Lake Lugano
Encyclopedia
Lake Lugano is a glacial lake
in the south-east of Switzerland
, at the border between Switzerland and Italy
. The lake, named after the city of Lugano
, is situated between Lake Como
and Lago Maggiore. It was cited for the first time by Gregory of Tours
with the name Ceresio in 590 AD, a name which is said to have derived from the Latin
word cerasus, meaning cherry
, and refers to the abundance of cherry trees which at one time adorned the shores of the lake. The lake appears in documents in 804 under the name Laco Luanasco.
The lake is 48.7 km2 in size, 63% of which is in Switzerland and 37% in Italy, has an average width of roughly a kilometre, a maximum depth of 288m found in the northern basin and bathing in the lake is allowed at any of the 50 or so bathing establishments located along the Swiss shores. The Italian waters of the lake and the exclave of Campione d'Italia
are considered by Italian law as non-territorial for fiscal purposes and as such enjoy a special tax status as a duty free area, exemption from EU VAT and offer residents other advantageous tax privileges.
In 1848, the dam of Melide was built on a moraine
between Melide
and Bissone
. The A2 motorway
and the Gotthard railways cross the lake there, linking Lugano
to Chiasso
. The dam
separates the northern (27.5 km²) and southern (21.4 km²) basin
s. The lake retention time
of the northern basin (11.9 years) is considerably higher than the southern one (2.3 years) (8.2 years on average).
Well known mountains and tourist destinations on the shores of the lake are Monte Brè
(925m) east, Monte San Salvatore
(912m) west of Lugano and Monte Generoso
(1,701m) on the south-east shore. The World Heritage Site
Monte San Giorgio
(1,097m) is situated south of the lake.
Despite the continued introduction of sewage treatment plants - e.g. in Gandria
, factors such as lake retention time and lake of oxygen and increasing phosphor concentrations means it is unclear if the lake will recover.
The Federal Office for the Environment last published report on Lake Lugano dates from 1995. To summarise that report,
The Swiss/Italian organisation CIPAIS in its most recent published report says:
Considering the results obtained in 2009 it can be affirmed that, notwithstanding
the observed improvement, Lake Lugano is still in a state of high eutrophy, the
highest among Swiss lakes.
The italian environmental group Legambiente in its 2007 study of all Northern Italian Lakes, found Lake Lugano to be the most polluted of all.
all water samples were even beyond the legal limits. At the polluted sites should not be bathed for
health reasons. The bacteria can cause in the worst case, skin infections, diarrhea and vomiting.
According to Legambiente, the only reason swimming was not banned on the Italian Lakes was because the State of Lombardy changed the law. They state that pollution levels in the lakes do not conform to European rulings and the lack of sewage treatment is illegal.
Their 2010 measurements found samples taken at Ponte Tresa, Ostene and Port Ceresio to be "Heavily Polluted" (more than 1,000 UFC/100ml intestinal enterococci and / or greater than E.coli 2000 UFC/100ml).
in the lake (and Lake Maggiore) is regulated by an agreement between Switzerland and Italy of 1986. The current agreement on navigation
dates from 1992. In view of the pollution problems it is unclear whether eating fish from Lake Lugano represents a health hazard.
Places at the lake in Switzerland (CH) and in Italy (I) include (from Lugano, clockwise):
over control of Alpine traffic from 1218 to 1227. As the lake and its shores became progressively incorporated into the Duchy of Milan
they became the subject of political and territorial contention during the 15th century, and Lugano became the lake's main town. The lake definitively ceased to belong to a single sovereign political entity following the establishment of the transalpine bailiwick
s of the Swiss cantons at the beginning of the 16th century. The Italian-Swiss border was fixed in 1752 by the Treaty of Varese, and has since remained virtually unchanged.
, fishing is allowed anywhere, although according to various regulations. Protected species are the bleak
and the white clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes). The bleak is almost extinct here, unlike in Lago Maggiore, and planning is under way for the controlled repopulation of the lake, particularly around Ponte Tresa
.
In 1895 the brook trout
was introduced from Lake Zug, while between 1894 and 1897 the common whitefish
was introduced. Since 1950 attempts have been made to introduce the whitefish Coregonus macrophthalmus
from Lake Neuchâtel
, but it has not established itself effectively.
The Common Roach is present in large numbers and took around ten years to colonise the entire lake, thereby replacing the bleak. Still present are the European chub
, tench
, carp
and a few examples of European perch
, largemouth bass
, zander
and burbot
. Recently the wels catfish
has also been spotted.
, where since the 19th century many fossils have been found dating from the mid Triassic
(around 220 million years ago). The deposits on Monte San Giorgio stretch towards the west into Italian territory and the deposits of Besano
. Fossils dating from the early Jurassic
(around 180 million years ago) have also been found along the southern shores but more towards the east and Osteno.
Glacial lake
A glacial lake is a lake with origins in a melted glacier. Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,000 years ago, glaciers began to retreat. A retreating glacier often left behind large deposits of ice in hollows between drumlins or hills. As the ice age ended, these melted to create...
in the south-east of 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....
, at the border between Switzerland and 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...
. The lake, named after the city of 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...
, is situated between Lake Como
Lake Como
Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 km², making it the third largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore...
and Lago Maggiore. It was cited for the first time by Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours
Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
with the name Ceresio in 590 AD, a name which is said to have derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word cerasus, meaning cherry
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
, and refers to the abundance of cherry trees which at one time adorned the shores of the lake. The lake appears in documents in 804 under the name Laco Luanasco.
The lake is 48.7 km2 in size, 63% of which is in Switzerland and 37% in Italy, has an average width of roughly a kilometre, a maximum depth of 288m found in the northern basin and bathing in the lake is allowed at any of the 50 or so bathing establishments located along the Swiss shores. The Italian waters of the lake and the exclave of Campione d'Italia
Campione d'Italia
Campione d'Italia is an Italian comune of the Province of Como in the Lombardy region, occupying an enclave within the Swiss canton of Ticino, separated from the rest of Italy by Lake Lugano and mountains...
are considered by Italian law as non-territorial for fiscal purposes and as such enjoy a special tax status as a duty free area, exemption from EU VAT and offer residents other advantageous tax privileges.
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
between Melide
Melide, Switzerland
Melide is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The village lies very close to the mountain Monte San Salvatore and is directly on the Lake of Lugano...
and Bissone
Bissone
Bissone is a municipality in the district of Lugano, in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:Bissone is first mentioned in 735 and again in 854 as Blixuni. In German it was known as Byssen, though that name is no longer used....
. The A2 motorway
A2 (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....
and the Gotthard railways cross the lake there, linking 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...
to Chiasso
Chiasso
Chiasso 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...
. The dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
separates the northern (27.5 km²) and southern (21.4 km²) basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
s. The lake retention time
Lake retention time
Lake retention time is a calculated quantity expressing the mean time that water spends in a particular lake. At its simplest this figure is the result of dividing the lake volume by the flow in or out of the lake...
of the northern basin (11.9 years) is considerably higher than the southern one (2.3 years) (8.2 years on average).
Well known mountains and tourist destinations on the shores of the lake are Monte Brè
Monte Brè
Monte Brè is a small mountain east of Lugano on the flank of Monte Boglia with a view of the bay of Lugano and the Pennine Alps and the Bernese Alps...
(925m) east, Monte San Salvatore
Monte San Salvatore
The Monte San Salvatore is a mountain in the Lepontine Alps above Lake Lugano and the city of Lugano in Switzerland.-External links:*...
(912m) west of Lugano and Monte Generoso
Monte Generoso
The Monte Generoso is a mountain in Switzerland, located in the Lepontine Alps,between Lake Lugano and Lake Como. The western and southern flanks of the mountain lie in the Swiss canton of Ticino, whilst the north-eastern flanks are in the Italian region of Lombardy...
(1,701m) on the south-east shore. The World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
Monte San Giorgio
Monte San Giorgio
Monte San Giorgio is a wooded mountain located in the south of canton Ticino in Switzerland. Monte San Giorgio became a UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2003, because it "is the single best known record of marine life in the Triassic period, and records important remains of life on land as well."...
(1,097m) is situated south of the lake.
Pollution
Pollution has long been a problem in Lake Lugano. In the 1960s and 1970s it was officially forbidden to bathe in the lakeDespite the continued introduction of sewage treatment plants - e.g. in Gandria
Gandria
Gandria is a small village on the shore of Lake Lugano in Switzerland. The historically protected center , which is not accessible by car, attracts visitors from all over the world...
, factors such as lake retention time and lake of oxygen and increasing phosphor concentrations means it is unclear if the lake will recover.
The Federal Office for the Environment last published report on Lake Lugano dates from 1995. To summarise that report,
- at that time measurements indicated some improvement, but this was unlikely to continue at the same pace
- there were almost permanent polluted layers at the bottom of the very deep lake.
- oxygen was scarce and could not be found below 100m depth
- as a result phosphor levels were increasing at this depth
- phosphor levels in the northern basin were 6 and in the southern basin 2 times "too high".
- will take many 10s of years to clean
- the Lake could be said to be "Chronically Sick".
- in the italian part of the lake only 20% of the population were connected to sewage treatment plants with phosphor filters (not that all swiss areas were connected either).
The Swiss/Italian organisation CIPAIS in its most recent published report says:
Considering the results obtained in 2009 it can be affirmed that, notwithstanding
the observed improvement, Lake Lugano is still in a state of high eutrophy, the
highest among Swiss lakes.
The italian environmental group Legambiente in its 2007 study of all Northern Italian Lakes, found Lake Lugano to be the most polluted of all.
all water samples were even beyond the legal limits. At the polluted sites should not be bathed for
health reasons. The bacteria can cause in the worst case, skin infections, diarrhea and vomiting.
According to Legambiente, the only reason swimming was not banned on the Italian Lakes was because the State of Lombardy changed the law. They state that pollution levels in the lakes do not conform to European rulings and the lack of sewage treatment is illegal.
Their 2010 measurements found samples taken at Ponte Tresa, Ostene and Port Ceresio to be "Heavily Polluted" (more than 1,000 UFC/100ml intestinal enterococci and / or greater than E.coli 2000 UFC/100ml).
Fishery
FisheryFishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
in the lake (and Lake Maggiore) is regulated by an agreement between Switzerland and Italy of 1986. The current agreement on navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
dates from 1992. In view of the pollution problems it is unclear whether eating fish from Lake Lugano represents a health hazard.
Places at the lake in Switzerland (CH) and in Italy (I) include (from Lugano, clockwise):
|
|
History
The first certain testimony of a political body governing the shores of the lake is from 818 AD. Occupying an area of strategic importance, the lake was then part of the feudal dominion of the County of Sperio. Around 1000 AD, it came under the control of the Bishop of Como. The region was the site of the war between Como and MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
over control of Alpine traffic from 1218 to 1227. As the lake and its shores became progressively incorporated into the Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
they became the subject of political and territorial contention during the 15th century, and Lugano became the lake's main town. The lake definitively ceased to belong to a single sovereign political entity following the establishment of the transalpine 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...
s of the Swiss cantons at the beginning of the 16th century. The Italian-Swiss border was fixed in 1752 by the Treaty of Varese, and has since remained virtually unchanged.
Fauna
The lake is full of fish. Apart from a few protected areas, such as the mouth of the River Cuccio in PorlezzaPorlezza
Porlezza is a comune on Lake Lugano in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 km north of Milan and about 25 km north of Como...
, fishing is allowed anywhere, although according to various regulations. Protected species are the bleak
Bleak
The common bleak is a small pelagic fish of the Cyprinid family. It is often referred to simply as a "bleak", though this term can refer to any species of Alburnus.-Description:...
and the white clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes). The bleak is almost extinct here, unlike in Lago Maggiore, and planning is under way for the controlled repopulation of the lake, particularly around Ponte Tresa
Ponte Tresa
Ponte Tresa is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:Ponte Tresa is first mentioned in 818 as ad Tresiae Pontem, though this comes from a 12th Century copy of the earlier document. In 875 it was mentioned as Ponte Tretia...
.
In 1895 the brook trout
Brook trout
The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...
was introduced from Lake Zug, while between 1894 and 1897 the common whitefish
Common whitefish
Coregonus lavaretus is a species of freshwater whitefish, in the family Salmonidae. It is the type species of its genus Coregonus.There are widely different concepts about the number of species in the genus Coregonus and the delimitation of the species Coregonus lavaretus.-Lavaret:In a narrow...
was introduced. Since 1950 attempts have been made to introduce the whitefish Coregonus macrophthalmus
Coregonus
Coregonus is a diverse genus of fish in the salmon family . The type species is the common whitefish . The Coregonus species are known as whitefishes...
from Lake Neuchâtel
Lake Neuchâtel
Lake Neuchâtel is a lake in Romandy, Switzerland . The lake lies mainly in the canton of Neuchâtel, but is also shared by the cantons of Vaud, of Fribourg, and of Bern....
, but it has not established itself effectively.
The Common Roach is present in large numbers and took around ten years to colonise the entire lake, thereby replacing the bleak. Still present are the European chub
European chub
The European chub , sometimes called the round chub, fat chub, chevin, pollard or simply "the" chub, is a freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae...
, tench
Tench
The tench or doctor fish is a freshwater and brackish water fish of the cyprinid family found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is also found in Lake Baikal...
, carp
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
and a few examples of European perch
European perch
The European perch, Perca fluviatilis, is a predatory species of perch found in Europe and Asia. In some areas it is known as the redfin perch or English perch, and it is often known simply as perch. The species is a popular quarry for anglers and has been widely introduced beyond its native area,...
, largemouth bass
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
, zander
Zander
Zander is a species of fish. The scientific name is Sander lucioperca , and it is closely allied to perch. Zander are often called pike-perch as they resemble the pike with their elongated body and head, and the perch with their spiny dorsal fin. Zander are not, as is commonly believed, a pike and...
and burbot
Burbot
The burbot is the only gadiform fish inhabiting freshwaters. It is also known as mariah, the lawyer, and eelpout. It is closely related to the marine common ling and the cusk...
. Recently the wels catfish
Wels catfish
The wels catfish , also called sheatfish, is a large catfish found in wide areas of central, southern, and eastern Europe, and near the Baltic and Caspian Seas. It is a scaleless fresh and brackish water fish recognizable by its broad, flat head and wide mouth...
has also been spotted.
Fossils
The whole area behind the southern shores of Lake Lugano is rich in fossils. The focal point of these fossil deposits is Monte San GiorgioMonte San Giorgio
Monte San Giorgio is a wooded mountain located in the south of canton Ticino in Switzerland. Monte San Giorgio became a UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2003, because it "is the single best known record of marine life in the Triassic period, and records important remains of life on land as well."...
, where since the 19th century many fossils have been found dating from the mid Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
(around 220 million years ago). The deposits on Monte San Giorgio stretch towards the west into Italian territory and the deposits of Besano
Besano
Besano is a town and comune located in the province of Varese, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy....
. Fossils dating from the early Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
(around 180 million years ago) have also been found along the southern shores but more towards the east and Osteno.
External links
- Lake Lugano Navigation Company -- Includes timetables
- Legambiente
- CIPAIS Commissione Internazionale per la Protezione delle Acque Italo-Svizzere limnologic reports
- Convenzione del 2 dicembre 1992 fra la Svizzera e l’Italia per la disciplina della navigazione sul lago Maggiore e sul lago di Lugano (con R e all.) agreement on navigation
- Convenzione del 19 marzo 1986 tra la Confederazione Svizzera e la Repubblica Italiana per la pesca nelle acque italo-svizzere agreement on shipping
- Waterlevels at Ponte Tresa from the Federal Office for the Environment
- Waterlevels at Melide, Ferrera from the Federal Office for the Environment