Locarno
Locarno is a southern Swiss town and municipality in the district Locarno, located on the northern shore of Lake Maggiore at its northeastern tip in the canton of Ticino at the southern foot of the Swiss Alps. It has a population of about 16,000, and about 56,000 for the agglomeration of the same name including Ascona besides other municipalities.
The town of Locarno is located on the northeastern part of the river Maggia's delta; across the river lies the town of Ascona on the southwestern part of the delta.
Locarno is the 74th largest city in Switzerland by population and the third largest in the Ticino canton, after Lugano and Bellinzona.
The official language of Locarno is Italian.
The town is known for hosting the Locarno International Film Festival which takes place every year in August and involves open-air screenings at the main square, the Piazza Grande. It is also known for the Locarno Treaties, a series of European territorial agreements negotiated here in October 1925.
History
Prehistoric Locarno
In 1934, in the vicinity of today's Via S. Jorio, a necropolis with 14 urn graves from the Early Bronze Age were found. Some of the urns were directly buried, while others were placed in boxes of uncut stone. The urns contained, in addition to burned bones, bronze ornaments, which had some fire damage, including, bangles, hairpins with conical head and slightly thickened neck, rings and knives. Similar urns were also discovered in the district of S. Antonio, which was probably also a small cemetery. The ceramic and bronze objects date from the Canegrate culture. However, no traces of the settlement have been discovered.In 1935, a large necropolis was discovered at Solduno. The over 200 graves cover nearly a thousand years, from the La Tène culture to the 3rd century AD. Many of the La Tène era grave goods are Celtic-style fibulae or brooches. These objects demonstrate a cultural influence from regions north of the Alps. However, the ceramic objects are indigenous to Golasecca culture which spread into Ticino and Lombardy.
Roman era
Between 1946 and 1949, a number of Roman era tombs were discovered on the terrace between the churches of Santa Maria in Selva and San Giovanni Battista in Solduno. The Roman city that became Locarno was therefore between the vicus of Muralto and this cemetery. Intensive construction and agricultural activity have destroyed most traces of the ancient city. In 1995 and 1997, 57 graves were found in Via Valle Maggia. Nineteen were from the Roman period, which confirms that even in the 3rd century AD cremation and body burials were practised side by side. Among other significant finds, several glass items were discovered. The Roman necropolis was used from the end of the prehistoric La Tène era until the middle of the 3rd century AD. The extensive Romanization of Locarno wiped out much of the local culture and replaced it with ancient Roman elements. However, it appears that there was no Roman ruling class which could have dominated the local population.Capitanei di Locarno
The capitanei were a group of prominent noble families who emerged in the early Middle Ages and led Locarno. The term is first mentioned in a document granting market rights to the town by the Emperor Frederick I in 1164. This title was originally reserved only for the direct vassals of the king's fief. The lower vassals were known as valvassores, but could have been awarded the title of capitanei as a special concession. The original capitanei were probably descendants of the old Lombard noble family of Da Besozzo from the county of Seprio, a historic region of Lombard Italy which comprised areas in southern Ticino and modern-day Italian provinces of Varese and Como on the western side of Lake Maggiore, and was centred in Castelseprio, some 20 kilometres south of Locarno.Around 1000, the family was granted a fief in Locarno by the schismatic Bishop of Como Landolfo da Carcano. The capitanei were given the right to manage the property of the Church entrusted to the local pieve, they had the rights of immunity and coercion, but were not owners of the village cooperatives' land, with the exception of the churches and royal estates. They did not have the right of high justice so their political power was limited. However, they played an important role in the later conflicts in the 13th and 14th centuries between the Guelphs and Ghibellines and in the wars between Como and the Duchy of Milan.
In Locarno, during the Reformation period in the 16th century, two of the three great feudal families of capitanei, the Muralto and the Orelli families, left the town and moved to Zürich. A branch of the Muraltos was established in Bern. The third great Locarno family, the Magoria, remained in Locarno. The capitanei retained a central role in Locarno's politics until 1798. In 1803, the lands and rights of the capitanei were integrated into the political municipality of Locarno.
Early Locarno
Starting in the Lombard period, the area around Locarno was part of the county Stazzona and later the Mark of Lombardy. Locarno is first mentioned in 807 as Leocarni. In German, it came to be known as Luggarus, Lucarius, Lucaris. It is likely that a market existed at or near the lake since the Roman era. The long history of the town and its location led to the creation of a royal court, which was first mentioned in 866. During the Middle Ages Locarno and Ascona formed a community, with several, separate neighbourhoods. The community managed its common goods and tax officials and police.In the 10th century, Bishop of Milan began to consolidate more and more power to himself at the expense of the Kings of the Germans. This expansion by Milan was countered by Henry II, who incorporated Locarno in 1002/04 with the surrounding areas into the Diocese of Como. Friedrich Barbarossa granted extensive market rights to Locarno in 1164 and granted imperial immediacy in 1186. Due to these privileges, Locarno developed substantial local autonomy, which assisted in the development of municipal institutions. The nobles lost more and more rights to the citizens. By 1224, the borghesi had their own administration and various privileges, including: market rights, the right to their own weights, maintenance of mills and grazing rights in Saleggi, in Colmanicchio and in the Magadino and Quartino valleys.
Locarno was the administrative centre of the parish of Locarno. The Podestà or high government official, resided in the Casa della Gallinazza, which was burned in 1260 during the clashes between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Several Locarno families, including members of the Capitanei di Locarno and Simone da Orello, played an important role in the battles between the two factions. In 1342, Luchino and Giovanni Visconti conquered the area, which brought Locarno back under the power of Milan. In 1439, Count Franchino Rusca was awarded Locarno as a fief.
In 1291, a Humiliati monastery was first mentioned in Locarno. St. Catherine's church, attached to the monastery, probably dates to the mid-14th century.
Under the Swiss Confederation
The rule of the Rusca ended in 1503, when the Confederates occupied Locarno, but failed to conquer the Visconti castle. After the battle of Novara in 1513, the French King Louis XII gave the Confederates the castle. In the Treaty of Freiburg in 1516, they received all of Locarno. The Twelve Cantons took turns appointing a governor, to rule over Locarno. The governor had both civil and criminal jurisdiction, except in certain cases after 1578, where seven judges were elected by the locals to try the cases. On taking office, the governor swore under oath to obey the statutes of Locarno. The governor was supported by a local mayor, and criminal fines were usually given to the local community.The rule of the Twelve Cantons also affected the social and political relations of the town. In addition to the nobility and citizens, there was a third group. This third group, the terrieri, was a group of residents who had lived a long time in Locarno, but were not citizens. Each of the three groups was a statutory corporation, with shared property and a governing body. Under the Confederation, each of these groups or corporations had representation in the Consiglio Magnifico which ruled Locarno. However, the town's dominance over the villages in the region, until 1798, is clearly shown in their representation in the council. The three groups in Locarno had twelve aldermen, while all the rural communities together had only eight members.
During the Middle Ages, Locarno was centred around the intersection of Via Cittadella and Via S. Antonio. The town stretched up the slope of the mountain and behind the castle. Some houses lined the shore, and above the Contrada Borghese a small, almost rural settlement grew up. The centre of town was dominated by townhouses with their large courtyards and gardens. The members of the upper class also owned small country houses with vineyards, which went up the hill behind Locarno as well as in Solduno and Cugnasco. Locarno also had several noble estates during the Late Middle Ages, including the so-called Cittadella. The buildings of the 17th and 18th centuries, including the Casa Simona, the Casa Rusca from the first half of the 18th century and the Casa del Negromante, were built on older structures and didn't change the layout of the town.