Mesocco
Encyclopedia
Mesocco is a municipality
in the district of Moesa
in the Swiss
canton
of Graubünden
.
era. Stone tools dating to about 6000 BC have been found in the Silex section of the municipality. At the same site, Neolithic
fire pits and ceramics (5000 BC) were also discovered. The first permanent settlements in the area date to the Bronze age
(about 1400-1200 BC) and the pre-Roman
Iron Age
. A notable necropolis
from the early Iron Age (600-500 BC) and traces of a Roman settlement were discovered on Gorda hill near the village. Additionally, an Early Middle Ages
grave (6th century AD) was also discovered on the same hill.
The castle was built in the 12th century and is first mentioned in 1219. The village of Mesocco is first mentioned in 1203 as Mesoco. In 1383 it was mentioned as Misogg. In 1480 Mesocco and Soazza
willingly joined the Gray League.
The municipality is located in the Moesa sub-district of the Mesocco district. It is the northern most municipality in the Misox valley and is one of the largest in the canton. It contains the secondary school
for the area, the local district court
s and numerous government offices. It consists of the village of Mesocco with eleven sections, including the mountain village of San Bernardino.
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.4% male and 49.6% female. The age distribution, , in Mesocco is; 112 children or 9.3% of the population are between 0 to 9 years old. 62 teenagers or 5.2% are 10 to 14, and 41 teenagers or 3.4% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 134 people or 11.2% of the population are between 20 to 29 years old. 189 people or 15.7% are 30 to 39, 163 people or 13.6% are 40 to 49, and 150 people or 12.5% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 157 people or 13.1% of the population are between 60 to 69 years old, 129 people or 10.7% are 70 to 79, there are 50 people or 4.2% who are 80 to 89, and there are 14 people or 1.2% who are 90 to 99.
In the 2007 federal election
the most popular party was the SP
which received 37.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(34.1%), the CVP
(20.5%) and the FDP
(8.2%).
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Mesocco about 70.3% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
).
Mesocco has an unemployment rate of 4.26%. , there were 52 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 17 businesses involved in this sector. 138 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 19 businesses in this sector. 263 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 56 businesses in this sector.
From the , 1,093 or 91.0% are Roman Catholic, while 37 or 3.1% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
. Of the rest of the population, there are 5 individuals (or about 0.42% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church. There are 23 (or about 1.92% of the population) who are Islam
ic. 31 (or about 2.58% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 12 individuals (or about 1.00% of the population) did not answer the question.
The historical population is given in the following table:
. The wettest month is May during which time Mesocco receives an average of 185 mm (7.3 in) of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 12.2 days. The driest month of the year is December with an average of 65 mm (2.6 in) of precipitation over 12.2 days.
.
The Castello ruins are among the largest in the canton. Originally the seat of the noble family von Sax, from the 12th century until 1480 it was held by the Freiherr
of Misox. From 1480 until 1549 it was held by the Trivulzio family.
At the foot of the castle is the Church of Santa Maria al Castello. The church was first mentioned in 1219. It houses several fresco
es from the workshop of Seregnesi from the mid-15th century.
of SS. Pietro e Paolo was first mentioned in 1219. In the 17th century it was renovated and in 1959 it was restored.
The church of S. Rocco was built with an attached hospice
, which since 1668 has been staffed by the Capuchin
friars. The church grounds include a number of chapels, among then, the chapel of S. Giacomo which was first mentioned in 1419.
During the Protestant Reformation
, the church of S. Giuseppe in Andergia, was used for Protestant services.
The church of S. Giovanni Nepomuceno in Cebbia, was destroyed in 1978 by a flood and had to be rebuilt.
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 Moesa
Moesa (district)
Moesa District is an administrative district in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has an area of and has a population of . The official language is Italian.It consists of three Kreise and seventeen municipalities:...
in the Swiss
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....
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 Graubünden
Graubünden
Graubünden or Grisons is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. The canton shares borders with the cantons of Ticino, Uri, Glarus and St. Gallen and international borders with Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein...
.
History
The first human settlement in the area dates back to the MesolithicMesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
era. Stone tools dating to about 6000 BC have been found in the Silex section of the municipality. At the same site, Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
fire pits and ceramics (5000 BC) were also discovered. The first permanent settlements in the area date to the Bronze age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
(about 1400-1200 BC) and the pre-Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
. A notable necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
from the early Iron Age (600-500 BC) and traces of a Roman settlement were discovered on Gorda hill near the village. Additionally, an Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
grave (6th century AD) was also discovered on the same hill.
The castle was built in the 12th century and is first mentioned in 1219. The village of Mesocco is first mentioned in 1203 as Mesoco. In 1383 it was mentioned as Misogg. In 1480 Mesocco and Soazza
Soazza
Soazza is a municipality in the district of Moesa in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-Geography:Soazza has an area, , of . Of this area, 7.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 53.7% is forested...
willingly joined the Gray League.
Geography
Mesocco has an area, , of 164.8 km² (63.6 sq mi). Of this area, 20.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 20.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (58.6%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).The municipality is located in the Moesa sub-district of the Mesocco district. It is the northern most municipality in the Misox valley and is one of the largest in the canton. It contains the secondary school
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
for the area, the local district court
District court
District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations. These include:-Australia:District Court is the name given to the intermediate court in most Australian States. They hear indictable criminal offences excluding treason, murder and, in some States, manslaughter...
s and numerous government offices. It consists of the village of Mesocco with eleven sections, including the mountain village of San Bernardino.
Demographics
Mesocco has a population (as of ) of . , 13.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -1.1%. Most of the population speaks Italian (89.1%), with German being second most common ( 6.2%) and Albanian being third ( 1.4%)., the gender distribution of the population was 50.4% male and 49.6% female. The age distribution, , in Mesocco is; 112 children or 9.3% of the population are between 0 to 9 years old. 62 teenagers or 5.2% are 10 to 14, and 41 teenagers or 3.4% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 134 people or 11.2% of the population are between 20 to 29 years old. 189 people or 15.7% are 30 to 39, 163 people or 13.6% are 40 to 49, and 150 people or 12.5% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 157 people or 13.1% of the population are between 60 to 69 years old, 129 people or 10.7% are 70 to 79, there are 50 people or 4.2% who are 80 to 89, and there are 14 people or 1.2% who are 90 to 99.
In the 2007 federal election
Swiss 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 SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
which received 37.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
(34.1%), 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...
(20.5%) and the FDP
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....
(8.2%).
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Mesocco about 70.3% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
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...
).
Mesocco has an unemployment rate of 4.26%. , there were 52 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 17 businesses involved in this sector. 138 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 19 businesses in this sector. 263 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 56 businesses in this sector.
From the , 1,093 or 91.0% are Roman Catholic, while 37 or 3.1% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
Swiss 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 are 5 individuals (or about 0.42% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church. There are 23 (or about 1.92% of the population) who are Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic. 31 (or about 2.58% of the population) belong 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 12 individuals (or about 1.00% of the population) did not answer the question.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1701 | 1,013 |
| 1773 | 921 |
| 1802 | 862 |
| 1850 | 1,182 |
| 1900 | 1,173 |
| 1950 | 1,150 |
Weather
Mesocco has an average of 102.5 days of rain per year and on average receives 1550 mm (61 in) of precipitationPrecipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
. The wettest month is May during which time Mesocco receives an average of 185 mm (7.3 in) of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 12.2 days. The driest month of the year is December with an average of 65 mm (2.6 in) of precipitation over 12.2 days.
Heritage sites of national significance
The Castello di Mesocco and the Church of S. Maria al Castello are listed as Swiss heritage sites 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 Castello ruins are among the largest in the canton. Originally the seat of the noble family von Sax, from the 12th century until 1480 it was held by the Freiherr
Freiherr
The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...
of Misox. From 1480 until 1549 it was held by the Trivulzio family.
At the foot of the castle is the Church of Santa Maria al Castello. The church was first mentioned in 1219. It houses several fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es from the workshop of Seregnesi from the mid-15th century.
Churches
The parish churchParish 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. Pietro e Paolo was first mentioned in 1219. In the 17th century it was renovated and in 1959 it was restored.
The church of S. Rocco was built with an attached hospice
Hospice
Hospice is a type of care and a philosophy of care which focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's symptoms.In the United States and Canada:*Gentiva Health Services, national provider of hospice and home health services...
, which since 1668 has been staffed by the Capuchin
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
friars. The church grounds include a number of chapels, among then, the chapel of S. Giacomo which was first mentioned in 1419.
During the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, the church of S. Giuseppe in Andergia, was used for Protestant services.
The church of S. Giovanni Nepomuceno in Cebbia, was destroyed in 1978 by a flood and had to be rebuilt.