Prato Leventina
Encyclopedia
Prato is a municipality
in the district of Leventina
in the canton
of Ticino
in Switzerland
.
which consisted of the Degagne of Prato, Fiesso and until 1866, Dalpe. The villages played an important part in the organization of the mule traders that traveled over the passes. They retained a leading role until 1820, when the first cantonal road was built over the pass. In 1561, the Dazio Grande was built in Rodi. It was used until 1834 used as a customs house and also as a Sust. The same foundation of the building was used in 1999 for a cultural center.
The parish church
of San Giorgio is first mentioned in 1210. The church has a romanesque
tower and stucco
from the 17th Century. It was renovated in the 1950s.
Traditionally, the local economy relied grazing. However, in the past century, the village has become a popular summer and winter tourist destination. In the hamlet of Rodi is the Tremorgio power plant (1918–26), and a cable car, built in 1928, that connects the valley with Lago Tremorgio
. In 2005 two thirds of jobs in the municipality were in industry and a quarter were in the services sectors. In 2000, over half the labor force commutes.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.1%. Out of the forested land, 34.2% of the total land area is heavily forested, while 10.4% is covered in small trees and shrubbery and 2.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.3% is used for growing crops. Of the water in the municipality, 2.4% is in lakes and 0.8% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 15.0% is unproductive vegetation and 14.2% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Leventina district, in a depression in the mountains at an elevation of 1046 m (3,431.8 ft) near the Monte Piottino gorge. It consists of the village of Prato and the hamlets
of Rodi and Fiesso.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Azure two dogs Argent rampant reguardant gorged Or holding together a fleur de lis of the last and a chief Argent, overall a chief Gules a cross Argent.
Most of the population speaks Italian
(85.1%), with Serbo-Croatian
being second most common ( 6.8%) and Macedonian
being third ( 3.0%). Of the Swiss national languages , 8 speak German
, 1 person speaks French
, 338 people speak Italian. The remainder (50 people) speak another language.
, the gender distribution of the population was 51.4% male and 48.6% female. The population was made up of 163 Swiss men (36.1% of the population), and 69 (15.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 175 Swiss women (38.8%), and 44 (9.8%) non-Swiss women.
In there were 7 live births to Swiss citizens and 2 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 5 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 2 while the foreign population increased by 2. At the same time, there was 1 non-Swiss man 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 2 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 4 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.4%.
The age distribution, , in Prato (Leventina) is; 46 children or 10.2% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 38 teenagers or 8.4% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 71 people or 15.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 49 people or 10.9% are between 30 and 39, 61 people or 13.5% are between 40 and 49, and 65 people or 14.4% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 55 people or 12.2% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 38 people or 8.4% are between 70 and 79, there are 28 people or 6.2% who are over 80.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.56 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 55.4% 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 166 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. there were 204 single family homes (or 77.6% of the total) out of a total of 263 inhabited buildings. There were 42 two family buildings (16.0%) and 10 multi-family buildings (3.8%). There were also 7 buildings in the municipality that were multipurpose buildings (used for both housing and commercial or another purpose).
The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.84%. there were 340 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 5 room apartment of which there were 106. There were 16 single room apartments and 106 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 166 apartments (48.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 164 apartments (48.2%) were seasonally occupied and 10 apartments (2.9%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.2 new units per 1000 residents.
The historical population is given in the following table:
.
the most popular party was the FDP
which received 27.09% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP
(24.28%), the Ticino League
(23.34%) and the SP
(14.25%). In the federal election, a total of 163 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 56.8%.
In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 296 registered voters in Prato (Leventina), of which 224 or 75.7% voted. 2 blank ballots were cast, leaving 222 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT
which received 62 or 27.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PPD
+GenGiova (with 53 or 23.9%), the LEGA
(with 31 or 14.0%) and the LEGA
(with 31 or 14.0%).
In the Consiglio di Stato election, 3 blank ballots were cast, leaving 221 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT which received 57 or 25.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the LEGA (with 56 or 25.3%), the PPD (with 52 or 23.5%) and the SSI (with 27 or 12.2%).
, there were 16 workers who commuted into the municipality and 114 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 7.1 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 6.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 58.9% used a private car. , there were 3 hotels in Prato (Leventina) with a total of 23 rooms and 54 beds.
. There are 62 individuals (or about 15.62% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 16 individuals (or about 4.03% of the population) did not answer the question.
).
In Prato (Leventina) there were a total of 68 students . The Ticino education system
provides up to three years of non-mandatory kindergarten
and in Prato (Leventina) there were 12 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 20 students attended the standard primary schools and 2 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 18 students in the two year middle school and 0 in their pre-apprenticeship, while 3 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 5 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 8 who attend part-time.
, there were 13 students from Prato (Leventina) 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
Prato (Leventina) is first mentioned in 1211 as de Prato. In German it used to be known as Pratt, though this name is no longer used. Between 1902 and 1939 it was known as Prato-Fiesso. The village may have grown up around a Sust (an alpine warehouse and administrative center) along the Gotthard road. The village was the center of a VicinanzaBürgergemeinde
The Bürgergemeinde is a statutory corporation in public law in Switzerland...
which consisted of the Degagne of Prato, Fiesso and until 1866, Dalpe. The villages played an important part in the organization of the mule traders that traveled over the passes. They retained a leading role until 1820, when the first cantonal road was built over the pass. In 1561, the Dazio Grande was built in Rodi. It was used until 1834 used as a customs house and also as a Sust. The same foundation of the building was used in 1999 for a cultural center.
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 San Giorgio is first mentioned in 1210. The church has a romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
tower and stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
from the 17th Century. It was renovated in the 1950s.
Traditionally, the local economy relied grazing. However, in the past century, the village has become a popular summer and winter tourist destination. In the hamlet of Rodi is the Tremorgio power plant (1918–26), and a cable car, built in 1928, that connects the valley with Lago Tremorgio
Lago Tremorgio
Lago Tremorgio is a mountain lake above Rodi-Fiesso in the municipality of Prato Leventina in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. Its surface area is 0.39 km².The lake can be reached by aerial cable-car from Rodi.-External links:* visitor information*...
. In 2005 two thirds of jobs in the municipality were in industry and a quarter were in the services sectors. In 2000, over half the labor force commutes.
Geography
Prato (Leventina) has an area, , of 16.85 square kilometres (6.5 sq mi). Of this area, 1.06 km² (0.409268288108087 sq mi) or 6.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 7.9 km² (3.1 sq mi) or 46.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.49 km² (0.189190057710342 sq mi) or 2.9% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.53 km² (0.204634144054044 sq mi) or 3.1% is either rivers or lakes and 4.91 km² (1.9 sq mi) or 29.1% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.1%. Out of the forested land, 34.2% of the total land area is heavily forested, while 10.4% is covered in small trees and shrubbery and 2.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.3% is used for growing crops. Of the water in the municipality, 2.4% is in lakes and 0.8% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 15.0% is unproductive vegetation and 14.2% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Leventina district, in a depression in the mountains at an elevation of 1046 m (3,431.8 ft) near the Monte Piottino gorge. It consists of the village of Prato and the hamlets
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 Rodi and Fiesso.
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 Azure two dogs Argent rampant reguardant gorged Or holding together a fleur de lis of the last and a chief Argent, overall a chief Gules a cross Argent.
Demographics
Prato (Leventina) has a population of . , 26.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 6.8%.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...
(85.1%), 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 ( 6.8%) and Macedonian
Macedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
being third ( 3.0%). Of the Swiss national languages , 8 speak 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....
, 1 person speaks 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...
, 338 people speak Italian. The remainder (50 people) speak another language.
, the gender distribution of the population was 51.4% male and 48.6% female. The population was made up of 163 Swiss men (36.1% of the population), and 69 (15.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 175 Swiss women (38.8%), and 44 (9.8%) non-Swiss women.
In there were 7 live births to Swiss citizens and 2 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 5 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 2 while the foreign population increased by 2. At the same time, there was 1 non-Swiss man 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 2 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 4 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.4%.
The age distribution, , in Prato (Leventina) is; 46 children or 10.2% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 38 teenagers or 8.4% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 71 people or 15.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 49 people or 10.9% are between 30 and 39, 61 people or 13.5% are between 40 and 49, and 65 people or 14.4% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 55 people or 12.2% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 38 people or 8.4% are between 70 and 79, there are 28 people or 6.2% who are over 80.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.56 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 55.4% 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 166 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. there were 204 single family homes (or 77.6% of the total) out of a total of 263 inhabited buildings. There were 42 two family buildings (16.0%) and 10 multi-family buildings (3.8%). There were also 7 buildings in the municipality that were multipurpose buildings (used for both housing and commercial or another purpose).
The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.84%. there were 340 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 5 room apartment of which there were 106. There were 16 single room apartments and 106 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 166 apartments (48.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 164 apartments (48.2%) were seasonally occupied and 10 apartments (2.9%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.2 new units per 1000 residents.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1602 | 224 |
| 1639 | 191 |
| 1745 | 308 |
| 1850 | 424 |
| 1900 | 327 |
| 1950 | 306 |
| 2000 | 397 |
Heritage sites of national significance
The Dazio Vecchio 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 27.09% 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...
(24.28%), 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...
(23.34%) and the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(14.25%). In the federal election, a total of 163 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 56.8%.
In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 296 registered voters in Prato (Leventina), of which 224 or 75.7% voted. 2 blank ballots were cast, leaving 222 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 62 or 27.9% 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 53 or 23.9%), 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 31 or 14.0%) 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 31 or 14.0%).
In the Consiglio di Stato election, 3 blank ballots were cast, leaving 221 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT which received 57 or 25.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the LEGA (with 56 or 25.3%), the PPD (with 52 or 23.5%) and the SSI (with 27 or 12.2%).
Economy
, Prato (Leventina) had an unemployment rate of 2.42%. , there were 10 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 5 businesses involved in this sector. 100 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 11 businesses in this sector. 41 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 16 businesses in this sector. There were 202 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 39.1% of the workforce., there were 16 workers who commuted into the municipality and 114 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 7.1 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 6.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 58.9% used a private car. , there were 3 hotels in Prato (Leventina) with a total of 23 rooms and 54 beds.
Religion
From the , 308 or 77.6% were Roman Catholic, while 11 or 2.8% 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 62 individuals (or about 15.62% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 16 individuals (or about 4.03% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Prato (Leventina) about 59.6% 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 Prato (Leventina) there were a total of 68 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 Prato (Leventina) there were 12 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 20 students attended the standard primary schools and 2 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 18 students in the two year middle school and 0 in their pre-apprenticeship, while 3 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 5 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 8 who attend part-time.
, there were 13 students from Prato (Leventina) who attended schools outside the municipality.