Gresso

History

The discovery of a Roman tomb from the 1st-2nd century AD, with pottery and coins, proves that Gresso was part of the outer-most reaches of the Vicus of Muralto. The modern village of Gresso is first mentioned in 1316 as Agrassio. Until 1803, Gresso was part of the Squadra of Russo (now Onsernone), one of five Squadre, that formed the medieval community of Onsernone. The village church, called The Chapel of St. Orsola was built in 1703 and rebuilt in 1730. It was renovated in the late 20th century. The village built its first drivable road in 1885.

Geography

Gresso had an area, , of . Of this area, or 1.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 61.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 0.8% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.7% is either rivers or lakes and or 16.0% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.4%. Out of the forested land, 52.2% 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. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 11.1% is unproductive vegetation and 4.9% is too rocky for vegetation. The former municipality is located in the Locarno district, at an elevation of on the steep, left side of the Vergeletto valley.

Most-observed species

• Encrusted Foam Lichen

  Stereocaulon incrustatum Flörke · Lecanoromycetes
  14,863
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,148
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,680
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,507
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,456
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,364
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,288
• Eurasian Coot

  Fulica atra Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,099

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2025-07-21
  4 km E of Frutigen, Switzerland
• M 4.2 — 2024-06-04
  2 km NNW of Unteriberg, Switzerland
• M 3.2 — 2024-05-09
  9 km SW of Evolène, Switzerland
• M 2.7 — 2022-08-23
  4 km S of Turtmann, Switzerland
• M 4.5 — 2021-12-18
  1 km WNW of Dalmine, Italy
• M 4.1 — 2021-10-05
  10 km SSW of Evolène, Switzerland