Claro, Ticino
Encyclopedia
Claro is a municipality
in the district of Riviera
in the canton
of Ticino
in Switzerland
.
The area around Claro was inhabited prehistorically. During the Middle Ages
, its location along the trade routes in the Riviera valley and near several other mountain valleys helped Claro to develop. Under the Lombards
, Claro was probably a military and administrative center of medium importance. In the early 12th Century, it was a fief granted to a vassal of lower rank of the Archbishop of Milan
. In 1120 these assets were transferred to the Cathedral of Milan. A noble family from Locarno
settled in the nearby castle of Gnosca
, and began to expand their influence in Claro. About 1200 the Cortauro building was built, presumably as the seat of a tax district of the Cathedral. The district, known as Castaldia, collected tithe
s, interest and taxes from the towns around Bellinzona
and the upper valleys. In the 14th Century, the Castaldia was purchased by a private individual, and in the 15th Century it went to the Vicinanza
of Claro.
The Castle of the Magoria, was built by a Capitanei from Locarno
in Scubiago village around the end of the 13th Century. In the mid-15th Century, the Magoria family line in Bellinzona inherited the Locarno line's possessions in Claro. With a decrease in Milan's power in the Riviera valley, Claro acquired a Statute of Autonomy and became somewhat self governing. The Statute included some of the other towns in the Riviera and placed Claro, Cresciano and Osogna under a governor appointed by the Duke of Milan. In 1466 the village rights and laws were confirmed.
Following the Swiss Confederation
invasion, in 1499 it became part of the bailiwick
of Riviera, which was shared between Uri
, Schwyz
, and Nidwalden
. It remained part of the bailiwick until 1798.
In the municipal area around Claro there are many churches. The two parish church
es in the municipality are SS Nazaro e Celso in Scubiago (mentioned in the 13th century) and SS Sebastiano e Rocco (1567). Some of the other churches include; the church of S. Lorenzo in Cassero (mentioned in 13th century), S. Ambrogio in Brogo (first mentioned in 1404) and SS Maria e Satiro (mentioned in 1504). Above the village, St. Mary's Church was built. It was first occupied during the 13th century. In 1490, the Benedictine
monastery
of Santa Maria Assunta was built next to the church. Today, the monastery has about 15-20 nuns. The founder of Santa Maria Assunta was a nun named Scolastica de Vincemalis from the monastery of San Quirico (also called Bocchetto) in Milan. The monastery was soon elevated to an abbey
, and worked to provide an education for young girls. The oldest list of female students dates from the years 1560/61. In the course of the 17th Century, the building was expanded. A wood-carved Pietà
from the 15th Century can be seen in the side chapel of the church. In 1559, by a papal decree, some of the nuns were charged with rebuilding the dilapidated monastery in Seedorf
in Uri.
Since 14th Century, the settlement of Torrazza has been the local center for the storage and transportation of goods. Most of the villagers in Claro and surrounding settlements, however, lived from agriculture and seasonal migrations of livestock
. Around the end of the 19th Century there were granite
quarries in the village. The railway station was built in 1874. In recent decades, the area witnessed enormous changes, as many new houses were built on the former agricultural land. This development is due to the favorable geographic location near Bellinzona. Industrial plants developed along the valley floor. After the construction of the A2 motorway, the village was along the north-south traffic axis. By the early 1980s, there was modest tourism industry with two motels in the municipality.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.6%. Out of the forested land, 66.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.9% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 7.5% is used for growing crops and 3.3% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 4.9% is unproductive vegetation and 2.1% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Riviera district. It consists of the village of Claro and a number of scattered, small settlements along the left side of the Riviera valley.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Argent a crown rising croma coupeaux vert.
(1,917 or 88.8%), with German
being second most common (127 or 5.9%) and Serbo-Croatian
being third (35 or 1.6%). There are 23 people who speak French
and 1 people who speak Romansh.
, the gender distribution of the population was 49.1% male and 50.9% female. The population was made up of 1,010 Swiss men (39.3% of the population), and 251 (9.8%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,134 Swiss women (44.1%), and 175 (6.8%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 751 or about 34.8% were born in Claro and lived there in 2000. There were 700 or 32.4% who were born in the same canton, while 247 or 11.4% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 387 or 17.9% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 14 live births to Swiss citizens and 3 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 17 deaths of Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 3 while the foreign population increased by 1. There were 2 Swiss men and 4 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 6 non-Swiss men who immigrated from another country to Switzerland and 4 non-Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 33 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 9 people. This represents a population growth rate of 1.7%.
The age distribution, , in Claro is; 313 children or 12.2% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 338 teenagers or 13.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 261 people or 10.2% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 360 people or 14.0% are between 30 and 39, 477 people or 18.6% are between 40 and 49, and 331 people or 12.9% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 234 people or 9.1% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 154 people or 6.0% are between 70 and 79, there are 102 people or 4.0% who are over 80.
, there were 955 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 990 married individuals, 118 widows or widowers and 96 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.63 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 58.3% 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 797 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 202 households that consist of only one person and 50 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 803 households that answered this question, 25.2% were households made up of just one person and 15 were adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 188 married couples without children, 325 married couples with children There were 47 single parents with a child or children. There were 20 households that were made up unrelated people and 6 households that were made some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 752 single family homes (or 83.6% of the total) out of a total of 899 inhabited buildings. There were 124 multi-family buildings (13.8%), along with 8 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (0.9%) and 15 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (1.7%). Of the single family homes 23 were built before 1919, while 98 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (212) were built between 1946 and 1960.
there were 1,133 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 425. There were 66 single room apartments and 273 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 796 apartments (70.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 318 apartments (28.1%) were seasonally occupied and 19 apartments (1.7%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.2 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.08%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the FDP
which received 26% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP
(25.59%), the SP
(18.89%) and the Ticino League
(15.4%). In the federal election, a total of 734 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 47.0%.
In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 1,590 registered voters in Claro, of which 1,050 or 66.0% voted. 18 blank ballots and 3 null ballots were cast, leaving 1,029 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT
which received 228 or 22.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PPD
+GenGiova (with 201 or 19.5%), the SSI (with 186 or 18.1%) and the LEGA
(with 164 or 15.9%).
In the Consiglio di Stato election, 7 blank ballots and 3 null ballots were cast, leaving 1,041 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the LEGA which received 229 or 22.0% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 210 or 20.2%), the PPD (with 209 or 20.1%) and the PS (with 186 or 17.9%).
the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 318. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 18, of which 16 were in agriculture and 2 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 90, of which 49 or (54.4%) were in manufacturing and 41 (45.6%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 210. In the tertiary sector; 20 or 9.5% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 14 or 6.7% were in the movement and storage of goods, 16 or 7.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 1.0% were in the information industry, 4 or 1.9% were the insurance or financial industry, 8 or 3.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 16 or 7.6% were in education and 91 or 43.3% were in health care.
, there were 205 workers who commuted into the municipality and 699 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.4 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 3.4% of the workforce coming into Claro are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 6.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 72.1% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 14 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.65% of the population), and there were 55 individuals (or about 2.55% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Jewish
, and 17 (or about 0.79% of the population) who were Islam
ic. 183 (or about 8.48% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 95 individuals (or about 4.40% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 195 who completed tertiary schooling, 58.5% were Swiss men, 29.2% were Swiss women, 8.2% were non-Swiss men and 4.1% were non-Swiss women.
In Claro there were a total of 510 students . The Ticino education system
provides up to three years of non-mandatory kindergarten
and in Claro there were 73 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 147 students attended the standard primary schools and 4 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 133 students in the two year middle school, while 65 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 29 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 52 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 7 students in the professional program.
, there were 3 students in Claro who came from another municipality, while 154 residents attended schools outside the 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 Riviera
Riviera (district)
The district of Riviera is a district of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It has a population of . The capital of the district is Biasca.-Geography:...
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....
.
History
Claro is first mentioned in 1120 as locus Clari.The area around Claro was inhabited prehistorically. During 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...
, its location along the trade routes in the Riviera valley and near several other mountain valleys helped Claro to develop. Under the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
, Claro was probably a military and administrative center of medium importance. In the early 12th Century, it was a fief granted to a vassal of lower rank of the Archbishop of Milan
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan
The Archdiocese of Milan is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Italy. It has long maintained its own rite: the Ambrosian rite. It is led by the Archbishop of Milan who serves as metropolitan to the dioceses of Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Crema, Cremona, Lodi, Mantova, Pavia, and Vigevano.The...
. In 1120 these assets were transferred to the Cathedral of Milan. A noble family from Locarno
Locarno
Locarno is the capital of the Locarno district, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore in the Swiss canton of Ticino, close to Ascona at the foot of the Alps. It has a population of about 15,000...
settled in the nearby castle of Gnosca
Gnosca
Gnosca is a municipality in the district of Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:Gnosca is first mentioned in 1198 as Niosca in the records of Como and the cathedral of Milan. While it is likely that there were earlier settlements, nothing is known about them. An arbitration...
, and began to expand their influence in Claro. About 1200 the Cortauro building was built, presumably as the seat of a tax district of the Cathedral. The district, known as Castaldia, collected tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s, interest and taxes from the towns around Bellinzona
Bellinzona
Bellinzona is the administrative capital of the canton Ticino in Switzerland. The city is famous for its three castles that have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2000....
and the upper valleys. In the 14th Century, the Castaldia was purchased by a private individual, and in the 15th Century it went to the Vicinanza
Bürgergemeinde
The Bürgergemeinde is a statutory corporation in public law in Switzerland...
of Claro.
The Castle of the Magoria, was built by a Capitanei from Locarno
Locarno
Locarno is the capital of the Locarno district, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore in the Swiss canton of Ticino, close to Ascona at the foot of the Alps. It has a population of about 15,000...
in Scubiago village around the end of the 13th Century. In the mid-15th Century, the Magoria family line in Bellinzona inherited the Locarno line's possessions in Claro. With a decrease in Milan's power in the Riviera valley, Claro acquired a Statute of Autonomy and became somewhat self governing. The Statute included some of the other towns in the Riviera and placed Claro, Cresciano and Osogna under a governor appointed by the Duke of Milan. In 1466 the village rights and laws were confirmed.
Following the Swiss Confederation
Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....
invasion, in 1499 it became part of the bailiwick
Bailiwick
A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...
of Riviera, which was shared between Uri
Canton of Uri
Uri is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and a founding member of the Swiss Confederation. It is located in Central Switzerland. The canton's territory covers the valley of the Reuss River between Lake Lucerne and the St. Gotthard Pass. German is the primary language spoken in Uri...
, Schwyz
Canton of Schwyz
Schwyz is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne in the east and Lake Zurich in the north, centered around and named after the town of Schwyz....
, and Nidwalden
Nidwalden
Nidwalden is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland. The population is 40,287 of which 4,046 are foreigners. The capital is Stans.-History:...
. It remained part of the bailiwick until 1798.
In the municipal area around Claro there are many churches. The two parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
es in the municipality are SS Nazaro e Celso in Scubiago (mentioned in the 13th century) and SS Sebastiano e Rocco (1567). Some of the other churches include; the church of S. Lorenzo in Cassero (mentioned in 13th century), S. Ambrogio in Brogo (first mentioned in 1404) and SS Maria e Satiro (mentioned in 1504). Above the village, St. Mary's Church was built. It was first occupied during the 13th century. In 1490, the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of Santa Maria Assunta was built next to the church. Today, the monastery has about 15-20 nuns. The founder of Santa Maria Assunta was a nun named Scolastica de Vincemalis from the monastery of San Quirico (also called Bocchetto) in Milan. The monastery was soon elevated to an abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
, and worked to provide an education for young girls. The oldest list of female students dates from the years 1560/61. In the course of the 17th Century, the building was expanded. A wood-carved Pietà
Pietà
The Pietà is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most often found in sculpture. As such, it is a particular form of the Lamentation of Christ, a scene from the Passion of Christ found in cycles of the Life of Christ...
from the 15th Century can be seen in the side chapel of the church. In 1559, by a papal decree, some of the nuns were charged with rebuilding the dilapidated monastery in Seedorf
Seedorf, Uri
Seedorf is a municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland.-Geography:Seedorf has an area, , of . Of this area, 19.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 40.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 5.4% is settled and the remainder is non-productive...
in Uri.
Since 14th Century, the settlement of Torrazza has been the local center for the storage and transportation of goods. Most of the villagers in Claro and surrounding settlements, however, lived from agriculture and seasonal migrations of livestock
Transhumance in the Alps
Transhumance in the Alps, or seasonal migration between valley and high pastures is a traditional practice that has shaped much of the landscape in the Alps, as without it, most areas below 2000 m would be forests.While tourism and industry contribute today much to Alpine economy, seasonal...
. Around the end of the 19th Century there were granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
quarries in the village. The railway station was built in 1874. In recent decades, the area witnessed enormous changes, as many new houses were built on the former agricultural land. This development is due to the favorable geographic location near Bellinzona. Industrial plants developed along the valley floor. After the construction of the A2 motorway, the village was along the north-south traffic axis. By the early 1980s, there was modest tourism industry with two motels in the municipality.
Geography
Claro has an area, , of 21.22 square kilometres (8.2 sq mi). Of this area, 2.45 km² (0.945950288551711 sq mi) or 11.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 15.29 km² (5.9 sq mi) or 72.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.24 km² (0.478766676654743 sq mi) or 5.8% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.28 km² (0.10810860440591 sq mi) or 1.3% is either rivers or lakes and 1.48 km² (0.571431194716952 sq mi) or 7.0% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.6%. Out of the forested land, 66.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.9% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 7.5% is used for growing crops and 3.3% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 4.9% is unproductive vegetation and 2.1% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Riviera district. It consists of the village of Claro and a number of scattered, small settlements along the left side of the Riviera valley.
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 a crown rising croma coupeaux vert.
Demographics
Claro has a population of . , 16.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 22.7%. Most of the population speaks Italian languageItalian 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...
(1,917 or 88.8%), 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 (127 or 5.9%) and Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
being third (35 or 1.6%). There are 23 people who 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...
and 1 people who speak Romansh.
, the gender distribution of the population was 49.1% male and 50.9% female. The population was made up of 1,010 Swiss men (39.3% of the population), and 251 (9.8%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,134 Swiss women (44.1%), and 175 (6.8%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 751 or about 34.8% were born in Claro and lived there in 2000. There were 700 or 32.4% who were born in the same canton, while 247 or 11.4% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 387 or 17.9% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 14 live births to Swiss citizens and 3 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 17 deaths of Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 3 while the foreign population increased by 1. There were 2 Swiss men and 4 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 6 non-Swiss men who immigrated from another country to Switzerland and 4 non-Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 33 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 9 people. This represents a population growth rate of 1.7%.
The age distribution, , in Claro is; 313 children or 12.2% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 338 teenagers or 13.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 261 people or 10.2% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 360 people or 14.0% are between 30 and 39, 477 people or 18.6% are between 40 and 49, and 331 people or 12.9% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 234 people or 9.1% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 154 people or 6.0% are between 70 and 79, there are 102 people or 4.0% who are over 80.
, there were 955 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 990 married individuals, 118 widows or widowers and 96 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.63 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 58.3% 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 797 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 202 households that consist of only one person and 50 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 803 households that answered this question, 25.2% were households made up of just one person and 15 were adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 188 married couples without children, 325 married couples with children There were 47 single parents with a child or children. There were 20 households that were made up unrelated people and 6 households that were made some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 752 single family homes (or 83.6% of the total) out of a total of 899 inhabited buildings. There were 124 multi-family buildings (13.8%), along with 8 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (0.9%) and 15 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (1.7%). Of the single family homes 23 were built before 1919, while 98 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (212) were built between 1946 and 1960.
there were 1,133 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 425. There were 66 single room apartments and 273 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 796 apartments (70.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 318 apartments (28.1%) were seasonally occupied and 19 apartments (1.7%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.2 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.08%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
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 26% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were 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...
(25.59%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(18.89%) and 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...
(15.4%). In the federal election, a total of 734 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 47.0%.
In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 1,590 registered voters in Claro, of which 1,050 or 66.0% voted. 18 blank ballots and 3 null ballots were cast, leaving 1,029 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 228 or 22.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; 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 201 or 19.5%), the SSI (with 186 or 18.1%) 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 164 or 15.9%).
In the Consiglio di Stato election, 7 blank ballots and 3 null ballots were cast, leaving 1,041 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the LEGA which received 229 or 22.0% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 210 or 20.2%), the PPD (with 209 or 20.1%) and the PS (with 186 or 17.9%).
Economy
, Claro had an unemployment rate of 2.83%. , there were 28 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 12 businesses involved in this sector. 125 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 24 businesses in this sector. 238 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 49 businesses in this sector. There were 970 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 41.0% of the workforce.the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 318. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 18, of which 16 were in agriculture and 2 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 90, of which 49 or (54.4%) were in manufacturing and 41 (45.6%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 210. In the tertiary sector; 20 or 9.5% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 14 or 6.7% were in the movement and storage of goods, 16 or 7.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 1.0% were in the information industry, 4 or 1.9% were the insurance or financial industry, 8 or 3.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 16 or 7.6% were in education and 91 or 43.3% were in health care.
, there were 205 workers who commuted into the municipality and 699 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.4 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 3.4% of the workforce coming into Claro are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 6.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 72.1% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,720 or 79.7% were Roman Catholic, while 74 or 3.4% 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...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 14 members of an Orthodox church
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
(or about 0.65% of the population), and there were 55 individuals (or about 2.55% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and 17 (or about 0.79% of the population) who were Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic. 183 (or about 8.48% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
or atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, and 95 individuals (or about 4.40% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Claro about 806 or (37.3%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 195 or (9.0%) have completed 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...
). Of the 195 who completed tertiary schooling, 58.5% were Swiss men, 29.2% were Swiss women, 8.2% were non-Swiss men and 4.1% were non-Swiss women.
In Claro there were a total of 510 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 Claro there were 73 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 147 students attended the standard primary schools and 4 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 133 students in the two year middle school, while 65 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 29 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 52 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 7 students in the professional program.
, there were 3 students in Claro who came from another municipality, while 154 residents attended schools outside the municipality.