Mezzovico-Vira is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in the district of
Lugano
Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...
in the
canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative divisions
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and entertainment
* Canton (band), an It ...
of
Ticino
Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...
in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.
History
A recently discovered
stele
A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...
with inscriptions in
northern Etruscan suggests that the area around Mezzovico-Vira was already settled in the pre-
Roman era
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
. An archaeological investigation under the
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
of S. Abbondio in 1990, discovered Roman
urn graves. The church developed from a small wooden church in the 6th century to the current
baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
building.
In the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...
it was a ''curtis'', consisting of the villa (Vira), the
vicus
In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus ...
in the middle (Mezzovico) and the settlement of
Sigirino. In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
it belonged to the valley community of Carvina, which included the villages of the upper north end of Vedeggio. The modern municipality of Mezzovico-Vira is first mentioned in 1335 as ''Medio Vico'' and ''Vira''.
[
The political and religious center of the valley was Bironico. Mezzovico and Vira were always one municipality, but separated religiously when the Church of San Antonio in Vira became a parish church in 1838. The parish church of Mezzovico, S. Mamete goes back to a Roman era building which was expanded in the 12th, 15th and 16th centuries.
Traditional agriculture in the village was based mainly on the use of mountain pastures. In the last decades of the 20th century; the motorway, the main road and the railway along with a number of buildings for industry and commerce were built in along the valley floor. This development is due to the growth of the agglomeration of ]Lugano
Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...
, which spread into the Vedeggio valley, as well as the proximity to the motorway and the Swiss Federal Railways
Swiss Federal Railways (, SBB; , CFF; , FFS) is the national railway company of Switzerland.
The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Bern. It used to be a State-owned enterprise, government institution, but since 1999 it has be ...
station at Rivera.
Geography
Mezzovico-Vira has an area, , of . Of this area, or 5.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 65.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 8.3% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.3% is either rivers or lakes and or 14.1% is unproductive land.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2.8% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 2.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.9%. Out of the forested land, 53.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 3.2% is used for growing crops and 2.3% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 12.5% is unproductive vegetation and 1.6% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Lugano district. It consists of two settlements along the old road to Monte Ceneri
Monte Ceneri is a mountain pass in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It connects the Magadino Plain and the Vedeggio Valley across the Lugano Prealps at an elevation of above sea level. It provides the most direct route between the citie ...
.
Coat of arms
The blazon
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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
of the municipal coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
is ''Per pale argent a hemp plant vert fruited(?) or and azure a crozieror issuant from base behind an escutcheon argent a cross gules.'' The hemp () refers to the family Canepa, while the cross and shield are from the bishop Enrico Silvio (1556–1612).
Demographics
Mezzovico-Vira has a population () of . , 12.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Superweb database - Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008]
accessed 19 June 2010 Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 19%.
Most of the population () speaks Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
(87.0%), with German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
being second most common (7.8%) and French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
being third (1.9%).[Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 14-January-2011 Of the Swiss national languages (), 73 speak German, 18 people speak French, 816 people speak Italian. The remainder (31 people) speak another language.[Popolazione residente, secondo la lingua principale e la religione, nel 2000]
accessed 23 November 2010
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.8% male and 51.2% female. The population was made up of 498 Swiss men (43.0% of the population), and 68 (5.9%) non-Swiss men. There were 527 Swiss women (45.5%), and 66 (5.7%) non-Swiss women.[
In there were 9 live births to Swiss citizens and were 4 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 5 while the foreign population remained the same. There were 2 Swiss men and 1 Swiss woman who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there was 1 non-Swiss man who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 18 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 2 people. This represents a ]population growth rate
Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 70 million annu ...
of 1.8%.[
The age distribution, , in Mezzovico-Vira is; 133 children or 11.5% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 128 teenagers or 11.0% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 104 people or 9.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 174 people or 15.0% are between 30 and 39, 230 people or 19.8% are between 40 and 49, and 143 people or 12.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 107 people or 9.2% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 83 people or 7.2% are between 70 and 79, there are 57 people or 4.9% who are over 80.][01.02.03 Popolazione residente permanente]
accessed 23 November 2010
, there were 367 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household.[ there were 317 single family homes (or 81.7% of the total) out of a total of 388 inhabited buildings. There were 53 two family buildings (13.7%) and 2 multi-family buildings (0.5%). There were also 16 buildings in the municipality that were multipurpose buildings (used for both housing and commercial or another purpose).
The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.57%. there were 466 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 4 room apartment of which there were 142. There were 31 single room apartments and 137 apartments with five or more rooms.][ 09.02.02 Abitazioni](_blank)
accessed 23 November 2010 Of these apartments, a total of 365 apartments (78.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 95 apartments (20.4%) were seasonally occupied and 6 apartments (1.3%) were empty.[
The historical population is given in the following chart:]
Heritage sites of national significance
The Church of S. Mamete and Oratory of S. Ambrogio are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.
Politics
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 37.64% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Ticino League
The Ticino League () is a regionalist, national-conservative political party in Switzerland active in the canton of Ticino.
The party was founded in 1991 by entrepreneur Giuliano Bignasca and journalist Flavio Maspoli. After some public camp ...
(18.48%), the FDP (18.39%) and the SP (12.91%). In the federal election, a total of 419 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...
was 57.0%.
In the '' Gran Consiglio'' election, there were a total of 733 registered voters in Mezzovico-Vira, of which 551 or 75.2% voted. 9 blank ballots were cast, leaving 542 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD+GenGiova which received 166 or 30.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the SSI (with 105 or 19.4%), the LEGA (with 99 or 18.3%) and the PLRT (with 97 or 17.9%).[ Elezioni cantonali: Gran Consiglio, Consiglio di Stato]
accessed 23 November 2010
In the ''Consiglio di Stato'' election, 7 blank ballots were cast, leaving 544 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD which received 148 or 27.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the LEGA (with 140 or 25.7%), the PLRT (with 92 or 16.9%) and the SSI (with 81 or 14.9%).[
]
Economy
, Mezzovico-Vira had an unemployment rate of 3.48%. , there were 23 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 6 businesses involved in this sector. 1,508 people were employed in the secondary sector
In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...
and there were 39 businesses in this sector. 390 people were employed in the tertiary sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...
, with 61 businesses in this sector.[ There were 441 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 38.3% of the workforce.
, there were 1,934 workers who commuted into the municipality and 304 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 6.4 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 26.0% of the workforce coming into Mezzovico-Vira are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.3% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work.][Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb]
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 9.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 68.5% used a private car.[
]
Religion
From the , 800 or 85.3% were Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, while 64 or 6.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...
. There are 51 individuals (or about 5.44% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 23 individuals (or about 2.45% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Mezzovico-Vira about 74.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education
Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education.
Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
or additional higher education (either university or a ''Fachhochschule
A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...
'').[
In Mezzovico-Vira there were a total of 225 students (). The Ticino ]education system
The educational system generally refers to the structure of all institutions and the opportunities for obtaining education within a country. It includes all pre-school institutions, starting from family education, and/or early childhood education ...
provides up to three years of non-mandatory kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
and in Mezzovico-Vira there were 42 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 76 students attended the standard primary schools and 4 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 54 students in the two-year middle school and 1 in their pre-apprenticeship, while 13 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 10 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 23 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 were 2 students in the professional program. Allievi e studenti, secondo il genere di scuola, anno scolastico 2009/2010
accessed 23 November 2010
, there were 2 students in Mezzovico-Vira who came from another municipality, while 72 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[
]
Transport
Mezzovico-Vira is served by the Mezzovico station, on the Gotthard railway.
References
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Ticino
Cultural property of national significance in Ticino