Brione sopra Minusio

Building in Brione sopra Minusio

Coat of arms

Brione sopra Minusio

Location of Brione sopra Minusio

Coordinates: 46°11′N 8°49′E / 46.183°N 8.817°ECoordinates: 46°11′N 8°49′E / 46.183°N 8.817°E

Country

Government

• Mayor

Sindaco

Area

• Total

3.84 km² (1.48 sq mi)

Elevation

486 m (1,594 ft)

Population (Dec 2015)

• Total

495

• Density

130/km² (330/sq mi)

Postal code

6645

SFOS number

5096

Surrounded by

Avegno, Mergoscia, Minusio, Tenero-Contra

Website

http://www.brione.ch
SFSO statistics

Brione sopra Minusio is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

Brione sopra Minusio is first mentioned in 1313 as Briono.

Before 1479 Brione and Minusio formed a Vicinanza, which also included Mergoscia until 1313. Between 1479 and 1577 it began taking steps to become an independent municipality. However, until 1952, some common property was shared between Brione sopra Minusio and other communities, which led to some conflicts.

The church of S. Maria Lauretana was built in 1558-59, and in the second half of the 19th Century it was rebuilt. Until 1662 it belonged to S. Vittore at Locarno. It was granted a chaplain in 1662 and a parish vicar in 1777.

Traditionally, the cultivation of wine, fruit, cereals and hemp as well as grazing were the main occupations of the inhabitants. They had grazing rights in the Magadino valley. The scarcity of land forced many of the residents to emigrate. In 1990 more than 75% of the workforce worked in the services sector, mostly in tourism. The municipality is home to many tourism facilities and second homes, and about 35% of the population are not native Italian speakers.

Brione sopra Minusio has an area, as of 1997^[update], of 3.84 square kilometers (1.48 sq mi). Of this area, 0.33 km² (0.13 sq mi) or 8.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.65 km² (1.02 sq mi) or 69.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.34 km² (0.13 sq mi) or 8.9% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km² (4.9 acres) or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes and 0.36 km² (0.14 sq mi) or 9.4% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 6.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.3%. Out of the forested land, 56.3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 5.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 1.3% is used for growing crops and 6.8% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 9.1% is unproductive vegetation.

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Wikipedia