Bironico

Bironico
Former municipality of Switzerland
Coat of arms
Bironico Show map of Switzerland Bironico Show map of Canton of Ticino
Location of Bironico
Coordinates: 46°07′N 8°56′E / 46.117°N 8.933°E / 46.117; 8.933Coordinates: 46°07′N 8°56′E / 46.117°N 8.933°E / 46.117; 8.933
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Ticino
District	Lugano
Municipality	Monteceneri
Area
• Total	4.18 km2 (1.61 sq mi)
Elevation	465 m (1,526 ft)
Population
• Total	515
• Density	120/km2 (320/sq mi)
Postal code	6804
SFOS number	5153
Surrounded by	Cadenazzo, Camignolo, Medeglia, Rivera
Website	www.bironico.ch SFSO statistics

Bironico is a village in the northern end of the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

The municipalities of Medeglia, Bironico, Camignolo, Rivera and Sigirino merged on 21 November 2010 into the new municipality of Monteceneri.

Bironico is first mentioned in 1296 as Bironico. By 1000, Bironico was probably the secular and religious center of Carvina, which included the middle and upper Vedeggio valley. For example, former parish included the villages of Camignolo, Ison, Medeglia, Mezzovico-Vira, Rivera, Robasacco and Sigirino. In the Early Middle Ages it was under the authority of the bishop of Como, followed by the city of Como. At the end of the 13th Century, the Rusca, a noble family from Como, lived in the community. They lived in the castle between 1328-1416. Starting in the 16th Century, an inn at the bridge over the Leguana served as a meeting place of the Swiss Confederation's ministers.

The parish church is from 1267 and is dedicated to St. Martin.

In the past, the local economy relied on traditional alpine agriculture and emigration. Trade and industry have recently increased, but the current economic structure is dominated by commuters to the lower Vedeggio valley, Lugano and Bellinzona.

Bironico has an area, as of 1997^[update], of 4.18 square kilometers (1.61 sq mi). Of this area, 0.47 km² (0.18 sq mi) or 11.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.24 km² (1.25 sq mi) or 77.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.27 km² (0.10 sq mi) or 6.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km² (4.9 acres) or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes and 0.18 km² (0.069 sq mi) or 4.3% is unproductive land.