Ticino / Tessin

Ticino (TI) Ticino (German Tessin), the most southerly of the Swiss cantons, takes its name from the River Ticino, a left-bank tributary of the Po, which rises on the Nufenen pass (Passo della Novena), flows through Lake Maggiore and joins the Po after a course of 248km/154mi.

The canton has an area of 2,811 sq. km/1,085 sq. mi and a population of some 250,000. Its capital is Bellinzona, situated near the junction of the roads from the St Gotthard and the San Bernardino pass. The canton's main sources of revenue are agriculture and tourism. In the past, many German-speaking Swiss and Germans from the Federal Republic have settled in the canton, particularly by the lakes, which has led to a considerable change in the population structure. The indigenous population is almost exclusively Italian-speaking, but with a local dialect. The territory of Ticino, occupied in the early historical period by Rhaetians and Lepontii, was later incorporated in the Roman province of Gallia Cisalpina. Between the fifth and eighth centuries it was successively occupied by the Goths, the Lombards and the Franks. In the 15th C. the Confederates gradually wrested it from the overlordship of the Dukes of Milan. It became an independent canton in 1803.

Along the northern boundaries of Ticino are high-Alpine regions with their characteristic plants and animals. Farther south, Mediterranean vegetation increasingly predominates, flourishing particularly in the south-facing valleys. By the lakes, palms and citrus fruits are found. The animal life, particularly insects and reptiles, also shows clear Mediterranean characteristics.

The markedly southern orientation and the protection against influences from the region north of the Alps, which result from Ticino's geographical situation, are reflected also in the architecture of the houses and public buildings. In many places, the churches are built of natural stone without any external rendering, as in northern Italy, and the canton has a rich heritage of Renaissance and Baroque architecture.