Leventina District facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Leventina District Distretto di Leventina
District
Coat of arms
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Ticino
Capital	Faido
Area
• Total	479.57 km2 (185.16 sq mi)
Population
• Total	8,827
• Density	18.4061/km2 (47.672/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Municipalities	10

The Leventina District is one of eight districts in the Ticino canton of Switzerland. Most people here speak Italian. The main town, or capital, is Faido. However, the biggest town is Airolo, located near the famous Gotthard Pass.

This district is in the northern part of the canton. It includes the area around the Ticino River, stretching south to Biasca. It covers the beautiful Bedretto Valley and the Leventina Valley.

Leventina is split into four smaller areas called 'circles' (or circoli in Italian). The district covers about 479.57 km² (185.16 sq mi). It has a population of 8,827 (as of 31 December 2020). The valley became part of Switzerland on March 5, 1480. This happened after a treaty with the Duchy of Milan was signed in Lucerne.

What is Leventina's Geography Like?

The Leventina valley

A Kyanite crystal from the St. Gotthard Massif in Leventina. It's about 6 cm long and sits in a shiny mica rock.

The Leventina District is quite large, covering about 479.57 square kilometers (185.16 sq mi). A small part, about 4.2%, is used for farming. A much larger part, 36.5%, is covered by forests.

About 2.8% of the land has buildings or roads. Rivers and lakes make up 1.9% of the area. The remaining 36.5% is unproductive land, like rocky areas or places with little plant life.

Most of the built-up areas are homes and other buildings (0.9%). Roads and other transport links make up 1.4%. In the forested areas, 28.2% is dense forest. Another 2.3% has orchards or small groups of trees.

For farming, 3.2% of the land is used to grow crops. About 1.0% of the district's water is in lakes. Another 1.0% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive land, 16.5% has plants that are not useful for farming. The other 20.0% is too rocky for anything to grow.

Who Lives in Leventina?

The Leventina District has a population of 8,827 (as of 31 December 2020). In 2000, most people, about 8,320, spoke Italian. A smaller number spoke German (304 people) or French (81 people). Only 4 people spoke Romansh. The rest spoke other languages.

In 2008, slightly more than half of the population (52.4%) were men. The remaining 47.6% were women. Most people living in the district were Swiss citizens.

The age groups in Leventina in 2009 were:

• 7.1% were children aged 0 to 9 years old.
• 9.1% were teenagers aged 10 to 19.
• 11.1% were young adults aged 20 to 29.
• 12.7% were adults aged 30 to 39.
• 16.7% were adults aged 40 to 49.
• 15.2% were adults aged 50 to 59.
• 12.2% were seniors aged 60 to 69.
• 8.6% were seniors aged 70 to 79.
• 7.2% were seniors over 80 years old.

In 2000, there were 13,704 buildings in the district. Most of these, 63.4%, were single-family homes. About 13.6% were buildings with two families. Another 17.3% were buildings with many families. Some buildings (780) were used for both living and business.

There were 8,067 apartments in the district in 2000. The most common type had 4 rooms (2,379 apartments). About half of these apartments (49.7%) were lived in all year. Many others (46.7%) were used only during certain seasons. A small number (3.5%) were empty.

How Has Leventina's Population Changed?

Here's how the population has changed over the years:

How Does Leventina Vote?

In the 2007 federal election, the most popular political party was the CVP. It received 33.52% of all votes. The next most popular parties were the FDP (26.59%), the Ticino League (15.64%), and the SP (15.38%). About 56.6% of people who could vote did so in this election.

What Religions are Practiced in Leventina?

According to the 2000 census, most people in Leventina are Roman Catholic. About 82.2% of the population followed this religion. A smaller group, 2.2%, belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. About 12.6% of people belonged to other churches not listed. Around 2.94% of the population did not answer the question about their religion.

What About Education in Leventina?

In 2009, there were 1,351 students in the Leventina District. The education system in Ticino offers up to three years of optional kindergarten. In Leventina, 183 children were in kindergarten.

Primary school lasts for five years. There were 387 students in regular primary schools. Another 22 students attended special primary schools.

After primary school, students go to lower secondary school. Some attend a two-year middle school, followed by a two-year program to prepare for a job. Others attend a four-year program to get ready for higher education. In Leventina, 325 students were in the two-year middle school. 110 students were in the four-year advanced program.

Upper secondary school prepares students for a trade or for university. Students can work while studying for three or four years. Or they can study full-time for one year, then do an internship. In Leventina, 97 students were full-time vocational students. Another 193 were part-time.

There is also a three-year professional program. This program prepares students for jobs in fields like engineering, nursing, or business. In 2009, 25 students were in this program.

Circles and Towns

The Leventina District is divided into four 'circles'. Each circle contains several towns, called municipalities.

Circolo di Airolo
Coat of arms	Municipality	Population (31 December 2020)	Area km²
	Airolo	1,476	94.37
	Bedretto	102	75.23
	Total	1,578	169.7

Circolo di Faido
Coat of arms	Municipality	Population (31 December 2020)	Area km²
	Faido	2,823	132.6
	Total	2,823	132.6

Circolo di Giornico
Coat of arms	Municipality	Population (31 December 2020)	Area km²
	Bodio	937	6.44
	Giornico	806	19.48
	Personico	326	39.04
	Pollegio	800	5.89
	Total	2,869	70.85

Circolo di Quinto
Coat of arms	Municipality	Population (31 December 2020)	Area km²
	Dalpe	174	14.52
	Prato Leventina	388	16.9
	Quinto	995	75.2
	Total	1,557	106.6

See also

In Spanish: Distrito de Leventina para niños