Caviano facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Caviano
Former municipality of Switzerland
Coat of arms
Caviano Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Caviano Location in Canton of Ticino Show map of Canton of Ticino
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Ticino
District	Locarno
Municipality	Gambarogno
Area
• Total	3.2 km2 (1.2 sq mi)
Elevation	282 m (925 ft)
Population
• Total	124
• Density	38.8/km2 (100.4/sq mi)
Postal code	6578
Localities	Dirinella, Scalano
Surrounded by	Brissago, Gerra, Pino sulla Sponda del Lago Maggiore, Ronco sopra Ascona, San Nazzaro, Sant'Abbondio, Veddasca

Caviano was once a small town, or municipality, in Switzerland. It was located in the Locarno area, within the canton of Ticino.

On April 25, 2010, Caviano joined with eight other nearby towns. These towns were Contone, Gerra Gambarogno, Indemini, Magadino, Piazzogna, San Nazzaro, Sant'Abbondio, and Vira Gambarogno. Together, they formed a new, larger municipality called Gambarogno.

History of Caviano

Caviano was first mentioned in old records in the year 1258. Back then, its name was Caviliano.

Early Ownership and Church History

In the 1200s and 1300s, the Bishop of Como gave some of the local taxes, called tithes, to two families from Locarno. These taxes came from the Gambarogno valley, including Caviano and Scaiano.

Caviano was originally part of the main church area of Locarno. Later, in 1558, it became part of the Sant'Abbondio church area. It finally got its own separate church area, or parish, in 1850.

The original church in Caviano was very old. Its foundations might even date back to before the Roman times. This old church was taken down in 1864 after a new church, S. Maria Nascente, was finished.

Life in Old Caviano

Life in Caviano was often hard because there wasn't much land for fishing or farming. Because of this, many people moved away. They went to other parts of Switzerland or even to other countries to find work.

You can still see parts of the old village today. In an area called Cento Campi, there were many old shelters and barns. These buildings had special thatched roofs, made from straw or reeds. They were used by farmers on the mountain pastures around Lake Maggiore. Most of these old buildings are now in ruins.

Geography of Caviano

Caviano covers an area of about 3.2 square kilometers (1.2 square miles). This information is from 1997.

Land Use in Caviano

A small part of Caviano, about 5.9%, is used for farming. Most of the land, about 81.9%, is covered by forests.

About 7.2% of the area has buildings or roads. A tiny part, 0.9%, is made up of rivers or lakes. The remaining 1.6% is land that cannot be used for anything, like very rocky areas.

Most of the built-up area is for houses and other buildings (5.0%). Roads and other transport areas make up 1.9%.

In the forested areas, nearly 80% is dense forest. A small part (2.2%) has orchards or small groups of trees. For farming, 0.3% is used for growing crops, and 5.0% is for mountain pastures.

The water in Caviano includes lakes (0.6%) and rivers or streams (0.3%). The unproductive land mostly has plants that are not useful for farming (1.3%).

Location and Hamlets

Caviano is located in the Locarno district, high above Lake Maggiore. It was the westernmost town in the Gambarogno area. It shared a border with Italy at a place called Dirinella. The town of Caviano also included smaller villages, known as hamlets, like Scaiano.

Caviano's Coat of Arms

A coat of arms is a special design that represents a family, town, or country. Caviano's coat of arms has a unique design.

Meaning of the Design

The top part of the shield is split into two colors: silver and red. Over these colors, there is a two-headed eagle. The eagle's colors are swapped depending on the background. For example, if the background is silver, the eagle is red, and vice versa.

The bottom part of the shield is red and shows a silver tower with two small turrets. This coat of arms comes from two important families: the Magoria family from Locarno and the Duni family from Ascona. Both of these families had special rights in Caviano a long time ago.

People of Caviano (Demographics)

In 2004, Caviano had a population of 124 people. By 2008, about 8.9% of the people living there were foreign nationals. Over ten years (1997-2007), the population decreased by about 21.8%.

Languages Spoken

In 2000, most people in Caviano spoke Italian (67.6%). The second most common language was German (27.0%). A small number of people (1.8%) spoke French.

Specifically, 30 people spoke German, 2 spoke French, 75 spoke Italian, and 1 person spoke Romansh. Three other people spoke different languages.

Population Changes

In 2008, the population was almost evenly split between males (50.8%) and females (49.2%). There were 52 Swiss men and 8 non-Swiss men. There were 53 Swiss women and 5 non-Swiss women.

In 2008, 2 Swiss babies were born, and 1 Swiss person passed away. This meant the Swiss population increased by 1 person. The number of foreign residents stayed the same. One Swiss woman moved back to Switzerland, and one non-Swiss man moved to Caviano. Overall, Caviano's population grew by 0.9% in 2008.

Age Groups

In 2009, the age groups in Caviano were:

• Children (0-9 years old): 8 people (6.8%)
• Teenagers (10-19 years old): 7 people (5.9%)
• Young adults (20-29 years old): 15 people (12.7%)
• Adults (30-39 years old): 6 people (5.1%)
• Adults (40-49 years old): 14 people (11.9%)
• Adults (50-59 years old): 30 people (25.4%)
• Seniors (60-69 years old): 21 people (17.8%)
• Seniors (70-79 years old): 12 people (10.2%)
• Seniors (over 80 years old): 5 people (4.2%)

Homes and Households

In 2000, the average number of people per living room was 0.63. This is similar to the average for the whole canton. A "room" here means a space of at least 4 square meters (43 sq ft) like bedrooms, dining rooms, and kitchens.

About 71.7% of homes were owned by the people living in them. In 2000, there were 46 private households, with an average of 2.4 people per household.

Most buildings (90.6%) were single-family homes. There were also 15 two-family buildings and 7 multi-family buildings. Five buildings were used for both living and other purposes, like businesses.

In 2008, no homes were empty or available for rent. In 2000, there were 328 apartments. The most common size was 3 rooms (110 apartments). There were 24 single-room apartments and 50 apartments with five or more rooms.

Only 46 apartments (14.0%) were lived in all year round. Most apartments (86.0%) were used only during certain seasons, like for holidays. In 2007, no new homes were built in Caviano.

Historical Population

Here is how Caviano's population has changed over time:

Economy of Caviano

In 2007, Caviano had an unemployment rate of 4.27%. This means that about 4 out of every 100 people who wanted to work could not find a job.

Jobs and Businesses

In 2005, people in Caviano worked in different types of jobs:

• Primary sector: 2 people worked in jobs like farming or fishing. There was 1 business in this area.
• Secondary sector: 8 people worked in jobs like manufacturing or construction. There were 2 businesses in this area.
• Tertiary sector: 29 people worked in service jobs, like tourism or shops. There were 8 businesses in this area.

Overall, 40 people living in Caviano had jobs. About 35% of these workers were women.

Commuting and Travel

In 2000, 17 workers came into Caviano for their jobs, and 18 workers left Caviano to work elsewhere. This means slightly more people left the village for work than came in. About 23.5% of the workers who came into Caviano were from outside Switzerland.

For getting to work, 2.5% of people used public transportation. Most people, 52.5%, used a private car.

Tourism

In 2009, there was one hotel in Caviano. This suggests that tourism was a small part of the local economy.

Religion in Caviano

Based on the 2000 census:

• 71 people (64.0%) were Roman Catholic.
• 19 people (17.1%) belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.
• 13 people (11.71%) belonged to other churches not listed in the census.
• 8 people (7.21%) did not answer the question about their religion.

Education in Caviano

In Switzerland, most people are well-educated. In Caviano, about 78.6% of adults aged 25-64 had finished either high school or a higher level of education, like university.

School System

In 2009, there were 18 students in Caviano. The Ticino education system offers up to three years of non-required kindergarten. In Caviano, 2 children were in kindergarten.

The main primary school program lasts for five years. In Caviano, 4 students attended these primary schools.

For middle school, students can choose different paths:

• A two-year middle school followed by a two-year program to prepare for a job. 6 students were in this two-year middle school.
• A four-year program to get ready for higher education, like university. No students were in this program.

Higher Education and Training

After middle school, students can go to upper secondary school. This prepares them for a trade job or for university.

• In Ticino, students can go to school while doing an internship or apprenticeship (3-4 years). Or they can go to school first, then do an internship (1 year full-time or 1.5-2 years part-time).
• 3 students were full-time vocational students.
• 2 students were part-time vocational students.

There was also 1 student in a professional program. This program lasts three years and prepares students for jobs in fields like engineering, nursing, or business.

In 2000, 12 students from Caviano went to schools outside the village.

Images for kids

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  Caviano's coat of arms