Minusio

Sister cities

• Biassono

History

In the Ceresole section, a significant Iron Age necropolis (c. 6th-5th century BC) was discovered. It held about 20 graves and rich grave goods. Nearby, several Roman graveyards from the 1st and 2nd Centuries AD, were discovered. The Roman graveyards are among the most important in Ticino because of the complexity of the system and the amount of material. A discovery in 1936 found about 30 graves. In the Roman era, Minusio was a minor settlement outside of Muralto, which was the center of the Roman presence in the Locarno area. Minusio is first mentioned in 1061 as Menuxio, though this comes from a copy of the original from 1402. In 1200 it was mentioned as Menuxio. It used to be known by its German name, Maniss, though this is no longer used. During the Middle Ages, it was a village, which, together with Brione sopra Minusio and Mergoscia formed a Vicinanza. By the time that the village laws were written down in 1313, Minusio had separated from Mergoscia. Brione dissolved as an independent village gradually until 1479 when it ceased to exist independently. Traces of the old vicinanza remained until 1952 in the so-called Comunella dei tre comuni which held common property and court rights. Minusio owned fishing and grazing rights in the Magadino valley, and shared ownership of the Terricciole region with Mergoscia and Locarno until 1920. The town mayor was picked by the four squadre (town sections) of Rivapiana, Cadogno, Frizzi and Mezzo, each in turn. Between 1803 and 1839, Minusio was the capital of the district of Navegna. In 1839, it supported the anti-Confederation side in the constitutional struggles. When they lost the conflict, it lost not only its role as district capital to Tenero, but was also occupied by the military. The town church was…

Geography

Minusio has an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of . Of this area, about 8.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 55.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 33.9% is settled (buildings or roads) and 2.0% is unproductive land. In the 2004/09 survey a total of or about 25.3% of the total area was covered with buildings, an increase of over the 1983 amount. The amount of recreational space in the municipality is now about 2.91% of the total area. Of the agricultural land, is used for orchards and vineyards, is fields and grasslands and consists of alpine grazing areas. Since 1983 the amount of agricultural land has decreased by . Over the same time period the amount of forested land has increased by . Rivers and lakes cover in the municipality. The municipality is located in the Locarno district, about east of Locarno on Lake Maggiore. It consists of the village of Minusio with the sections of Ceresole, Mappo and Mondacce.

Most-observed species

• Encrusted Foam Lichen

  Stereocaulon incrustatum Flörke · Lecanoromycetes
  13,438
• Chusan Palm

  Trachycarpus fortunei (Hook.) H.Wendl. · Liliopsida
  9,616
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,534
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,708
• Tree-of-Heaven

  Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle · Magnoliopsida
  3,428
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,347
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,331
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,038

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2025-07-21
  4 km E of Frutigen, 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 — 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