Chiasso

Chiasso is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

As the southernmost of Switzerland's municipalities, Chiasso is located at the border with Italy, in front of Ponte Chiasso (a Frazione of Como, Italy). The municipality of Chiasso includes the villages of Boffalora, Pedrinate and Seseglio.

In 2007, the three mayors of Chiasso, Vacallo and Morbio Inferiore decided to unite into one commune. The new united commune with a population of approximately 15,300 people over a territory of 9.2 km², was rejected by the population in November 2007.

History

Chiasso is first mentioned in 1140 as Claso.

Chiasso (and Boffalora)

Historically, Chiasso and Boffalora were two distinct agricultural villages. Because of the presence of the nearby Italian border and customs office, and later as part of an access route to the St. Gotthard's Tunnel, the two villages merged and grew.

Chiasso's history and development were strongly influenced by its unique location. During its early history, a castle was built in Chiasso as part of the extended fortifications of the city of Como. It was a suburb of Como, until 1416 when it was incorporated in the Pieve of Balerna and given to the Rusca family to manage. The houses in the village center were owned by the Albrici family and were granted imperial privileges. Chiasso had become an independent community sometime before 1552. In the contemporary documents, it is mentioned as Clasio tabernarum (Chiasso of taverns) referring to its function as a transit point.

Boffalora is mentioned in 1536 as a municipality and remained its independence until the second half of the 17th Century. They became a single parish either in 1657 or 1677.

Chiasso's church belonged to the Pieve of Zezio (in Como), from which it withdrew in the 16th Century. In 1888, Boffalora separated from the parish. It became the seat of an archpriest in 1928. The Church of San Vitale, was first mentioned in 1227, and was rebuilt in 1934.

In the 15th Century Chaisso was known for its horse market. However, the market ended after the invasion of the Swiss Confederation and the march through Chiasso in the War of the League of Cambrai in 1510. In the late 16th Century Chiasso had a small population when compared to other municipalities of the Mendrisiotto valley. The village survived through its role as a border town (providing warehouses and inns) along with income from agriculture and paper mills. In the 19th Century, tobacco and silk factories moved into the town.

The construction of the railway along with income from customs induced an economic and demographic recovery in Chiasso. In 1874 the railway line Lugano-Chiasso opened, followed in 1876 by one running to Como.

In 1910, the Mendrisio electric tramway opened, linking a northern terminus in Riva San Vitale with Capolago, Mendrisio, Balerna and Chiasso. The section of the line in Chiasso closed in 1950 and was replaced by a bus service.

Modernly, a large part of the town is devoted to Chiasso's international railway station and related customs (although some of the border-control responsibilities have been moved to Como, in Italy). There is also a sizeable customs area for traffic passing by road and motorway (both commercial and non-commercial vehicles).

Chiasso offers also a lot of customs related services. A considerable source of revenue for the town is derived from Italians crossing the border to purchase certain goods more cheaply in Switzerland, particularly cigarettes and petrol. It also functions as a banking centre for Italian clients wishing to keep money within the Swiss banking system.

Starting in 1950, Chiasso became an important financial center and the economic center of the Mendrisio region, resulting in a rapid population increase. Since the 1980s, however, population and jobs, especially those in the services sector have shifted into neighboring communities.

The pedestrian zone

In the period of years from 2001 to 2005 a new pedestrian zone has been created, from customs to the municipality building. An enlargement of this zone has been put on the agenda by the local administration, but a referendum about this issue is scheduled on 24 September 2006.

Pedrinate

Pedrinate was first mentioned in 1291 as Pedrenate, but Roman ruins near the village church indicate a much longer history. It was mentioned in 1335 as part of the village cooperative of Seseglio. The village church of S. Stefano is first mentioned in 1545 and was part of the Balerna parish until the 17th century.

Pedrinate municipality was aggregated in the Chiasso municipality in 1975, along with Seseglio. It is located above Chiasso, on the Penz hill. Pedrinate is the most southern village of Switzerland. Around Pedrinate there are some vineyards.

Seseglio

Seseglio is on northern boundary of Chiasso municipality.

Geography

Chiasso has an area, as of 1997, of 5.33 square km. Of this area, 1.63 km2 (0.63 sq mi) or 30.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.65 km2 (1.02 sq mi) or 49.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.94 km2 (0.75 sq mi) or 36.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km2 (4.9 acres) or 0.4% is either rivers or lakes and 0.04 km2 (9.9 acres) or 0.8% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.7% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 18.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 14.4%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.7%. Out of the forested land, 47.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 7.9% is used for growing crops, while 4.3% is used for orchards or vine crops and 18.4% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.

The municipality is located in the Mendrisio district, on the Italian border. Since Pedrinate merged into Chiasso in 1976, it has been the most southerly municipality in Switzerland.

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent lion passant holding a letter C gules standing on a carriage entrance azure. The carriage entrance refers to Chiasso location of the ancient road coming from Como and giving access to several places from Chiasso."

Sights

The entire village of Chiasso is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites

Traffic

The fortune of Chiasso is mostly linked to its location on the A2; the main route to St. Gotthard's Tunnel, which connects the Southern Alps and Italy with the northern part of Switzerland and Germany.

The A2 Swiss motorway begins at Chiasso. Long traffic queues frequently occur on the motorway around the border where vehicles are being checked for contraband.

Religion

From the 2000 census, 6,235 or 80.8% were Roman Catholic, while 230 or 3.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. There are 754 individuals (or about 9.77% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 501 individuals (or about 6.49% of the population) did not answer the question.