Brontallo facts for kids
Brontallo is a small village in the Vallemaggia area of Ticino, a canton in Switzerland. It used to be its own municipality (like a small town with its own local government).
In 2004, Brontallo joined with several nearby villages like Broglio, Fusio, Menzonio, Peccia, and Prato-Sornico. They all became part of a new, bigger municipality called Lavizzara.
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A Look Back: Brontallo's History
Brontallo was first mentioned in official records in 1574. Back then, it was known as Bruntalo.
For a long time, until the early 1400s, Brontallo shared a community with Menzonio. They were also part of a larger group called a Vicinanza with Bignasco and Cavergno. Think of a Vicinanza as a group of villages working together.
The village church, named S. Maria e S. Giorgio, was first mentioned in the 1400s. It was rebuilt in the 1500s and fixed up many times after that. For a while, Brontallo and Menzonio were part of the main church area (called a parish) of Cevio. Menzonio left this parish in 1513, but Brontallo stayed until 1655.
Brontallo had the most people living there in the 1600s. But then, the number of people started to drop in the 1700s and even more in the 1900s. A road connecting the village to the Val Lavizzara valley was finished in 1955. By 1990, only a small number of people worked in farming. Today, many houses in Brontallo are used as vacation homes.
Brontallo's Landscape: Geography
Brontallo covers an area of about 10.46 square kilometers (around 4 square miles).
Here's how the land is used:
- A small part, about 1.2%, is used for farming.
- Most of the land, about 57.4%, is covered in forests.
- A tiny bit, about 0.5%, has buildings or roads.
- About 1.1% is rivers or lakes.
- The rest, about 36.4%, is unproductive land, meaning it's too rocky or has too much vegetation to be used for farming or building.
The village itself sits on a flat area, like a natural shelf, at 716 meters (about 2,349 feet) above sea level. It's on the right side of the valley.
Village Symbol: Coat of Arms
A coat of arms is like a special symbol for a town or family. Brontallo's coat of arms shows St. George, a knight in silver armor with a gold halo. He is standing on a green dragon with a red tongue and piercing it. St. George is important because he is the patron saint of the village church.
Who Lives Here: Demographics
As of December 2000, Brontallo had 50 people living there.
Most people in Brontallo speak Italian (92%). A few speak German (4%), and even fewer speak French (2%).
Many people (64%) living in Brontallo in 2000 were also born there. Some (20%) were born in the same canton (Ticino). A few (8%) were born elsewhere in Switzerland, and some (8%) were born outside Switzerland.
In 2000, there were 23 single people in the village. There were 21 married people, and 6 widows or widowers.
There were 19 households in total. About 31.6% of these were single-person households. There were also married couples with and without children, and single parents.
Most of the buildings in Brontallo (96.8%) were single-family homes in 2000. Only a few (3.2%) were buildings with multiple families. Many of these homes were built between 1919 and 1945.
There were 98 apartments in the village. Most apartments had 2 rooms. Only 19 apartments (19.4%) were lived in all year round. The other 79 apartments (80.6%) were used only during certain seasons, like for vacations.
Here's a chart showing how Brontallo's population has changed over time:
Working Life: Economy
In 2000, 13 people living in Brontallo had jobs. A small number of these workers (15.4%) were women.
About 10 workers traveled into Brontallo for their jobs, while 8 workers traveled out of the village to work elsewhere. This means more people came into Brontallo for work than left it.
Beliefs: Religion
Based on the 2000 census, most people in Brontallo (90%) were Roman Catholic. A small number (4%) belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. One person said they didn't belong to any church, or were agnostic or atheist. Two people did not answer the question about their religion.
Learning and Schools: Education
In Brontallo, about 18 people (36%) had finished non-mandatory upper secondary education. This is like finishing high school.
Five people (10%) had gone on to higher education, like university or a specialized college. Most of these (80%) were Swiss men, and 20% were Swiss women.
In 2000, 10 students from Brontallo went to schools outside the village.
