Ponte Capriasca
Encyclopedia
Ponte Capriasca is a municipality
in the district of Lugano
in the canton
of Ticino
in Switzerland
.
Historically, it was part of bailiwick
of Lugano
. Under the rule of the Duchy of Milan
as well as the Swiss Confederation
, the village was an independent municipality with its own statutes and rights. The rights and statutes were first documented in 1443 and were confirmed in 1648. Early in the 16th Century, the village was involved in the fierce fighting between the Guelphs and Ghibellines
.
In 1455, it separated from the Tesserete
parish
to form an independent parish. The parish church
of S. Ambrogio is first mentioned in 1356 but is built on a Roman era
foundation. Its present form dates from a rebuilding of 1835, in which the old bell tower and the nave
were incorporated. The Last Supper
in the interior dates from the 16th Century and was modeled on Leonardo da Vinci
's Last Supper. The painting was restored in 1951 and again in 1989-92.
The local economy of the village was based on agriculture and the income from the seasonal migration, especially to northern Italy. From the 1970s the village experienced a building boom and its population increased fivefold. In 2005 slightly over half of the jobs are in the service sector and over three-quarters of the population are commuters.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 6.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.6%. Out of the forested land, 44.5% of the total land area is heavily forested, while 17.3% is covered in small trees and shrubbery and 2.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 1.8% is used for growing crops and 6.3% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 11.0% is unproductive vegetation and 2.1% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Lugano district, in the Valli di Lugano Region.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Per pale gules and argent two he-goats rampant combatant on a bridge counterchanged. The he-goats make this an example of canting
.
Most of the population speaks Italian
(81.3%), with German
being second most common (13.4%) and French
being third (2.2%). Of the Swiss national languages , 198 speak German, 33 people speak French
, 1,202 people speak Italian, and 1 person speaks Romansh. The remainder (44 people) speak another language.
, the gender distribution of the population was 49.0% male and 51.0% female. The population was made up of 695 Swiss men (42.2% of the population), and 111 (6.7%) non-Swiss men. There were 740 Swiss women (45.0%), and 99 (6.0%) non-Swiss women.
In there were 12 live births to Swiss citizens and 1 birth to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 6 deaths of Swiss citizens and 3 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 6 while the foreign population decreased by 2. There were 2 Swiss men and 6 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there was 1 non-Swiss man who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 3 non-Swiss women 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 23 and the non-Swiss population change was a decrease of 11 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.7%.
The age distribution, , in Ponte Capriasca is; 208 children or 12.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 202 teenagers or 12.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 115 people or 7.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 219 people or 13.3% are between 30 and 39, 320 people or 19.5% are between 40 and 49, and 215 people or 13.1% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 209 people or 12.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 106 people or 6.4% are between 70 and 79, there are 51 people or 3.1% who are over 80.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.62 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 56.9% 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 594 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. there were 303 single family homes (or 72.3% of the total) out of a total of 419 inhabited buildings. There were 64 two family buildings (15.3%) and 41 multi-family buildings (9.8%). There were also 11 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%. there were 744 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 4 room apartment of which there were 268. There were 19 single room apartments and 190 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 592 apartments (79.6% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 150 apartments (20.2%) were seasonally occupied and 2 apartments (0.3%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.2 new units per 1000 residents.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
of S. Ambrogio is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance
.
the most popular party was the FDP
which received 27.54% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
(19.99%), the Ticino League
(17.33%) and the CVP
(14.24%). In the federal election, a total of 558 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 50.1%.
In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 1,114 registered voters in Ponte Capriasca, of which 689 or 61.8% voted. 5 blank ballots and 5 null ballots were cast, leaving 679 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT
which received 177 or 26.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the LEGA
(with 136 or 20.0%), the SSI (with 123 or 18.1%) and the PS
(with 104 or 15.3%).
In the Consiglio di Stato election, 5 blank ballots and 3 null ballots were cast, leaving 681 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the LEGA which received 193 or 28.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 156 or 22.9%), the PS (with 126 or 18.5%) and the SSI (with 103 or 15.1%).
, there were 159 workers who commuted into the municipality and 588 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.7 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 22.0% of the workforce coming into Ponte Capriasca are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 9% used public transportation to get to work, and 70.3% used a private car.
. There are 159 individuals (or about 10.76% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 38 individuals (or about 2.57% of the population) did not answer the question.
).
In Ponte Capriasca there were a total of 340 students . The Ticino education system
provides up to three years of non-mandatory kindergarten
and in Ponte Capriasca there were 51 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 122 students attended the standard primary schools and 1 student 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 76 students in the two year middle school and 2 in their pre-apprenticeship, while 39 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 17 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 28 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 4 students in the professional program.
, there were 90 students in Ponte Capriasca who came from another municipality, while 144 residents 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 Lugano
Lugano (district)
The district of Lugano is a district of Canton Ticino, Switzerland. It has a population of .-Geography:The Lugano District has an area, , of . Of this area, or 15.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 66.5% is forested...
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
Ponte Capriasca is first mentioned in 1335 as Ponte. In 1491 it was mentioned as Ponte Criviascha.Historically, it was part of bailiwick
Bailiwick
A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...
of Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
. Under the rule of the Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
as well as the Swiss Confederation
Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....
, the village was an independent municipality with its own statutes and rights. The rights and statutes were first documented in 1443 and were confirmed in 1648. Early in the 16th Century, the village was involved in the fierce fighting between the Guelphs and Ghibellines
Guelphs and Ghibellines
The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in central and northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the split between these two parties was a particularly important aspect of the internal policy of the Italian city-states...
.
In 1455, it separated from the Tesserete
Tesserete
Tesserete is a village and former municipality in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.In 1976 the neighboring municipality Campestro was incorporated into Tesserete....
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...
to form an independent parish. 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 S. Ambrogio is first mentioned in 1356 but is built on a Roman era
Switzerland in the Roman era
The history of Switzerland in the Roman era encompasses the roughly six centuries during which the territory of modern Switzerland was a part of the Roman Republic and Empire...
foundation. Its present form dates from a rebuilding of 1835, in which the old bell tower and the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
were incorporated. The Last Supper
Last Supper
The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
in the interior dates from the 16th Century and was modeled on Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
's Last Supper. The painting was restored in 1951 and again in 1989-92.
The local economy of the village was based on agriculture and the income from the seasonal migration, especially to northern Italy. From the 1970s the village experienced a building boom and its population increased fivefold. In 2005 slightly over half of the jobs are in the service sector and over three-quarters of the population are commuters.
Geography
Ponte Capriasca has an area, , of 6.2 square kilometres (2.4 sq mi). Of this area, 0.51 km² (0.196912100882193 sq mi) or 8.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.97 km² (1.5 sq mi) or 64.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.54 km² (0.208495165639969 sq mi) or 8.7% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and 0.81 km² (0.312742748459953 sq mi) or 13.1% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 6.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.6%. Out of the forested land, 44.5% of the total land area is heavily forested, while 17.3% is covered in small trees and shrubbery and 2.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 1.8% is used for growing crops and 6.3% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 11.0% is unproductive vegetation and 2.1% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Lugano district, in the Valli di Lugano Region.
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 Per pale gules and argent two he-goats rampant combatant on a bridge counterchanged. The he-goats make this an example of canting
Canting arms
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus. The term cant came into the English language from Anglo-Norman cant, meaning song or singing, from Latin cantāre, and English cognates include canticle, chant, accent, incantation and recant.Canting arms –...
.
Demographics
Ponte Capriasca has a population of . , 12.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 13.4%.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...
(81.3%), with 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 second most common (13.4%) and 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...
being third (2.2%). Of the Swiss national languages , 198 speak German, 33 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...
, 1,202 people speak Italian, and 1 person speaks Romansh. The remainder (44 people) speak another language.
, the gender distribution of the population was 49.0% male and 51.0% female. The population was made up of 695 Swiss men (42.2% of the population), and 111 (6.7%) non-Swiss men. There were 740 Swiss women (45.0%), and 99 (6.0%) non-Swiss women.
In there were 12 live births to Swiss citizens and 1 birth to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 6 deaths of Swiss citizens and 3 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 6 while the foreign population decreased by 2. There were 2 Swiss men and 6 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there was 1 non-Swiss man who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 3 non-Swiss women 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 23 and the non-Swiss population change was a decrease of 11 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.7%.
The age distribution, , in Ponte Capriasca is; 208 children or 12.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 202 teenagers or 12.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 115 people or 7.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 219 people or 13.3% are between 30 and 39, 320 people or 19.5% are between 40 and 49, and 215 people or 13.1% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 209 people or 12.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 106 people or 6.4% are between 70 and 79, there are 51 people or 3.1% who are over 80.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.62 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 56.9% 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 594 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. there were 303 single family homes (or 72.3% of the total) out of a total of 419 inhabited buildings. There were 64 two family buildings (15.3%) and 41 multi-family buildings (9.8%). There were also 11 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%. there were 744 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 4 room apartment of which there were 268. There were 19 single room apartments and 190 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 592 apartments (79.6% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 150 apartments (20.2%) were seasonally occupied and 2 apartments (0.3%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.2 new units per 1000 residents.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The Parish ChurchParish 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 S. Ambrogio is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance
Swiss 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 27.54% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(19.99%), 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...
(17.33%) and 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...
(14.24%). In the federal election, a total of 558 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 50.1%.
In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 1,114 registered voters in Ponte Capriasca, of which 689 or 61.8% voted. 5 blank ballots and 5 null ballots were cast, leaving 679 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 177 or 26.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; 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 136 or 20.0%), the SSI (with 123 or 18.1%) and the PS
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(with 104 or 15.3%).
In the Consiglio di Stato election, 5 blank ballots and 3 null ballots were cast, leaving 681 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the LEGA which received 193 or 28.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 156 or 22.9%), the PS (with 126 or 18.5%) and the SSI (with 103 or 15.1%).
Economy
, Ponte Capriasca had an unemployment rate of 3.18%. , there were 11 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 3 businesses involved in this sector. 131 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 10 businesses in this sector. 144 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 41 businesses in this sector. There were 743 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 40.9% of the workforce., there were 159 workers who commuted into the municipality and 588 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.7 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 22.0% of the workforce coming into Ponte Capriasca are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 9% used public transportation to get to work, and 70.3% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,095 or 74.1% were Roman Catholic, while 186 or 12.6% 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 159 individuals (or about 10.76% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 38 individuals (or about 2.57% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Ponte Capriasca about 82% 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 Ponte Capriasca there were a total of 340 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 Ponte Capriasca there were 51 children in kindergarten. The primary school program lasts for five years and includes both a standard school and a special school. In the municipality, 122 students attended the standard primary schools and 1 student 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 76 students in the two year middle school and 2 in their pre-apprenticeship, while 39 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 17 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 28 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 4 students in the professional program.
, there were 90 students in Ponte Capriasca who came from another municipality, while 144 residents attended schools outside the municipality.