Bellinzona

History

Bellinzona has always occupied an important geographic location in the Alps. To the south, the Po Valley is accessible by a lowland route down the valley of the river Ticino and by Lake Maggiore. To the north, the valley of the Ticino leads to the high alpine passes of Nufenen, St. Gotthard, Lukmanier and San Bernardino. Although now little used, the San Jorio Pass to the east was also important in Bellinzona's past. While the region has been occupied since the early Neolithic age it wasn't until the late 1st century BC that a fort was built in the area during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus. While the fort fell into disrepair in the following centuries, it was rebuilt and greatly expanded in the 4th century AD. During the reign of Diocletian and Constantin a chain of castles and watchtowers were built to protect northern Italy from invasion. Bellinzona's location was recognized as a key point in the defenses and a large castle was built to protect the walls. The town that grew up around the fortifications was known as Bilitio. Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire the successor states, which included the Ostrogoths around 500 AD, the eastern Byzantine Empire towards the middle of the 6th century, and the Longobards from 568/70, all took control of Bellinzona and used the castle to assert control of the surrounding passes. Under the Longobards, Bellinzona became the site of a permanent garrison to protect the region from raids by the neighboring Frankish and Alemannic tribes. From Bellinzona the Longobards controlled the traffic on the important trade route from Varese over Ponte Tresa, the Monte Ceneri Pass, Biasca and finally over the Lukmanier Pass into Chur. Some researchers believe that Bellinzona may have been the capital of a county that…

Geography

On 2 April 2017 the former neighbouring municipalities of Camorino, Claro, Giubiasco, Gnosca, Gorduno, Gudo, Moleno, Monte Carasso, Pianezzo, Preonzo, Sant'Antonio and Sementina merged into Bellinzona. Bellinzona is situated in the valley of the river Ticino, at an altitude of . The town centre lies about east of the river, with the urban area confined to the bottom and lower slopes of the valley. However the municipality's boundaries extend up both sides of the valley, to altitudes of to the west, and to the east. The town is located at a point at which the river Ticino, which has been flowing in a generally southerly direction, makes a turn to the west, to flow through the wide Pionoa di Magadino before entering the Lake Maggiore, and after it finally reaches to the Italian Po Valley and Lombardy. Upstream, several valleys reach into the high Alps, with access to northern Switzerland over or through the Passo del San Gottardo via the Valle Leventina, the upper valley of the Ticino, and further to the west with access to the Valais over the Nufenen Pass via the Val Bedretto, and access to the Grisonian Surselva of the Anterior Rhine via the Valle di Blenio over the Lukmanier Pass. The river Moesa, running down the Valle Mesolcina from the San Bernardino Pass with access to the Gresionian valley Rheinwald of the Posterior Rhine, joins the Ticino on the northern boundary of the town.

Most-observed species

• Chusan Palm

  Trachycarpus fortunei (Hook.) H.Wendl. · Liliopsida
  7,963
• Marbled White

  Melanargia galathea Linnaeus, 1758 · Insecta
  4,334
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,068
• Tree-of-Heaven

  Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle · Magnoliopsida
  3,109
• Butterfly-bush

  Buddleja davidii Franch. · Magnoliopsida
  3,024
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,842
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  2,674
• Small Heath

  Coenonympha pamphilus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  2,554

Most recent

• M 4.5 — 2021-12-18
  1 km WNW of Dalmine, Italy
• M 4.1 — 2020-12-17
  0 km SW of Opera, Italy
• M 4 — 2020-10-25
  5 km ESE of Ennenda, Switzerland
• M 4.1 — 2017-03-06
  8 km SSE of Muotathal, Switzerland
• M 3 — 2015-11-28
  1 km ESE of Aviatico, Italy
• M 3.3 — 2010-05-11
  1 km WNW of Albino, Italy