The Sottoceneri ('Under the Ceneri'; ) is the part of the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

canton of Ticino that lies to the south of the Monte Ceneri Pass through the Lugano Prealps. It includes the Swiss shore of Lake Lugano, and the cities and towns 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 ...

Mendrisio Mendrisio (; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Mendrisio (district), Mendrisio in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Mendrisio is the seat of the Accademia di Architettura di Mendris ...

and Chiasso. The Sottoceneri is not a half-canton with formally defined boundaries, but roughly maps to the districts of

and

. The remainder of the canton is described as the Sopraceneri ('Above the Ceneri'), and includes the valley of the Ticino river and the towns of Bellinzona,

Biasca Biasca is a town of the district of Riviera (district), Riviera in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. History Biasca is first mentioned in 830 as ''Aviasca'' in the ''Liber viventium'' of Pfäfers Abbey. In 1119 it wa ...

, Riviera and

Locarno Locarno (; ; Ticinese dialect, Ticinese: ; formerly in ) is a southern Switzerland, Swiss List of towns in Switzerland, town and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district Locarno (district), Locarno (of which it is the capita ...

. Whilst the Sottoceneri comprises , or only about 15% of the land area of the canton, it contains 189,123 people, or 57% of the cantonal population (2008). It is therefore characterised by a markedly higher population density and level of economic activity, when compared to the Sopraceneri.

References

Geography of Ticino {{Ticino-geo-stub