Gravesano is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
History
Gravesano is first mentioned in 1254 as de Gravaxana.
Gravesano also includes the hamlet of Grumo, that was home to a medieval castle that ruled over both villages as well as Manno and Bedano. The castle, which was on the road from Ponte Tresa to Monte Ceneri Pass, was visited in 1004 by Emperor Henry II and later by Frederick Barbarossa during his Italy campaign in 1162. The monastery of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro of Pavia and the Bishop of Como both held property and rights in Gravesano. The S. Pietro parish, which also included Manno and Bedano, was set up in 1609 in Gravesano. The church is mentioned in 1192, and the present building dates from the late 16th Century. In 1893, the Foundation Matteo Rusca established a secondary school and art school in the village.
The former farming village of Gravesano has, in recent decades, seen a strong growth in the industrial, trade and services sectors. This development was influenced by the inclusion of the municipality in the growing belt of suburbs around Lugano as well as the proximity to the A2 motorway and the Swiss Federal Railways tracks leading to the freight station of Bioggio.
Geography
Gravesano has an area, , of . Of this area, or 58.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 23.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 47.8% is settled (buildings or roads).
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2.9% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 36.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.3%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.4% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.9%. Out of the forested land, 17.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 5.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 20.3% is used for growing crops, while 1.4% is used for orchards or vine crops and 36.2% is used for alpine pastures.
The municipality is located in the Lugano district, in the mid-Vedeggio valley. It consists of Gravesano and the hamlet of Grumo.
Coat of arms
The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure a sword downpointing argent hilted and pommed or between two keys of the second wards down and inwards. The key and sword are the attributes of the patron saints of the church, St. Peter and St. Paul.
Demographics
Gravesano has a population () of . , 16.3% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 7.7%.
Most of the population () speaks Italian (87.9%), with German being second most common (8.2%) and French being third (1.2%). Of the Swiss national languages (), 84 speak German, 12 people speak French, 898 people speak Italian. The remainder (28 people) speak another language.
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.5% male and 51.5% female. The population was made up of 477 Swiss men (39.9% of the population), and 102 (8.5%) non-Swiss men. There were 535 Swiss women (44.8%), and 80 (6.7%) non-Swiss women.
In there were 17 live births to Swiss citizens and 1 birth to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 9 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 8 while the foreign population increased by 1. There were 2 Swiss men and 3 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there was 1 non-Swiss man and 6 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 40 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 6 people. This represents a population growth rate of 4.0%.
The age distribution, , in Gravesano is; 128 children or 10.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 120 teenagers or 10.1% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 116 people or 9.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 173 people or 14.5% are between 30 and 39, 207 people or 17.3% are between 40 and 49, and 156 people or 13.1% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 156 people or 13.1% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 91 people or 7.6% are between 70 and 79, there are 47 people or 3.9% who are over 80.