Mendrisio (; ) is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
Mendrisio is the seat of the Accademia di Architettura of the university of Italian-speaking Switzerland (USI).
The municipality was boosted in size on 4 April 2004 when it incorporated the former municipality of Salorino. On 5 April 2009 it incorporated the former municipalities of Arzo, Capolago, Genestrerio, Rancate and Tremona. On 14 April 2013 the former municipalities of Besazio, Ligornetto and Meride merged into the municipality of Mendrisio.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 19 April 2013
Mendrisio is served by Mendrisio railway station and Mendrisio San Martino railway station.
History
Mendrisio was first mentioned in 793 as Mendrici and was also known by its German name, Mendris though this name is no longer used. However, the area was inhabited during the Roman era. Around thirty tombs, a villa and coins from a Roman settlement have been discovered in the area. Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, Mendrisio was the center of a Lombard district and grew into a town. During the Middle Ages, several fortifications were built on the valley floor between the Porta S. Giovanni and the Moree river. In the Late Middle Ages the Torriani family built their castle on the rocky hills above the town. Mendrisio became an independent town in the County of Seprio in 1140. The county was taken over by Como three decades later in 1170. Como ruled over Mendrisio until 1335, when Como was brought under Milan's control. Mendrisio then remained under Milanese control until 1402. At some point in the 15th century, the town was given as a fief to the Rusca and Sanseverino families.
In the late 15th and early 16th century, the Swiss Confederation canton of Uri began expanding down into the Leventina valley. After a number of setbacks, by 1512 Uri and the rest of the Confederation captured the city of Lugano and incorporated the Landvogtei of Mendrisio. Nine years later, in 1521, the Swiss Confederation established a system of shared responsibility over the Italian Bailiwicks and appointed a bailiff to manage Mendrisio. Mendrisio remained a conquered territory with limited autonomy and rights until the 1798 French invasion and the creation of the Helvetic Republic.
Despite Mendrisio's early growth, it remained a part of the large parish of Balerna until the 15th century. Over the following years, two parishes were formed in the town, under the parish churches of SS Cosma e Damiano and S. Sisinio. The Church of SS Cosma e Damiano was built in the Baroque style in 1672. The first building was demolished in the 19th century and a new Classicist style church was built nearby in 1863–75. The church of S. Sisino was built outside the town in the village of La Torre. A number of religious orders also settled in Mendrisio, including the Humiliati, the Servite Order, the Ursulines and the Capuchins. The Servites established a boys school in 1644 in the Convent of S. Giovanni. In 1852 that school became a cantonal secondary school. During the 19th century the religious orders' convents and monasteries were all secularized.
In the past century, the town has expanded away from the Moree river and developed a large industrial sector. During the late 19th century, one of the first factories in town, the Torriani-Bolzani spinning mill employed about 350 women and children (over 10% of the population in 1900). The factories brought jobs to the town and encouraged villagers to move into Mendrisio. The population doubled over the last 60 years of the 19th century. Wealthy industrialists built large villas and the Beata Vergine hospital. The construction of a railroad through the town brought more residents and industry. During the 20th century, a number of service companies opened in the town and industry began to decline. In 2000 almost three-quarters of the working population worked in the services sector. Mendrisio's location near the Italian border means that many of the residents and workers are cross-border commuters.
As a district capital, Mendrisio provides services for the surrounding communities. A neuro-psychiatric clinic was opened in 1898. This was followed by primary and secondary schools in 1944 and in 1996 the School of Architecture (Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio) of the Università della Svizzera italiana opened thanks to Mario Botta.
Geography
Following the 2013 merger, Mendrisio has an area of .
Mendrisio had an area, , of . Of this area, or 14.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 27.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 22.1% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.4% is unproductive land.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2.8% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 10.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 7.7%. Out of the forested land, 24.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 3.5% is used for growing crops, while 1.2% is used for orchards or vine crops and 10.2% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, and .Altitudine, superficie, secondo il genere di utilizzazione, rilevazione 1992/1997, e densità della popolazione, nel 2000 accessed 25 October 2010
The municipality is the capital of the Mendrisio district. It is located on the slopes of Monte Generoso. In 2004, it absorbed Salorino. In 2009, it added Arzo, Capolago, Genestrerio, Rancate and Tremona and in 2013 it expanded again with Besazio, Ligornetto and Meride.
Coat of arms The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules a cross argent.Flags of the World.com accessed 1 February 2011
Demographics
Mendrisio has a population () of . , 23.5% of the population are resident foreign nationals.Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Superweb database – Gemeinde Statistics 1981–2008 accessed 19 June 2010 Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 4.8%.
Most of the population () speaks Italian (87.5%), with German being second most common (4.8%) and French being third (1.4%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 1 February 2011 Of the Swiss national languages (), 285 speak German, 78 people speak French, 5,369 people speak Italian, and 8 people speak Romansh. The remainder (406 people) speak another language.Popolazione residente, secondo la lingua principale e la religione, nel 2000 accessed 23 November 2010
, the gender distribution of the population was 47.5% male and 52.5% female. The population was made up of 4,309 Swiss men (37.3% of the population), and 1,186 (10.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 4,942 Swiss women (42.7%), and 1,124 (9.7%) non-Swiss women.
In there were 56 live births to Swiss citizens and 8 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 57 deaths of Swiss citizens and 12 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 1 while the foreign population decreased by 4. There were 2 Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland and 1 Swiss woman who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 55 non-Swiss men and 27 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 7 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 9 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.2%.
The age distribution, , in Mendrisio is; 986 children or 8.5% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,069 teenagers or 9.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,337 people or 11.6% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,574 people or 13.6% are between 30 and 39, 1,865 people or 16.1% are between 40 and 49, and 1,414 people or 12.2% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 1,446 people or 12.5% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 1,099 people or 9.5% are between 70 and 79, there are 771 people or 6.7% who are over 80.01.02.03 Popolazione residente permanente accessed 23 November 2010
, there were 2,992 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.1 persons per household. there were 431 single family homes (or 43.1% of the total) out of a total of 1,000 inhabited buildings. There were 403 multi-family buildings (40.3%), along with 97 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (9.7%) and 69 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.9%). Of the single family homes 20 were built before 1919, while 31 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (162) were built between 1946 and 1960.Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB – Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 – Gebäude und Wohnungen accessed 28 January 2011
there were 3,049 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 934. There were 185 single room apartments and 584 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 2,736 apartments (89.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 248 apartments (8.1%) were seasonally occupied and 65 apartments (2.1%) were empty. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.28%. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.5 new units per 1000 residents.
the average price to rent an average apartment in Mendrisio was 873.89 Swiss francs (CHF) per month (US$700, £390, €560 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one-room apartment was 491.07 CHF (US$390, £220, €310), a two-room apartment was about 646.96 CHF (US$520, £290, €410), a three-room apartment was about 806.94 CHF (US$650, £360, €520) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1544.67 CHF (US$1240, £700, €990). The average apartment price in Mendrisio was 78.3% of the national average of 1116 CHF.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Rental prices 2003 data accessed 26 May 2010
The historical population is given in the following chart:Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB Bevölkerungsentwicklung nach Region, 1850–2000 accessed 29 January 2011
Heritage sites of national significance
Mendrisio is home to a number of Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The list includes three churches; the Church of S. Sisinio alla Torre, the Church of S. Martino, and the complex of S. Giovanni, which includes a convent, the Church of S. Giovanni and the Oratory of S. Maria. There are six stately houses or palaces on the list; the Croci House, the Dei Pagani Tre Buchi House, Palazzo Pollini, Palazzo Torriani, Villa Argentina and the Villa and mosaics of S. Maria in Borgo. The rest of the list consists of the Pinacoteca cantonale Giovanni Züst or Giovanni Züst Art Gallery and the Tremona archeological site. The 2013 mergers added the Museo Vela from Ligornetto and the Church of S. Silvestro from Meride. The villages of Ligornetto and Meride were added to the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
Sights Mendrisio is known in Italian as il magnifico borgo (the magnificent town) due to its numerous elegant historical buildings. For two decades the town has had a pioneering role in promoting electric cars. The city's surroundings are the main wine-growing regions in Canton Ticino.
The city is also known for its typical Good Friday procession (included by UNESCO in the intangible world heritage lists from 2019), when a live recreation of Christ's passion is enacted (without any blood or violence), and also for the grape festival (called Sagra dell'uva) which takes place in late September.
Politics