Monteceneri 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 (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

in the canton of

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

in Switzerland. It was created on 21 November 2010 through the merger of the municipalities of

Medeglia Medeglia is a village and a former municipality in the district of Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 21 November 2010, the former municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged in the new muni ...

Bironico Bironico is a village in the northern end of the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged on 21 November 2010 into the new municipality of Montecene ...

Camignolo Camignolo is a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged on 21 November 2010 into the new municipality of Montecener ...

Rivera Rivera () is the capital of Rivera Department of Uruguay. The border with Brazil joins it with the Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento, which is only a street away from it, at the north end of Route 5. Together, they form an urban area of arou ...

and

Sigirino Sigirino is a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged on 21 November 2010 into the new municipality of Montecener ...

History

Medeglia is first mentioned in 1195 as ''Medellia''. Bironico is first mentioned in 1296 as ''Bironico''. Camignolo is first mentioned in 1296 as ''Camigiollo''. Rivera is first mentioned in 1296 as ''Sorenzino''. In 1348 it was mentioned as ''Rivera''. Sigirino is first mentioned in 1335 as ''Sezelino''.

Medeglia

During the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD ...

, Medeglia was probably part of the old valley community of Carvina which eventually came under the authority of

. In 1501-03 Medeglia and

Isone Isone is a municipality in the district of Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Isone is mainly known for being the location of the grenadier school (Grenadierschule) of the Swiss Army. The Grenadiers are a division of the infant ...

were transferred to the county of

Bellinzona Bellinzona ( , , Ticinese ; french: Bellinzone ; german: Bellenz ; rm, Blizuna )is a municipality, a historic Swiss town, and the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The town is famous for its three castles (Castelgrande, Montebell ...

, but they remained part of the

pieve In the Middle Ages, a pieve (, ; la, plebe, link=no; plural ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. The Italian word ''pieve'' is descended from Latin Latin (, or , ) i ...

of Agno. It became part of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of Bironico in the 13th century. Then, in 1585, it became the center of a vice parish. It finally broke away from the old parish and became a full parish in 1888. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the 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 community activitie ...

of St. Bartholomew was first mentioned in 1328. The romanesque core of the church was renovated and rebuilt in the 15th and 17th centuries. The local economy of the village was based on animal husbandry and forestry. Starting in the 16th century the residents of Isone and Medeglia bought forests and pastures as far away as Robasacco,

Contone Contone is a former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 25 April 2010, the former municipalities of Caviano, Contone, Gerra Gambarogno, Indemini, Magadino, Piazzogna, San Nazzaro, Sant'Abbondio ...

Cadenazzo Cadenazzo is a municipality in the district of Bellinzona, in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 13 March 2005 the formerly independent municipality of Robasacco was absorbed into Cadenazzo. History Cadenazzo is first mentioned in 1335 as ...

, Sant'Antonino and

Camorino Camorino is a former municipality in the district of Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 2 April 2017 the former municipalities of Claro, Giubiasco, Gnosca, Gorduno, Gudo, Moleno, Monte Carasso, Pianezzo, Preonzo, Sant'Anton ...

while at the same time opening up trade relations with Bellinzona. To escape poverty and limited farm land, in the 19th century many inhabitants emigrated. The majority of these emigrants moved to Argentina and California. The mountain pastures of Medeglia were classified in 1996 as a wetland of national importance. In 2000, three-quarters of the working population worked outside the municipality.

Bironico

By 1000, Bironico was the secular and religious center of the Carvina region, which included the middle and upper Vedeggio valley. In the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the M ...

it was under the authority of the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of Como. Eventually the rights to over the village were acquired by the city of

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps has m ...

. At the end of the 13th century, the Rusca, a noble family from Como, lived in the community. After living in the village for a time, them moved into Bironico Castle in 1328. They remained in the owners of the castle until 1416. After the

Swiss Confederation ; rm, citad federala, links=no). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzon ...

invasion, Bironico became a local administrative center. Beginning in the 16th century, an inn at the bridge over the Leguana river served as a meeting place of the Confederation's ministers. The parish church of St. Martin was first mentioned in 1267. Historically, the local economy relied on traditional alpine agriculture. During the 19th century poverty and limited farm land encouraged many residents to emigrate. Today there is some industry in the village, but most workers commute to jobs in the lower Vedeggio valley, Lugano and Bellinzona.

Camignolo

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Camignolo was part of the parish of Bironico and valley community of Valle Carvina. One of the major landholders in the village was the

Como Cathedral Como Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta; ''Duomo di Como'') is the Catholic cathedral of the city of Como, Lombardy, Italy, and the seat of the Bishop of Como. It is dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. History ...

. The village was home to the San Ambrogio castle by 1348. Very little is known about the castle, but it was probably destroyed by the Swiss Confederation in the 16th century. It became a vice-parish under Bironico in 1670, and then broke away to become a full parish in 1809. The parish church of S. Pietro e Paolo is first mentioned in the 15th century. It was rebuilt to its current appearance in 1670. The chapel of St. Ambrogio was probably built in the 10th century, but it first appears in records from 1348. The interior of the chapel is richly decorated with 15th century and late Romanesque frescoes. It was restored in 1976-79. The village is still mostly agrarian though there has been some industrialization. Like other communities in the valley, during the 19th century many residents emigrated to escape the poverty and limited farm land. It has slowly developed into a minor regional center and a secondary school was built in the village.

Rivera

The oldest traces of a settlement in the area include scattered artifacts and graves from the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

and the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

. In the

, Rivera was part of the valley community of Carvina. In the 13th century

possessed estates in Sorencino. Starting in 1678, representatives from the twelve members of the

in Ticino met in Casa dei landfogti before they assembled in

. Rivera was a member of the

of Bironico, before it became an independent parish in 1754. From 1779 until 1793, the parish church of S. Spirito was rebuilt. The villagers earned their living from agriculture, mostly through traditional alpine farming and herding. During construction of the Ceneri tunnel in 1872-82, the population increased sharply. The completion of the road in 1811 and the construction of the tunnel and the station led to the emergence of a new district in the flatter part of the valley. This area forms the northern boundary of the agglomeration of Lugano. The base station of the Monte Tamaro gondola opened in 1972 in Rivera.

Sigirino

In the Middle Ages, Sigirino belonged to the territory of the Carvina valley community. In a land register of 1296, Como Cathedral was the major landholder in Sigirino. It is likely that at that time Sigirino possessed some type of fortifications. The Church of St. Andrew was first mentioned in 1296. It was totally rebuilt in the 16th century and restored in the 18th. After its separation from the Bironico parish in 1625, Sigirino had its own parish.

Geography

Monteceneri had an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of . Of this area, about 8.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 77.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 9.0% is settled (buildings or roads) and 5.2% is unproductive land. Over the past two decades (1979/85-2004/09) the amount of land that is settled has increased by and the agricultural land has decreased by .Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Regional portraits
accessed 2 May 2016

Demographics

Monteceneri has a population () of . , 23.8% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 3 years (2010-2013) the population has changed at a rate of 11.03%. The

birth rate The birth rate for a given period is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; populati ...

in the municipality, in 2013, was 10.3 while the

death rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of de ...

was 6.7 per thousand residents. , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 19.2% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) are 65.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14.9%.

Historic Population

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:1100 height:500 PlotArea = height:350 left:100 bottom:90 right:100 Legend = columns:3 left:220 top:70 columnwidth:160 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:3300 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:500 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:100 start:0 Colors= id:ME value:yellowgreen legend:Medeglia id:BI value:green legend:Bironico id:CA value:blue legend:Camignolo id:RI value:red legend:Rivera id:SI value:yellow legend:Sigirino PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:30 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1591 color:ME from:start till:370 text:"370" bar:1692 color:CA from:0 till:260 text:"260" bar:1709 color:yellowgreen from:start till:443 text:"443" bar:1769 color:green from:0 till:128 text:"128" bar:1769 color:red from:128 till:448 text:"320" bar:1801 color:yellowgreen from:start till:543 text:"543" bar:1801 color:green from:543 till:744 text:"201" bar:1801 color:blue from:744 till:904 text:"160" bar:1801 color:red from:904 till:1220 text:"316" bar:1801 color:SI from:1220 till:1567 text:"234" bar:1850 from: 0 till:469 text:"469" color:ME bar:1860 from: 0 till:436 text:"436" color:ME bar:1870 from: 0 till:395 text:"395" color:ME bar:1880 from: 0 till:412 text:"412" color:ME bar:1890 from: 0 till:375 text:"375" color:ME bar:1900 from: 0 till:383 text:"383" color:ME bar:1910 from: 0 till:364 text:"364" color:ME bar:1920 from: 0 till:380 text:"380" color:ME bar:1930 from: 0 till:364 text:"364" color:ME bar:1940 from: 0 till:366 text:"366" color:ME bar:1950 from: 0 till:331 text:"331" color:ME bar:1960 from: 0 till:304 text:"304" color:ME bar:1970 from: 0 till:332 text:"332" color:ME bar:1980 from: 0 till:336 text:"336" color:ME bar:1990 from: 0 till:297 text:"297" color:ME bar:2000 from: 0 till:330 text:"330" color:ME bar:1850 from: 469 till:646 text:"177" color:BI bar:1860 from: 436 till:589 text:"153" color:BI bar:1870 from: 395 till:551 text:"156" color:BI bar:1880 from: 412 till:597 text:"185" color:BI bar:1890 from: 375 till:584 text:"209" color:BI bar:1900 from: 383 till:559 text:"176" color:BI bar:1910 from: 364 till:570 text:"206" color:BI bar:1920 from: 380 till:628 text:"248" color:BI bar:1930 from: 364 till:687 text:"323" color:BI bar:1940 from: 366 till:631 text:"265" color:BI bar:1950 from: 331 till:603 text:"272" color:BI bar:1960 from: 304 till:644 text:"340" color:BI bar:1970 from: 332 till:731 text:"399" color:BI bar:1980 from: 336 till:724 text:"388" color:BI bar:1990 from: 297 till:728 text:"431" color:BI bar:2000 from: 330 till:842 text:"512" color:BI bar:1850 from: 646 till:904 text:"258" color:CA bar:1860 from: 589 till:849 text:"260" color:CA bar:1870 from: 551 till:797 text:"246" color:CA bar:1880 from: 597 till:889 text:"292" color:CA bar:1890 from: 584 till:819 text:"235" color:CA bar:1900 from: 559 till:797 text:"238" color:CA bar:1910 from: 570 till:803 text:"233" color:CA bar:1920 from: 628 till:903 text:"275" color:CA bar:1930 from: 687 till:974 text:"287" color:CA bar:1940 from: 631 till:937 text:"306" color:CA bar:1950 from: 603 till:922 text:"319" color:CA bar:1960 from: 644 till:993 text:"349" color:CA bar:1970 from: 731 till:1219 text:"488" color:CA bar:1980 from: 724 till:1184 text:"460" color:CA bar:1990 from: 728 till:1288 text:"560" color:CA bar:2000 from: 842 till:1438 text:"596" color:CA bar:1850 from: 904 till:1304 text:"400" color:RI bar:1860 from: 849 till:1269 text:"420" color:RI bar:1870 from: 797 till:1193 text:"396" color:RI bar:1880 from: 889 till:1644 text:"755" color:RI bar:1890 from: 819 till:1297 text:"478" color:RI bar:1900 from: 797 till:1321 text:"524" color:RI bar:1910 from: 803 till:1360 text:"557" color:RI bar:1920 from: 903 till:1539 text:"636" color:RI bar:1930 from: 974 till:1728 text:"754" color:RI bar:1940 from: 937 till:1755 text:"818" color:RI bar:1950 from: 922 till:1801 text:"879" color:RI bar:1960 from: 993 till:1943 text:"950" color:RI bar:1970 from: 1219 till:2365 text:"1,146" color:RI bar:1980 from: 1184 till:2311 text:"1,127" color:RI bar:1990 from: 1288 till:2573 text:"1,285" color:RI bar:2000 from: 1438 till:2853 text:"1,415" color:RI bar:1850 from: 1304 till:1533 text:"229" color:SI bar:1860 from: 1269 till:1484 text:"215" color:SI bar:1870 from: 1193 till:1417 text:"224" color:SI bar:1880 from: 1644 till:2006 text:"362" color:SI bar:1890 from: 1297 till:1539 text:"242" color:SI bar:1900 from: 1321 till:1557 text:"236" color:SI bar:1910 from: 1360 till:1640 text:"280" color:SI bar:1920 from: 1539 till:1769 text:"230" color:SI bar:1930 from: 1728 till:1949 text:"221" color:SI bar:1940 from: 1755 till:1965 text:"210" color:SI bar:1950 from: 1801 till:2013 text:"212" color:SI bar:1960 from: 1943 till:2152 text:"209" color:SI bar:1970 from: 2365 till:2656 text:"291" color:SI bar:1980 from: 2311 till:2548 text:"237" color:SI bar:1990 from: 2573 till:2841 text:"268" color:SI bar:2000 from: 2853 till:3243 text:"390" color:SI

Heritage sites of national significance

The Ruderi Del Castello Di S. Sofia and Stazione Radio Monte Ceneri are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire village of Osignano is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Economy

, there were a total of 2,119 people employed in the municipality. Of these, a total of 26 people worked in 16 businesses in the primary economic sector. 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 constructio ...

employed 664 workers in 78 separate businesses. Finally, 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 secon ...

provided 1,429 jobs in 258 businesses. In 2013 a total of 6.1% of the population received social assistance.

Politics

In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the FDP with 32.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (21.2%), the Lega party (16.0%) and the SVP (12.0%). In the federal election, a total of 1615 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 can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...

was 59.7%.

Crime

In 2014 the crime rate, of the over 200 crimes listed in the

Swiss Criminal Code The Swiss Criminal Code (SR/RS 311, german: Strafgesetzbuch (StGB), french: Code pénal suisse (CP), it, Codice penale svizzero (CP), rm, Cudesch penal svizzer) is a portion of the third part (SR/RS 3) of the internal Swiss law ("Private law - ...

(running from murder, robbery and assault to accepting bribes and election fraud), in Monteceneri was 55 per thousand residents, slightly lower than the national average (64.6 per thousand). During the same period, the rate of drug crimes was 6 per thousand residents, which is only 60.6% of the national rate. The rate of violations of immigration, visa and work permit laws was 4.4 per thousand residents. This rate is slightly lower than the national average.Statistical Atlas of Switzerland
accessed 5 April 2016

Transport

Monteceneri is served by the Rivera-Bironico station, situated within the municipality. The station is on the

Gotthard railway The Gotthard railway (german: Gotthardbahn; it, Ferrovia del Gottardo) is the Swiss trans-alpine railway line from northern Switzerland to the canton of Ticino. The line forms a major part of an important international railway link between nort ...

Climate

Bironico has a Continental Subarctic climate (Dfc) under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

. The average annual temperature is . The average coldest month was January with an average temperature of , while the warmest month was July with an average temperature of . The wettest month was May during which time Bironico received an average of of rain or snow. The driest month was February during which time Bironico received an average of of rain or snow.Weatherbase climate summary
accessed 19 June 2013. The weather station is above sea level.

References

{{Authority control Cultural property of national significance in Ticino Populated places established in 2010