Faido (; ) is the capital of the district of Leventina in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in southern Switzerland.
On 29 January 2006, Faido grew by incorporating the villages of Chiggiogna, Rossura, and Calonico.
On 1 April 2012, Faido grew again when it incorporated the former municipalities of Anzonico, Calpiogna, Campello, Cavagnago, Chironico, Mairengo and Osco.
It grew again on 10 April 2016 when Sobrio was absorbed into the municipality.
History
The municipality is first documented in 1171 as Faedo. In German it was previously known as Feit or Pfaid.
The municipality is the district capital and home of the district court of the Leventina. In 2006 Faido merged with Fuso, Chiggiogna, Faido and Rossura. It grew again following the 2012 merger with Anzonico, Calpiogna, Campello, Cavagnago, Chironico, Mairengo and Osco.
Coat of arms
The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules a Latin cross couped indented Argent and issuant from it a hand in blessing of the same clead Purpure.
Demographics
Faido has a population () of . , 29.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of -8.2%.
Most of the population () speaks Italian (84.2%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 7.7%) and German being third ( 3.5%). Of the Swiss national languages (), 44 speak German, 18 people speak French, 1,288 people speak Italian. The remainder (198 people) speak another language.
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.8% male and 51.2% female. The population was made up of 661 Swiss men (33.0% of the population), and 318 (15.9%) non-Swiss men. There were 737 Swiss women (36.7%), and 290 (14.5%) non-Swiss women.
The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 2.66%. there were 737 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 4 room apartment of which there were 246. There were 47 single room apartments and 128 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 613 apartments (83.2% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 95 apartments (12.9%) were seasonally occupied and 29 apartments (3.9%) were empty.
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Heritage sites of national significance
thumb|Church of S. Ambrogio
The Church of S. Ambrogio, the Torre Pedrini, the parish church of S. Siro, the Selvini House, the Church of S. Maria Assunta and the parish church of SS. Lorenzo e Agata are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The villages of Anzonico, Calpiogna, Primadengo, Chironico, Brusgnano-Freggio, Osco, Faido, Calonico, Rossura, Tengia, Figgione and Sobrio-Ronzano are all listed in the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
The parish church of S. Siro is first mentioned in 1170, but probably dates back to the 11th century. It is one of the oldest churches in the Levantina valley. It was renovated in the 16th century and, later, the church tower was rebuilt in 1574–75. The new church had two naves and a rectangular choir. The facade retains some of the elements of the earlier church. Inside, there is a side altar from a German workshop that was built between 1510 and 1520. The walls also feature a mural from 1558 by Gerolamo Gorla da Milano and paintings from the 17th century.
Politics
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 34.09% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (29.09%), the Ticino League (14.64%) and the SP (14.04%). In the federal election, a total of 653 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 55.5%.
In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 1,151 registered voters in Faido, of which 892 or 77.5% voted. 10 blank ballots were cast, leaving 882 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD+GenGiova which received 263 or 29.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 217 or 24.6%), the SSI (with 175 or 19.8%) and the PS (with 105 or 11.9%).
In the Consiglio di Stato election, 4 blank ballots were cast, leaving 888 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD which received 261 or 29.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 224 or 25.2%), the SSI (with 145 or 16.3%) and the LEGA (with 120 or 13.5%). Of the working population, 8.1% used public transportation to get to work, and 51.3% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,189 or 76.8% were Roman Catholic, while 37 or 2.4% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. There are 263 individuals (or about 16.99% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), and 59 individuals (or about 3.81% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Faido about 56.5% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). There were 21 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 58 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 were 6 students in the professional program.
, there were 77 students in Faido who came from another municipality, while 113 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Transport
Faido is served by the Faido station, as well as by the very infrequently served Lavorgo station. Both stations are within the municipal boundaries, and on the Gotthard railway.
References
External links
- Official website