperial
privileges. Chiasso had become an independent community sometime before 1552. In the contemporary documents, it is mentioned as Clasio tabernarum (Chaisso of taverns) referring to its function as a transit point.
Boffalora is mentioned in 1536 as a municipality and remained its independence until the second half of the 17th Century. They became a single parish
either in 1657 or 1677.
Chiasso's church belonged to the Pieve of Zezio (in Como), from which it withdrew in the 16th Century. In 1888, Boffalora separated from the parish. It became the seat of an archpriest
in 1928. The Church of San Vitale, was first mentioned in 1227, and was rebuilt in 1934.
In the 15th Century Chaisso was known for its horse market. However, the market ended after the invasion of the Swiss Confederation
and the march through Chiasso in the War of the League of Cambrai
in 1510. In the late 16th Century Chiasso had a small population when compared to other municipalities of the Mendrisiotto valley. The village survived through its role as a border town (providing warehouses and inns) along with income from agriculture and paper mills. In the 19th Century, tobacco and silk factories moved into the town.
The construction of the railway along with income from customs induced an economic and demographic recovery in Chiasso. In 1874 the railway line Lugano
-Chiasso opened, followed in 1876 by one running to Como. Modernly, a large part of the town is devoted to Chiasso's international railway station
and related customs (although some of the border-control responsibilities have been moved to Como, in Italy).
There is also a sizeable customs area for traffic passing by road and motorway (both commercial and non-commercial vehicles).
Chiasso offers also a lot of customs related services. A considerable source of revenue for the town is derived from Italians crossing the border to purchase certain goods more cheaply in Switzerland, particularly cigarettes and petrol. It also functions as a banking centre for Italian clients wishing to keep money within the Swiss banking system.
Starting in 1950, Chiasso became an important financial center and the economic center of the Mendrisio region, resulting in a rapid population increase. Since the 1980s, however, population and jobs, especially those in the services sector have shifted into neighboring communities.
about this issue is scheduled on 24 September 2006.
ruins near the village church indicate a much longer history. It was mentioned in 1335 as part of the village cooperative of Seseglio. The village church of S. Stefano is first mentioned in 1545 and was part of the Balerna parish until the 17th century.
Pedrinate municipality was aggregated in the Chiasso municipality in 1975, along with Seseglio. It is located above Chiasso, on the Penz hill. Pedrinate is the most southern village of Switzerland.
Around Pedrinate there are some vineyard
s.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.7% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 18.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 14.4%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.7%. Out of the forested land, 47.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 7.9% is used for growing crops, while 4.3% is used for orchards or vine crops and 18.4% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Mendrisio district, on the Italian border. Since Pedrinate merged into Chiasso in 1976, it has been the most southerly municipality in Switzerland.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Argent lion passant holding a letter C gules standing on a carriage entrance azure. The carriage entrance refers to Chiasso location of the ancient road coming from Como and giving access to several places from Chiasso."
Most of the population speaks Italian
(91.3%), with German being second most common (2.5%) and Albanian
being third (1.2%). Of the Swiss national languages , 196 speak German
, 71 people speak French
, 7,048 people speak Italian, and 4 people speak Romansh. The remainder (401 people) speak another language.
, the gender distribution of the population was 47.0% male and 53.0% female. The population was made up of 2,226 Swiss men (28.7% of the population), and 1,420 (18.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 2,774 Swiss women (35.7%), and 1,343 (17.3%) non-Swiss women.
In there were 42 live births to Swiss citizens and 26 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 63 deaths of Swiss citizens and 27 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 21 while the foreign population decreased by 1. There was 1 Swiss man who immigrated back to Switzerland and 3 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 104 non-Swiss men and 94 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 47 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 108 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.8%.
The age distribution, , in Chiasso is; 567 children or 7.3% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 586 teenagers or 7.5% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 790 people or 10.2% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,118 people or 14.4% are between 30 and 39, 1,215 people or 15.7% are between 40 and 49, and 1,008 people or 13.0% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 996 people or 12.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 841 people or 10.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 642 people or 8.3% who are over 80.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.62 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 14% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 3,774 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2. persons per household. there were 313 single family homes (or 33.3% of the total) out of a total of 940 inhabited buildings. There were 336 multi-family buildings (35.7%), along with 193 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (20.5%) and 98 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (10.4%). Of the single family homes 11 were built before 1919, while 38 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (111) were built between 1919 and 1945.
there were 4,498 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 1,692. There were 316 single room apartments and 493 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 3,763 apartments (83.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 181 apartments (4.0%) were seasonally occupied and 554 apartments (12.3%) were empty. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 3.5%. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.4 new units per 1000 residents.
the average price to rent an average apartment in Chiasso was 873.89 Swiss franc
s (CHF) per month (US$700, £390, €560 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one room apartment was 491.07 CHF (US$390, £220, €310), a two room apartment was about 646.96 CHF (US$520, £290, €410), a three room apartment was about 806.94 CHF (US$650, £360, €520) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1544.67 CHF (US$1240, £700, €990). The average apartment price in Chiasso was 78.3% of the national average of 1116 CHF.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the FDP
which received 29.77% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
(20.42%), the Ticino League
(18.12%) and the CVP
(16.54%). In the federal election, a total of 2,050 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 45.6%.
In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 4,447 registered voters in Chiasso, of which 2,623 or 59.0% voted. 41 blank ballots and 14 null ballots were cast, leaving 2,568 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT
which received 698 or 27.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PS
(with 486 or 18.9%), the SSI (with 456 or 17.8%) and the LEGA
(with 406 or 15.8%).
In the Consiglio di Stato election, 30 blank ballots and 21 null ballots were cast, leaving 2,572 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT which received 668 or 26.0% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PS (with 531 or 20.6%), the LEGA (with 530 or 20.6%) and the SSI (with 417 or 16.2%).
the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 6,265. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 15, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 931, of which 402 or (43.2%) were in manufacturing and 473 (50.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 5,319. In the tertiary sector; 810 or 15.2% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 1,550 or 29.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 208 or 3.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 84 or 1.6% were in the information industry, 706 or 13.3% were the insurance or financial industry, 684 or 12.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 132 or 2.5% were in education and 365 or 6.9% were in health care.
, there were 6,532 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,667 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 3.9 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 21.4% of the workforce coming into Chiasso are coming from outside Switzerland, while 4.0% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 9.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 47.8% used a private car.
, there were 4 hotels in Chiasso with a total of 128 rooms and 281 beds.
; the main route to St. Gotthard's Tunnel, which connects the Southern Alps and Italy with the northern part of Switzerland and Germany
.
The A2 Swiss motorway begins at Chiasso. Long traffic queues frequently occur on the motorway around the border where vehicles are being checked for contraband.
. There are 754 individuals (or about 9.77% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 501 individuals (or about 6.49% of the population) did not answer the question.
).
In Chiasso there were a total of 999 students . The Ticino education system
provides up to three years of non-mandatory kindergarten
and in Chiasso there were 173 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 300 students attended the standard primary schools and 20 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 249 students in the two year middle school and 10 in their pre-apprenticeship, while 78 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 57 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 98 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 14 students in the professional program.
, there were 265 students in Chiasso who came from another municipality, while 318 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
The very first encounter between A.C. Milan
and Internazionale Milano took place in Chiasso.
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 Mendrisio
Mendrisio (district)
The district of Mendrisio is the southernmost district of canton of Ticino and of Switzerland. To its north lies the district of Lugano. It is surrounded on the other three sides by Italy: to the east and south by the province of Como, and to the west by the province of Varese...
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....
.
As the southernmost
Extreme points of Switzerland
-Elevation:See also:*List of highest points of the cantons of Switzerland*List of tallest structures in Switzerland-Latitude and longitude:See also: Geographical centre of Switzerland-See also:*Extreme points of Earth*Geography of Switzerland...
of Switzerland's municipalities, Chiasso is located at the border with Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in front of Ponte Chiasso (a Frazione
Frazione
A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...
of Como
Como
Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....
, Italy). The municipality of Chiasso includes the villages of Boffalora, Pedrinate
Pedrinate
Pedrinate is a village and former municipality in Switzerland.Pedrinate municipality was aggregated in the Chiasso municipality in 1975, along with Seseglio....
and Seseglio.
In 2007, the three mayors of Chiasso, Vacallo
Vacallo
Vacallo is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It is the first village of the Valle di Muggio.-History:...
and Morbio Inferiore
Morbio Inferiore
Morbio Inferiore is a municipality in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland in the hills above Chiasso. It is located in the district of Mendrisio.-History:...
decided to unite into one commune. The new united commune with a population of approximately 15,300 people over a territory of 9.2 km², was rejected by the population in November 2007.
Chiasso (and Boffalora)
Historically, Chiasso and Boffalora were two distinct agricultural villages.Because of the presence of the nearby Italian border and customs office, and later as part of an access route to the St. Gotthard's Tunnel
Gotthardbahn
Gotthardbahn was the name of a private Swiss railway company which operated the railway line from Immensee to Chiasso . Nowadays this term usually does not refer to that company, but to the railway line itself...
, the two villages merged and grew.
Chiasso's history and development were strongly influenced by its unique location. During its early history, a castle was built in Chiasso as part of the extended fortifications of the city of Como. It was a suburb of Como, until 1416 when it was incorporated in the Pieve
Pieve
In the Middle Ages, a pieve was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended.The Italian word pieve is descended from Latin plebs which, after the expansion of Christianity in Italy, was applied to the community of baptized people...
of Balerna
Balerna
Balerna is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:Balerna is first mentioned in 1115 as Barerna. In 844 and 865, the monastery of S. Ambrogio in Milan purchased land in the concilium of Castel S. Pietro which would have included Balerna. In the...
and given to the Rusca family to manage. The houses in the village center were owned by the Albrici family and were granted imperial
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
privileges. Chiasso had become an independent community sometime before 1552. In the contemporary documents, it is mentioned as Clasio tabernarum (Chaisso of taverns) referring to its function as a transit point.
Boffalora is mentioned in 1536 as a municipality and remained its independence until the second half of the 17th Century. They became a single 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...
either in 1657 or 1677.
Chiasso's church belonged to the Pieve of Zezio (in Como), from which it withdrew in the 16th Century. In 1888, Boffalora separated from the parish. It became the seat of an archpriest
Archpriest
An archpriest is a priest with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches, although it may be used in the Latin rite of the Roman Catholic Church instead of dean or vicar forane.In the 16th and 17th centuries, during...
in 1928. The Church of San Vitale, was first mentioned in 1227, and was rebuilt in 1934.
In the 15th Century Chaisso was known for its horse market. However, the market ended after the invasion of the Swiss Confederation
Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....
and the march through Chiasso in the War of the League of Cambrai
War of the League of Cambrai
The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and by several other names, was a major conflict in the Italian Wars...
in 1510. In the late 16th Century Chiasso had a small population when compared to other municipalities of the Mendrisiotto valley. The village survived through its role as a border town (providing warehouses and inns) along with income from agriculture and paper mills. In the 19th Century, tobacco and silk factories moved into the town.
The construction of the railway along with income from customs induced an economic and demographic recovery in Chiasso. In 1874 the railway line Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
-Chiasso opened, followed in 1876 by one running to Como. Modernly, a large part of the town is devoted to Chiasso's international railway station
Chiasso railway station
Chiasso railway station is a station owned by the Swiss Federal Railways . It serves the city of Chiasso, in the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland, and is also a border station between Switzerland and Italy....
and related customs (although some of the border-control responsibilities have been moved to Como, in Italy).
There is also a sizeable customs area for traffic passing by road and motorway (both commercial and non-commercial vehicles).
Chiasso offers also a lot of customs related services. A considerable source of revenue for the town is derived from Italians crossing the border to purchase certain goods more cheaply in Switzerland, particularly cigarettes and petrol. It also functions as a banking centre for Italian clients wishing to keep money within the Swiss banking system.
Starting in 1950, Chiasso became an important financial center and the economic center of the Mendrisio region, resulting in a rapid population increase. Since the 1980s, however, population and jobs, especially those in the services sector have shifted into neighboring communities.
The pedestrian zone
In the period of years from 2001 to 2005 a new pedestrian zone has been created, from customs to the municipality building. An enlargement of this zone has been put on the agenda by the local administration, but a referendumReferendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
about this issue is scheduled on 24 September 2006.
Pedrinate
Pedrinate was first mentioned in 1291 as Pedrenate, but RomanSwitzerland 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...
ruins near the village church indicate a much longer history. It was mentioned in 1335 as part of the village cooperative of Seseglio. The village church of S. Stefano is first mentioned in 1545 and was part of the Balerna parish until the 17th century.
Pedrinate municipality was aggregated in the Chiasso municipality in 1975, along with Seseglio. It is located above Chiasso, on the Penz hill. Pedrinate is the most southern village of Switzerland.
Around Pedrinate there are some vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s.
Geography
Chiasso has an area, , of 5.33 square kilometres (2.1 sq mi). Of this area, 1.63 km² (0.629346518505832 sq mi) or 30.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.65 km² (1 sq mi) or 49.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.94 km² (0.749038187669518 sq mi) or 36.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.4% is either rivers or lakes and 0.04 km² (9.9 acre) or 0.8% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.7% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 18.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 14.4%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.7%. Out of the forested land, 47.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 7.9% is used for growing crops, while 4.3% is used for orchards or vine crops and 18.4% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Mendrisio district, on the Italian border. Since Pedrinate merged into Chiasso in 1976, it has been the most southerly municipality in Switzerland.
Coat of arms
The blazonBlazon
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 Argent lion passant holding a letter C gules standing on a carriage entrance azure. The carriage entrance refers to Chiasso location of the ancient road coming from Como and giving access to several places from Chiasso."
Demographics
Chiasso has a population of . , 36.4% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of -2.8%.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...
(91.3%), with German being second most common (2.5%) and Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
being third (1.2%). Of the Swiss national languages , 196 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....
, 71 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...
, 7,048 people speak Italian, and 4 people speak Romansh. The remainder (401 people) speak another language.
, the gender distribution of the population was 47.0% male and 53.0% female. The population was made up of 2,226 Swiss men (28.7% of the population), and 1,420 (18.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 2,774 Swiss women (35.7%), and 1,343 (17.3%) non-Swiss women.
In there were 42 live births to Swiss citizens and 26 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 63 deaths of Swiss citizens and 27 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 21 while the foreign population decreased by 1. There was 1 Swiss man who immigrated back to Switzerland and 3 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 104 non-Swiss men and 94 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 47 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 108 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.8%.
The age distribution, , in Chiasso is; 567 children or 7.3% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 586 teenagers or 7.5% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 790 people or 10.2% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,118 people or 14.4% are between 30 and 39, 1,215 people or 15.7% are between 40 and 49, and 1,008 people or 13.0% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 996 people or 12.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 841 people or 10.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 642 people or 8.3% who are over 80.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.62 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 14% 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 3,774 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2. persons per household. there were 313 single family homes (or 33.3% of the total) out of a total of 940 inhabited buildings. There were 336 multi-family buildings (35.7%), along with 193 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (20.5%) and 98 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (10.4%). Of the single family homes 11 were built before 1919, while 38 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (111) were built between 1919 and 1945.
there were 4,498 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 1,692. There were 316 single room apartments and 493 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 3,763 apartments (83.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 181 apartments (4.0%) were seasonally occupied and 554 apartments (12.3%) were empty. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 3.5%. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.4 new units per 1000 residents.
the average price to rent an average apartment in Chiasso was 873.89 Swiss franc
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
s (CHF) per month (US$700, £390, €560 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one room apartment was 491.07 CHF (US$390, £220, €310), a two room apartment was about 646.96 CHF (US$520, £290, €410), a three room apartment was about 806.94 CHF (US$650, £360, €520) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1544.67 CHF (US$1240, £700, €990). The average apartment price in Chiasso was 78.3% of the national average of 1116 CHF.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Sights
The entire village of Chiasso is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage SitesInventory 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 electionSwiss 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 29.77% 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....
(20.42%), 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...
(18.12%) and 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...
(16.54%). In the federal election, a total of 2,050 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 45.6%.
In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 4,447 registered voters in Chiasso, of which 2,623 or 59.0% voted. 41 blank ballots and 14 null ballots were cast, leaving 2,568 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 698 or 27.2% 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 486 or 18.9%), the SSI (with 456 or 17.8%) and 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...
(with 406 or 15.8%).
In the Consiglio di Stato election, 30 blank ballots and 21 null ballots were cast, leaving 2,572 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT which received 668 or 26.0% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PS (with 531 or 20.6%), the LEGA (with 530 or 20.6%) and the SSI (with 417 or 16.2%).
Economy
, Chiasso had an unemployment rate of 7.01%. , there were 42 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 19 businesses involved in this sector. 880 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 69 businesses in this sector. 5,549 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 779 businesses in this sector. There were 3,410 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.3% of the workforce.the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 6,265. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 15, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 931, of which 402 or (43.2%) were in manufacturing and 473 (50.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 5,319. In the tertiary sector; 810 or 15.2% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 1,550 or 29.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 208 or 3.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 84 or 1.6% were in the information industry, 706 or 13.3% were the insurance or financial industry, 684 or 12.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 132 or 2.5% were in education and 365 or 6.9% were in health care.
, there were 6,532 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,667 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 3.9 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 21.4% of the workforce coming into Chiasso are coming from outside Switzerland, while 4.0% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 9.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 47.8% used a private car.
, there were 4 hotels in Chiasso with a total of 128 rooms and 281 beds.
Traffic
The fortune of Chiasso is mostly linked to its location on the A2A2 (Switzerland)
The A2 is a motorway in Switzerland. It forms Switzerland's main north-south axis from Basel to Chiasso, meandering with a slight drift toward the east....
; the main route to St. Gotthard's Tunnel, which connects the Southern Alps and Italy with the northern part of Switzerland and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
The A2 Swiss motorway begins at Chiasso. Long traffic queues frequently occur on the motorway around the border where vehicles are being checked for contraband.
Religion
From the , 6,235 or 80.8% were Roman Catholic, while 230 or 3.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed ChurchSwiss 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 754 individuals (or about 9.77% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 501 individuals (or about 6.49% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Chiasso about 58.1% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a FachhochschuleFachhochschule
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 Chiasso there were a total of 999 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 Chiasso there were 173 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 300 students attended the standard primary schools and 20 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 249 students in the two year middle school and 10 in their pre-apprenticeship, while 78 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 57 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 98 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 14 students in the professional program.
, there were 265 students in Chiasso who came from another municipality, while 318 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Sport
- FootballFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
: FC ChiassoFC ChiassoFC Chiasso is a Swiss football club based in Chiasso. It was founded in 1905.Chiasso also played in the Italian first league between 1914 and 1923.... - Stadio comunaleStadio Comunale (Chiasso)Stadio Comunale is a football stadium in Chiasso, Ticino, Switzerland. It is the home ground of FC Chiasso and has a capacity of 11,160. The stadium has 1,168 seats....
- Ice hockeyIce hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
: HC Chiasso - Road bicycle racingRoad bicycle racingRoad bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
: GP Chiasso (UCI Europe Tour)
The very first encounter between A.C. Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
and Internazionale Milano took place in Chiasso.