Cugnasco-Gerra is a municipality in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It was formed on January 1, 2009, through the merger of Cugnasco and Gerra.
Location
Cugnasco-Gerra has an area, , of .
Cugnasco is on the outskirts of the Magadino valley. It includes the settlements of Boscioredo, Cugnasco, Bosco, Massarescio, Medoscio, Moncucco, Pianrestello and Sciarana.
Gerra consisted of Gerra Piano and Agarone, both exclaves in the Magadino Plain, and the main part of the municipality (Gerra Valle) in the Verzasca valley.
History
Cugnasco is first mentioned in 1374 as Cunyascho. Gerra (Verzasca) is first mentioned in 1387 as Giera.
Cugnasco
Today's mountain pastures of Ditto and Curogna are the oldest settlements of the municipality. The settlements in the marshy Ticino river floodplain, developed later. The present village developed mainly due to the herders who brought their cattle down into the Magadino valley for the winter. In the 13th and 14th Centuries there was a migration from Verzasca valley and about 150 inhabitants of Ditto and Curogna moved down into the valley. Cugnasco grew into a center of community life for the surrounding settlements.
As Cugnasco grew, a Servite monastery grew up as well. In 1653, the monastery was closed. However, the Chapel of the Beata Vergine delle Grazie continued to serve for the inhabitants of the plain. Before the chapel, they had to travel to Tenero for worship services. The small 15th Century church, now a heritage site of national significance containing valuable frescoes from the 16th and 17th Century, was the goal of many pilgrims from the region.
In 1635-56 the provost's St. Joseph Church was built. It later became a parish center, while Ditto and Curogna still had a Vicariate. Both the chapel of San Martino in Ditto and the SS Cristoforo e Anna in Curogna date from the 14th and 15th Century and contains frescoes from various periods.
Cugnasco was located at the crossroads of two important trade routes from Locarno to Bellinzona and from Cugnasco to Contone, which was near the so-called Porto sul Ticino, a river crossing. After the collapse of the bridge at Bellinzona in 1515, this second route became nearly the only way across the river. Historically, the economy of Cugnasco relied nearly exclusively on agriculture and pastoralism. However, by 2000 less than 15% of workers worked in agriculture and about three quarters were commuters.
Gerra
Until 1852, it was part of Brione. The exclaves were assigned to Gerra in 1920, when the scattered landholdings of Locarno, Minusio and Mergoscia in the Terricciole plains were separated from the cities. In 1742, the parish of Gerra was created when it separated from Brione. The church of San Giovanni Evangelista already existed in the 15th Century but was destroyed twice: in the late 16th Century by a landslide and 1817 by a flood. The present church dates to 1819. The Church of Sacro Cuore in Gerra Piano was built in 1930. In Gerra Valle there is a mill dating from the 16th century, and a house from 1470.
The inhabitants lived on agriculture and livestock. Since the 14th Century, there have been annual summer cattle drives to the Alpine pastures. They spent the winters in the Magadino or Sottoceneri valleys. Due to limited agricultural land, portions of the population has emigrated since the 17th Century. Between 1860 and 1874 about a quarter of the population emigrated. In the late 20th and early 21st Centuries the population rose due to the development of Gerra Piano to an important local center. However, in the valley the population has declined.
Demographics
Cugnasco-Gerra has a population () of .
, the gender distribution of the population was 49.6% male and 50.4% female. The population was made up of 1,194 Swiss men (41.7% of the population), and 227 (7.9%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,269 Swiss women (44.3%), and 173 (6.0%) non-Swiss women.
In there were 29 live births to Swiss citizens and 3 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 18 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 11 while the foreign population increased by 3. There were 2 Swiss men who immigrated back to Switzerland and 1 Swiss woman who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 10 non-Swiss men and 12 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources) was an increase of 74 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 38 people. This represents a population growth rate of 4.2%.