Arogno is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino, located south of Lake Lugano in the southernmost tip of Switzerland.
History
Arogno has been inhabited since late antiquity, because of its strategic location along the transit route between Seprio and Isola Comacina. During the Langobardian era, Arogno expanded into a major fortified garrison. In 859 the monastery of S. Ambrogio in Milan was listed as the owner of property in Arogno. On 24 February 1798, the village joined the Republic of Riva San Vitale. Starting in 1797-98 there were repeated territorial conflict with Campione d'Italia, which were not settled until 1861.
The parish church of S. Stefano (originally S. Nicolao) is first mentioned in 810. In 1581 it broke from the Mother Church of Riva San Vitale to form a parish. Between 1591 and the late 17th Century the Ursulines had a house in Arogno. East of the village is the romanesque Chapel of S. Michael, which was rebuilt in the Baroque style.
The local economy depended on agriculture and animal husbandry, as well as revenue from successful emigrants (mostly working in construction). For a short time, there was a small coal mining industry in the municipality. In 1873 and 1888, two factories for the manufacture of components for watches, opened in Arogno. For decades these were the major industries in the municipality. Today, much of the population works in the services sector or commutes to neighboring cities.
Coat of arms
The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Or a he-goat's head caboshed sable and in chief a mullet of five gules.
Demographics
Arogno has a population () of . , 12.1% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 10.5%.
Most of the population () speaks Italian (85.2%), with German being second most common (9.8%) and French being third (2.1%). Of the Swiss national languages (), 95 speak German, 20 people speak French, 826 people speak Italian, and 1 person speaks Romansh. The remainder (27 people) speak another language.
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.4% male and 51.6% female. The population was made up of 413 Swiss men (41.5% of the population), and 68 (6.8%) non-Swiss men. There were 458 Swiss women (46.1%), and 55 (5.5%) non-Swiss women.
, there were 411 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household.
The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.04%. there were 546 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 5 room apartment of which there were 175. There were 14 single room apartments and 175 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 407 apartments (74.5% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 112 apartments (20.5%) were seasonally occupied and 27 apartments (4.9%) were empty.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! year
! population
|-
| 1591
| c. 380
|-
| 1670
| 478
|-
| 1850
| 756
|-
| 1900
| 1,075
|-
| 1950
| 820
|-
| 2000
| 969
|-
|}
Heritage sites of national significance
The Parish Church of S. Stefano is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire village of Arogno is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
Sights
Arogno is the perfect starting place for hiking trips on Monte Generoso.
Notable people
- Luca Antonio Colomba (1674–1737) a Swiss Baroque painter born at Arogno. His style was distinguished for its happy compositions and its careful design, as also for the delicate and tender colours. He painted in oil and fresco.
- Giovanni Battista Innocenzo Colombo (1717-1801) a Swiss painter. For 18 years, he was the court architect at Stuttgart and stage set designer for the Duke. From 1769 to 1771, he was the stage set designer for the Teatro Regio, substituting for the members of the Galliari family. He was the nephew of Luca Antonio Colomba, stated above.
- Adamo d'Arogno (ca. 1180 - ca. 1240). Born in Arogno. Architect of the Trento Cathedral.
Politics
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the FDP which received 30.51% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (25.26%), the Ticino League (18.49%) and the CVP (10.93%). In the federal election, a total of 342 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 49.1%.
In the Ticino Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 661 registered voters in Arogno, of which 422 or 63.8% voted. 8 blank ballots and 3 null ballots were cast, leaving 411 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT which received 104 or 25.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PS (with 88 or 21.4%), the LEGA (with 78 or 19.0%) and the SSI (with 68 or 16.5%).
In the Ticino Consiglio di Stato election, 4 blank ballots and 3 null ballots were cast, leaving 415 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the LEGA which received 105 or 25.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 98 or 23.6%), the PLRT (with 98 or 23.6%) and the SSI (with 67 or 16.1%). Of the working population, 6.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 67% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 724 or 74.7% were Roman Catholic, while 88 or 9.1% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. There are 119 individuals (or about 12.28% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 38 individuals (or about 3.92% of the population) did not answer the question. There were 10 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 14 who attend part-time.
The professional program lasts three years and prepares a student for a job in engineering, nursing, computer science, business, tourism and similar fields. There was 1 student in the professional program.
, there were 1 student in Arogno who came from another municipality, while 79 residents attended schools outside the municipality.