Lavizzara
Encyclopedia
Lavizzara is a municipality
in the district of Vallemaggia
in the canton
of Ticino
in Switzerland
.
The municipality was created in 2004 by a merger of Broglio
, Brontallo
, Fusio
, Menzonio
, Peccia
and Prato-Sornico
.
The Church of S. Maria Lauretana was dedicated in 1487. In the following centuries, it was repeatedly rebuilt and restored. It belonged to the Sornico parish
until 1616, when it became an independent parish. The historically significant building, Casa Pometta, is from the 17th Century.
The highest population in the village was during the 17th Century. The slow population decline intensified in the late 19th Century with emigration to the cities and to other countries. In 1990, agriculture and livestock, which for centuries were the main sources of income, employed about a third of the workforce. In recent decades, the number of vacation homes has increased markedly.
.
The church of S. Maria e S. Giorgio was first mentioned in the 15th Century. In the 16th Century it was rebuilt, and then renovated several times thereafter. Until 1513 it, along with Menzonio, was part of the parish of Cevio. In 1513 Menzonio broke away from Cevio, but Brontallo remained part of the parish until 1655.
The greatest population was during the 17th Century. The population decline began in the 18th Century, but accelerated into the 20th Century. The road running from the village into the Val Lavizzara was completed in 1955. In 1990 less than a third of the workforce was employed in agriculture. Many of the homes in the village are now vacation homes.
The church, consecrated in 1455 to the Beata Vergine Assunta, was a Chapel of ease
of Sornico until the 16th Century. It was later rebuilt several times, mainly in the 17th Century.
The local economy relied on livestock, pastures and forestry. The village possessed vast pastures and alpine pastures, which explains the relatively small number of emigrants overseas. Until the second half of the 19th Century there were two mines in the village that produced steatite (soapstone). Through the construction of the dam in the Sambuco valley (1950–56) the amount of agricultural land has been reduced. From the 1980s a number of houses and an inn were built.
The hamlet
of Mogno
was also part of the village. In the 17th Century it possessed 50 taxable fireplaces. By 1801, the population had dropped to just 40 inhabitants. Today it is no longer inhabited all year round and serves only as a holiday village. Before Mogno was incorporated in 1936 into Fusio it was part of Peccia, and the land around the settlement was shared between Fusio, Peccia, Prato and Sornica.
The church of San Giovanni Battista Decollato was built in 1626 and was initially a chapel of ease of the parish of Peccia. Towards the end of the 17th Century it became an independent parish church
. In 1940 it became part of the parish of Fusio. The church was destroyed in 1986 by an avalanche. The new building, by Mario Botta
, was built in 1997 after 10 years of planning and construction work. The unique construction of the building has already become a point of interest and a source of critical debate.
which was under the jurisdiction of the Lavizzara valley. At the time of the Swiss Confederation
rule over Ticino, Menzonio was one of seven villages in the valley.
The village church was part of the parish
of Cevio until 1513 when it split away to form a parish with Brontallo. In 1655, this parish was dissolved and Menzonio formed its own parish. The Church of SS Giacomo e Filippo was first mentioned in the 15th Century. The current building was built in 1585 and was rebuilt in 1644 and finally in 1905.
In the 17th Century, the population reached its peak and then decreased gradually, initially because of emigration to Italy. Later the residents emigrated to California and finally they moved away from the villages to the cities of Ticino and the rest of Switzerland.
For centuries the local economy was dominated by grazing and agriculture. In the 19th Century there was a soapstone
quarry and four mills. The road that connects Menzonio with the valley floor, was built in 1949. In 2000, three-quarters of the workforce were commuters.
of the four communities of Fusio, Peccia, Prato and Sornico (known as the comunella dei quattro comuni) remained shared until 1929.
The village was part of the parish of Sornico until 1613, after which the church of S. Antonio Abate in Peccia was elevated to become a parish church
. The church was built in the 16th Century. After the floods of 1834 and 1868, which destroyed some of the village, the church was totally rebuilt. The valley church of S. Carlo was built in 1617, and was raised to be the parish church in 1669.
At the beginning of the 20th Century most of the jobs in the village were in the extraction, processing (vessels and stone ovens) and trade in soapstone
. Since 1946, white marble
is also mined, which is the only marble quarry in Switzerland. In 1984, the presence of marble led to the creation of a sculpting school. This marble was used when the church of Mogno (a hamlet of Fusio) was rebuilt by Mario Botta, after the old church was destroyed by an avalanche in 1986.
At the beginning of the 21st Century, manufacturing provides more than a third of the jobs in village. In 1950-56 largest hydroelectric power plants in Switzerland was built in the Valle di Peccia. It is fed by water from the catchment area of the Maggia river. In the last decades of the 20th Century the village invested in its tourist infrastructure.
of the four communities of Fusio, Peccia, Prato and Sornico (known as the comunella dei quattro comuni) remained shared until 1929. In the 15th Century, the hamlet was the seat of the General Council of the valley, then the seat of the Swiss Confederation
governor between 1513 and 1798. After 1803 it was the capital of the sub-district of Lavizzara. Even today stately houses in the village testify of its political and religious importance of the village. One of the houses in the village, which was built in the 15th Century, extended in the 16th Century and renovated in 1975-77, served as the seat of the bailiff
and a prison. Another house, in Prato, is Casa Berna which is from the 18th Century. It contains the rich library of Giulio Giovanni Gerolamo Berna, the archpriest
of Locarno.
The church of San Martino in Sornico is first mentioned in the 14th Century, but probably dates back to the 11th Century. It was the mother church
in the 16th Century of the Val Lavizzara and in 1747 was raised to a of the provost
's church. The parish church
of SS Fabiano e Sebastiano in Prato was built in 1487, rebuilt in 1730 and re-consecrated in 1761 by the Bishop of Como
.
In the 19th and 20th Century, the emigration overseas and into the cities led to a sharp population decline. In this alpine village at the beginning of the 21st Century, one-third of the workforce still works in agriculture. In the last decades of the 20th Century many vacation homes and tourist infrastructure were built in the village.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.3%. Out of the forested land, 20.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.7% is used for growing crops. Of the water in the municipality, 1.2% is in lakes and 1.1% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 22.6% is unproductive vegetation and 28.9% is too rocky for vegetation.
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.4% male and 49.6% female. The population was made up of 264 Swiss men (46.1% of the population), and 25 (4.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 279 Swiss women (48.7%), and 5 (0.9%) non-Swiss women.
In there were 3 live births to Swiss citizens and 5 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 2 while the foreign population remained the same. There were 3 non-Swiss men and 1 non-Swiss woman 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 11 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 5 people. This represents a population growth rate of -1.0%.
The age distribution, , in Lavizzara is; 52 children or 9.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 65 teenagers or 11.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 56 people or 9.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 58 people or 10.1% are between 30 and 39, 83 people or 14.5% are between 40 and 49, and 73 people or 12.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 80 people or 14.0% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 55 people or 9.6% are between 70 and 79, there are 51 people or 8.9% who are over 80.
. The villages of Broglio, Brontallo, Fusio, Prato, Sornico and Cortignelli are all part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
.
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 40.28% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP
(25.62%), the Ticino League
(14.17%) and the SP
(11.88%). In the federal election, a total of 212 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 47.5%.
In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 454 registered voters in Lavizzara, of which 331 or 72.9% voted. 4 blank ballots were cast, leaving 327 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD
+GenGiova which received 120 or 36.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the SSI (with 67 or 20.5%), the PLRT
(with 45 or 13.8%) and the LEGA
(with 38 or 11.6%).
In the Consiglio di Stato election, 2 blank ballots and 1 null ballot were cast, leaving 328 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD which received 115 or 35.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the LEGA (with 77 or 23.5%), the SSI (with 43 or 13.1%) and the PLRT (with 40 or 12.2%).
, there were 4 hotels in Lavizzara with a total of 19 rooms and 35 beds.
provides up to three years of non-mandatory kindergarten
and in Lavizzara there were 12 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years. In the village, 23 students attended the standard primary schools. 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 25 students in the two year middle school, while 7 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 6 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 16 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 was 1 student in the professional program.
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 Vallemaggia
Vallemaggia (district)
The district of Vallemaggia is a district of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It has a population of . The capital of the district is Cevio.-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....
.
The municipality was created in 2004 by a merger of Broglio
Broglio, Switzerland
Broglio is a village and former municipality in the district of Vallemaggia in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.In 2004 the municipality was merged with the other, neighboring municipalities Brontallo, Fusio, Menzonio, Peccia and Prato-Sornico to form a new and larger municipality...
, Brontallo
Brontallo
Brontallo is a village and former municipality in the district of Vallemaggia in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.In 2004 the municipality was merged with the other, neighboring municipalities Broglio, Fusio, Menzonio, Peccia and Prato-Sornico to form a new and larger municipality...
, Fusio
Fusio
Fusio is a village and former municipality in the district of Vallemaggia in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.In 2004 the municipality was merged with the other, neighboring municipalities Broglio, Brontallo, Menzonio, Peccia and Prato-Sornico to form a new and larger municipality...
, Menzonio
Menzonio
Menzonio is a village and former municipality in the district of Vallemaggia in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.In 2004 the municipality was merged with the other, neighboring municipalities Broglio, Brontallo, Fusio, Peccia and Prato-Sornico to form a new and larger municipality...
, Peccia
Peccia
Peccia is one of six small Swiss municipalities which merged in April 2004 to form the commune of Lavizzara, with about 1000 people. The other municipalities were Broglio, Brontallo, Fusio, Menzonio, and Prato-Sornico.-History:...
and Prato-Sornico
Prato-Sornico
Prato-Sornico is a former municipality in the district of Vallemaggia in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.The municipality contained the villages Prato and Sornico...
.
History
Broglio is first mentioned in 1361 as Brono. Brontallo is first mentioned in 1574 as Bruntalo. Fusio is first mentioned in 1258 as Fuxio. Menzonio is first mentioned in 1364 as Menzone. Peccia is first mentioned in 1374 as Petia. Prato and Sornico were first mentioned in 1374.Broglio
The existing village area has developed in several stages. It was created in 1374, when the valley (comunità) Lavizzara broke up and divided its lands. At the end of the 16th Century it grew again through a series of agreements between the neighboring communities.The Church of S. Maria Lauretana was dedicated in 1487. In the following centuries, it was repeatedly rebuilt and restored. It belonged to the Sornico 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...
until 1616, when it became an independent parish. The historically significant building, Casa Pometta, is from the 17th Century.
The highest population in the village was during the 17th Century. The slow population decline intensified in the late 19th Century with emigration to the cities and to other countries. In 1990, agriculture and livestock, which for centuries were the main sources of income, employed about a third of the workforce. In recent decades, the number of vacation homes has increased markedly.
Brontallo
Until the beginning of the 15th Century it formed a community with Menzonio and together with Bignasco and Cavergno it formed a VicinanzaBürgergemeinde
The Bürgergemeinde is a statutory corporation in public law in Switzerland...
.
The church of S. Maria e S. Giorgio was first mentioned in the 15th Century. In the 16th Century it was rebuilt, and then renovated several times thereafter. Until 1513 it, along with Menzonio, was part of the parish of Cevio. In 1513 Menzonio broke away from Cevio, but Brontallo remained part of the parish until 1655.
The greatest population was during the 17th Century. The population decline began in the 18th Century, but accelerated into the 20th Century. The road running from the village into the Val Lavizzara was completed in 1955. In 1990 less than a third of the workforce was employed in agriculture. Many of the homes in the village are now vacation homes.
Fusio
The population reached its peak in the 16th-17th Century (400-500 inhabitants), but towards the end of the 18th Century began a slow decline. This slow decline accelerated dramatically after 1950 because of emigration to the cities. Most of the remaining population is elderly.The church, consecrated in 1455 to the Beata Vergine Assunta, was a Chapel of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
of Sornico until the 16th Century. It was later rebuilt several times, mainly in the 17th Century.
The local economy relied on livestock, pastures and forestry. The village possessed vast pastures and alpine pastures, which explains the relatively small number of emigrants overseas. Until the second half of the 19th Century there were two mines in the village that produced steatite (soapstone). Through the construction of the dam in the Sambuco valley (1950–56) the amount of agricultural land has been reduced. From the 1980s a number of houses and an inn were built.
The hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Mogno
Mogno
Mogno is a village in Vallemaggia District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. Mogno is situated near the top of Val Lavizzarra, a valley through which the upper Maggia river flows. Formerly part of the municipality of Fusio, which merged with adjoining municipalities in 2004 to form the new...
was also part of the village. In the 17th Century it possessed 50 taxable fireplaces. By 1801, the population had dropped to just 40 inhabitants. Today it is no longer inhabited all year round and serves only as a holiday village. Before Mogno was incorporated in 1936 into Fusio it was part of Peccia, and the land around the settlement was shared between Fusio, Peccia, Prato and Sornica.
The church of San Giovanni Battista Decollato was built in 1626 and was initially a chapel of ease of the parish of Peccia. Towards the end of the 17th Century it became an independent 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....
. In 1940 it became part of the parish of Fusio. The church was destroyed in 1986 by an avalanche. The new building, by Mario Botta
Mario Botta
Mario Botta is a Swiss architect. He studied at the Liceo Artistico in Milan and the IUAV in Venice. His ideas were influenced by Le Corbusier, Carlo Scarpa, Louis Kahn. He opened his own practice in 1970 in Lugano.-Career:...
, was built in 1997 after 10 years of planning and construction work. The unique construction of the building has already become a point of interest and a source of critical debate.
Menzonio
Until the beginning of the 15th Century, Menzonio and Brontallo formed a single municipality, and together with Bignasco and Cavergno it formed a VicinanzaBürgergemeinde
The Bürgergemeinde is a statutory corporation in public law in Switzerland...
which was under the jurisdiction of the Lavizzara valley. At the time of the Swiss Confederation
Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....
rule over Ticino, Menzonio was one of seven villages in the valley.
The village church was part of the 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...
of Cevio until 1513 when it split away to form a parish with Brontallo. In 1655, this parish was dissolved and Menzonio formed its own parish. The Church of SS Giacomo e Filippo was first mentioned in the 15th Century. The current building was built in 1585 and was rebuilt in 1644 and finally in 1905.
In the 17th Century, the population reached its peak and then decreased gradually, initially because of emigration to Italy. Later the residents emigrated to California and finally they moved away from the villages to the cities of Ticino and the rest of Switzerland.
For centuries the local economy was dominated by grazing and agriculture. In the 19th Century there was a soapstone
Soapstone
Soapstone is a metamorphic rock, a talc-schist. It is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich in magnesium. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occurs in the areas where tectonic plates are subducted, changing rocks by heat and pressure, with influx...
quarry and four mills. The road that connects Menzonio with the valley floor, was built in 1949. In 2000, three-quarters of the workforce were commuters.
Peccia
Peccia, together with Broglio, Fusio, Prato and Sornico were part of the comunità or valley community of Lavizzara until 1374. When the valley community broke up into separate villages, Peccia was the largest in the Lavizzara region. It included the settlement of Mogno and the Valle di Peccia, which was independent until 1669. The common, shared landThe commons
The commons is terminology referring to resources that are owned in common or shared between or among communities populations. These resources are said to be "held in common" and can include everything from natural resources and common land to software. The commons contains public property and...
of the four communities of Fusio, Peccia, Prato and Sornico (known as the comunella dei quattro comuni) remained shared until 1929.
The village was part of the parish of Sornico until 1613, after which the church of S. Antonio Abate in Peccia was elevated to become a 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....
. The church was built in the 16th Century. After the floods of 1834 and 1868, which destroyed some of the village, the church was totally rebuilt. The valley church of S. Carlo was built in 1617, and was raised to be the parish church in 1669.
At the beginning of the 20th Century most of the jobs in the village were in the extraction, processing (vessels and stone ovens) and trade in soapstone
Soapstone
Soapstone is a metamorphic rock, a talc-schist. It is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich in magnesium. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occurs in the areas where tectonic plates are subducted, changing rocks by heat and pressure, with influx...
. Since 1946, white marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
is also mined, which is the only marble quarry in Switzerland. In 1984, the presence of marble led to the creation of a sculpting school. This marble was used when the church of Mogno (a hamlet of Fusio) was rebuilt by Mario Botta, after the old church was destroyed by an avalanche in 1986.
At the beginning of the 21st Century, manufacturing provides more than a third of the jobs in village. In 1950-56 largest hydroelectric power plants in Switzerland was built in the Valle di Peccia. It is fed by water from the catchment area of the Maggia river. In the last decades of the 20th Century the village invested in its tourist infrastructure.
Prato-Sornico
Prato and Sornico, along with Broglio, Fusio and Peccia, formed the valley community of Lavizzara. In 1374, the community dissolved and the villages of Prato and Sornico became independent. The common, shared landThe commons
The commons is terminology referring to resources that are owned in common or shared between or among communities populations. These resources are said to be "held in common" and can include everything from natural resources and common land to software. The commons contains public property and...
of the four communities of Fusio, Peccia, Prato and Sornico (known as the comunella dei quattro comuni) remained shared until 1929. In the 15th Century, the hamlet was the seat of the General Council of the valley, then the seat of the Swiss Confederation
Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....
governor between 1513 and 1798. After 1803 it was the capital of the sub-district of Lavizzara. Even today stately houses in the village testify of its political and religious importance of the village. One of the houses in the village, which was built in the 15th Century, extended in the 16th Century and renovated in 1975-77, served as the seat of the bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
and a prison. Another house, in Prato, is Casa Berna which is from the 18th Century. It contains the rich library of Giulio Giovanni Gerolamo Berna, the 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...
of Locarno.
The church of San Martino in Sornico is first mentioned in the 14th Century, but probably dates back to the 11th Century. It was the mother church
Mother Church
In Christianity, the term mother church or Mother Church may have one of the following meanings:# The first mission church in an area, or a pioneer cathedral# A basilica or cathedral# The main chapel of a province of a religious order...
in the 16th Century of the Val Lavizzara and in 1747 was raised to a of the provost
Provost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
's church. The 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....
of SS Fabiano e Sebastiano in Prato was built in 1487, rebuilt in 1730 and re-consecrated in 1761 by the Bishop of Como
Roman Catholic Diocese of Como
The Catholic diocese of Como, in northern Italy, has existed since the fourth century. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Milan. The bishops' seat is in Como Cathedral....
.
In the 19th and 20th Century, the emigration overseas and into the cities led to a sharp population decline. In this alpine village at the beginning of the 21st Century, one-third of the workforce still works in agriculture. In the last decades of the 20th Century many vacation homes and tourist infrastructure were built in the village.
Geography
Lavizzara has an area, , of 187.5 square kilometres (72.4 sq mi). Of this area, 1.79 km² (0.691122863880638 sq mi) or 1.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 56.66 km² (21.9 sq mi) or 30.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.28 km² (0.494210762998445 sq mi) or 0.7% is settled (buildings or roads), 4.38 km² (1.7 sq mi) or 2.3% is either rivers or lakes and 96.66 km² (37.3 sq mi) or 51.6% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.3%. Out of the forested land, 20.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.7% is used for growing crops. Of the water in the municipality, 1.2% is in lakes and 1.1% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 22.6% is unproductive vegetation and 28.9% is too rocky for vegetation.
Demographics
Lavizzara has a population of , all Swiss citizens. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 0%., the gender distribution of the population was 50.4% male and 49.6% female. The population was made up of 264 Swiss men (46.1% of the population), and 25 (4.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 279 Swiss women (48.7%), and 5 (0.9%) non-Swiss women.
In there were 3 live births to Swiss citizens and 5 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 2 while the foreign population remained the same. There were 3 non-Swiss men and 1 non-Swiss woman 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 11 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 5 people. This represents a population growth rate of -1.0%.
The age distribution, , in Lavizzara is; 52 children or 9.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 65 teenagers or 11.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 56 people or 9.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 58 people or 10.1% are between 30 and 39, 83 people or 14.5% are between 40 and 49, and 73 people or 12.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 80 people or 14.0% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 55 people or 9.6% are between 70 and 79, there are 51 people or 8.9% who are over 80.
Heritage sites of national significance
The A Mott D’Orei Settlement is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significanceSwiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...
. The villages of Broglio, Brontallo, Fusio, Prato, Sornico and Cortignelli are all part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
Inventory 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 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...
which received 40.28% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were 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....
(25.62%), 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...
(14.17%) and the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(11.88%). In the federal election, a total of 212 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 47.5%.
In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 454 registered voters in Lavizzara, of which 331 or 72.9% voted. 4 blank ballots were cast, leaving 327 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was 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 which received 120 or 36.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the SSI (with 67 or 20.5%), 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....
(with 45 or 13.8%) 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 38 or 11.6%).
In the Consiglio di Stato election, 2 blank ballots and 1 null ballot were cast, leaving 328 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD which received 115 or 35.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the LEGA (with 77 or 23.5%), the SSI (with 43 or 13.1%) and the PLRT (with 40 or 12.2%).
Economy
the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 161. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 33, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 62, of which 7 or (11.3%) were in manufacturing, 10 or (16.1%) were in mining and 35 (56.5%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 66. In the tertiary sector; 2 or 3.0% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 28 or 42.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 20 or 30.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 or 1.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 2 or 3.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 6 or 9.1% were in education., there were 4 hotels in Lavizzara with a total of 19 rooms and 35 beds.
Education
In Lavizzara there were a total of 90 students . The Ticino education systemEducation 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 Lavizzara there were 12 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years. In the village, 23 students attended the standard primary schools. 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 25 students in the two year middle school, while 7 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 6 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 16 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 was 1 student in the professional program.