Personico
Encyclopedia
Personico is a municipality
in the district of Leventina
in the canton
of Ticino
in Switzerland
.
, it belonged to the Vicinanza
of Giornico
. The village church of SS. Nazario e Celso was first mentioned in 1256. It belonged to the parish
of Biasca
until 1570, when it became an independent parish church
. The church was restored in 1926 and again in 1978-79. Between 1736-1869 there was in a glass factory in operation in the village. A subsidiary factory was built in 1782 in Lodrino. The local economy mostly relied on livestock until the 19th Century, when they began mining local stone. Between 1962-67, the hydroelectric plant of Nuova Biaschina and dam in the Val d'Ambra was built. In 1999, another, smaller power plant was completed. In 2005, about 12% of the jobs were in the agricultural sector while about 46% were in industry and manufacturing.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.4%. Out of the forested land, 48.8% of the total land area is heavily forested, while 12.9% is covered in small trees and shrubbery and 2.0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.9% is used for growing crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 15.2% is unproductive vegetation and 13.6% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Leventina district, on the left side of the lower Leventina valley.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Or a chamois' head couped Sable and in chief two mullets Gules.
Most of the population speaks Italian
(95.5%), with Serbo-Croatian
being second most common ( 1.7%) and German
being third ( 0.8%). Of the Swiss national languages , 3 speak German, 2 people speak French
, 337 people speak Italian. The remainder (11 people) speak another language.
, the gender distribution of the population was 49.5% male and 50.5% female. The population was made up of 144 Swiss men (39.3% of the population), and 37 (10.1%) non-Swiss men. There were 145 Swiss women (39.6%), and 40 (10.9%) non-Swiss women.
In there was 1 live birth to Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 1 while the foreign population decreased by 2. There was 1 Swiss man and 1 Swiss woman who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there was 1 non-Swiss man who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 2 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources) was a decrease of 7 and the non-Swiss population change was a decrease of 5 people. This represents a population growth rate of -3.2%.
The age distribution, , in Personico is; 33 children or 9.0% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 41 teenagers or 11.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 47 people or 12.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 39 people or 10.7% are between 30 and 39, 52 people or 14.2% are between 40 and 49, and 46 people or 12.6% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 48 people or 13.1% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 34 people or 9.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 26 people or 7.1% who are over 80.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.6 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 53.4% 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 148 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. there were 134 single family homes (or 79.3% of the total) out of a total of 169 inhabited buildings. There were 28 two family buildings (16.6%) and 5 multi-family buildings (3.0%). There were also 2 buildings in the municipality that were multipurpose buildings (used for both housing and commercial or another purpose).
The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.87%. there were 222 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 4 room apartment of which there were 79. There were 21 single room apartments and 44 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 148 apartments (66.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 69 apartments (31.1%) were seasonally occupied and 5 apartments (2.3%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.7 new units per 1000 residents.
The historical population is given in the following table:
.
the most popular party was the FDP
which received 36.72% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP
(32.81%), the SP
(18.53%) and the Ticino League
(9.15%). In the federal election, a total of 115 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 47.3%.
In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 245 registered voters in Personico, of which 162 or 66.1% voted. 1 blank ballot was cast, leaving 161 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT
which received 60 or 37.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PPD
+GenGiova (with 35 or 21.7%), the PS
(with 29 or 18.0%) and the SSI (with 24 or 14.9%).
In the Consiglio di Stato election, 1 null ballot was cast, leaving 161 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT which received 61 or 37.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PPD (with 35 or 21.7%), the PS (with 30 or 18.6%) and the SSI (with 20 or 12.4%).
, there were 18 workers who commuted into the municipality and 121 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 6.7 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 5.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 74% used a private car. , there was one hotel in Personico.
. There are 35 individuals (or about 9.92% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 9 individuals (or about 2.55% of the population) did not answer the question.
).
In Personico there were a total of 59 students . The Ticino education system
provides up to three years of non-mandatory kindergarten
and in Personico there were 10 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 15 students attended the standard primary schools and 0 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 21 students in the two year middle school, none in their pre-apprenticeship, and 6 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 3 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 4 who attend part-time.
, there were 30 students from Personico who 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 Leventina
Leventina (district)
The district of Leventina is one of the eight districts of the largely Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The capital of the district is Faido but the largest town is Airolo at the beginning or at the end of the valley....
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
Personico is first mentioned in 1227 as Prexonego. During the Middle AgesMiddle 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...
, it belonged to the Vicinanza
Bürgergemeinde
The Bürgergemeinde is a statutory corporation in public law in Switzerland...
of Giornico
Giornico
Giornico is a municipality in the district of Leventina in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:Giornico is first mentioned around 935-94 as de Iudicibus Giornicensis. In 1202 it was mentioned as Iornico, and around 1210-58 it was mentioned as Zurnigo...
. The village church of SS. Nazario e Celso was first mentioned in 1256. It belonged to 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 Biasca
Biasca
Biasca is a town of the district of Riviera in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:Biasca is first mentioned in 830 as Aviasca in the Liber viventium of Pfäfers Abbey. In 1119 it was mentioned as Abiasca.-Early history:...
until 1570, when 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....
. The church was restored in 1926 and again in 1978-79. Between 1736-1869 there was in a glass factory in operation in the village. A subsidiary factory was built in 1782 in Lodrino. The local economy mostly relied on livestock until the 19th Century, when they began mining local stone. Between 1962-67, the hydroelectric plant of Nuova Biaschina and dam in the Val d'Ambra was built. In 1999, another, smaller power plant was completed. In 2005, about 12% of the jobs were in the agricultural sector while about 46% were in industry and manufacturing.
Geography
Personico has an area, , of 39.04 square kilometres (15.1 sq mi). Of this area, 0.55 km² (0.212356187225894 sq mi) or 1.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 24.88 km² (9.6 sq mi) or 63.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.61 km² (0.235522316741446 sq mi) or 1.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.77 km² (0.297298662116252 sq mi) or 2.0% is either rivers or lakes and 11.27 km² (4.4 sq mi) or 28.9% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.4%. Out of the forested land, 48.8% of the total land area is heavily forested, while 12.9% is covered in small trees and shrubbery and 2.0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.9% is used for growing crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 15.2% is unproductive vegetation and 13.6% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Leventina district, on the left side of the lower Leventina 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 Or a chamois' head couped Sable and in chief two mullets Gules.
Demographics
Personico has a population of . , 19.8% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of -2.4%.Most of the population speaks Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
(95.5%), with Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian language
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 second most common ( 1.7%) and 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 third ( 0.8%). Of the Swiss national languages , 3 speak German, 2 people speak French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, 337 people speak Italian. The remainder (11 people) speak another language.
, the gender distribution of the population was 49.5% male and 50.5% female. The population was made up of 144 Swiss men (39.3% of the population), and 37 (10.1%) non-Swiss men. There were 145 Swiss women (39.6%), and 40 (10.9%) non-Swiss women.
In there was 1 live birth to Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 1 while the foreign population decreased by 2. There was 1 Swiss man and 1 Swiss woman who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there was 1 non-Swiss man who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 2 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources) was a decrease of 7 and the non-Swiss population change was a decrease of 5 people. This represents a population growth rate of -3.2%.
The age distribution, , in Personico is; 33 children or 9.0% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 41 teenagers or 11.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 47 people or 12.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 39 people or 10.7% are between 30 and 39, 52 people or 14.2% are between 40 and 49, and 46 people or 12.6% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 48 people or 13.1% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 34 people or 9.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 26 people or 7.1% who are over 80.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.6 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 53.4% 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 148 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. there were 134 single family homes (or 79.3% of the total) out of a total of 169 inhabited buildings. There were 28 two family buildings (16.6%) and 5 multi-family buildings (3.0%). There were also 2 buildings in the municipality that were multipurpose buildings (used for both housing and commercial or another purpose).
The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.87%. there were 222 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 4 room apartment of which there were 79. There were 21 single room apartments and 44 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 148 apartments (66.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 69 apartments (31.1%) were seasonally occupied and 5 apartments (2.3%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.7 new units per 1000 residents.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1745 | 269 |
| 1850 | 306 |
| 1900 | 288 |
| 1950 | 270 |
| 1990 | 379 |
| 2000 | 353 |
Heritage sites of national significance
The Centrale Elettrica Comandi Biaschina (the Biaschina power plant control station) 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...
.
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 36.72% 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...
(32.81%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(18.53%) 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...
(9.15%). In the federal election, a total of 115 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 47.3%.
In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 245 registered voters in Personico, of which 162 or 66.1% voted. 1 blank ballot was cast, leaving 161 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 60 or 37.3% 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 35 or 21.7%), the PS
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(with 29 or 18.0%) and the SSI (with 24 or 14.9%).
In the Consiglio di Stato election, 1 null ballot was cast, leaving 161 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT which received 61 or 37.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PPD (with 35 or 21.7%), the PS (with 30 or 18.6%) and the SSI (with 20 or 12.4%).
Economy
, Personico had an unemployment rate of 3.98%. , there were 11 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 5 businesses involved in this sector. 34 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 5 businesses in this sector. 31 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 13 businesses in this sector. There were 154 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 33.8% of the workforce., there were 18 workers who commuted into the municipality and 121 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 6.7 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 5.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 74% used a private car. , there was one hotel in Personico.
Religion
From the , 306 or 86.7% were Roman Catholic, while 3 or 0.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed ChurchSwiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
. There are 35 individuals (or about 9.92% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 9 individuals (or about 2.55% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Personico about 63.2% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a FachhochschuleFachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
).
In Personico there were a total of 59 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 Personico there were 10 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 15 students attended the standard primary schools and 0 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 21 students in the two year middle school, none in their pre-apprenticeship, and 6 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 3 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 4 who attend part-time.
, there were 30 students from Personico who attended schools outside the municipality.