Riva San Vitale

History

Riva San Vitale is first mentioned in 774 as Primo Sobenno. In 1115 it was mentioned as Ripa Sancti Vitalis. The Parish Church of St. Vitale is first mentioned in 962–966. However, the church likely dates back to the Christianization of the southern foothills of the Alps. It was rebuilt in the late Baroque style in 1756-59 and renovated in 1993–95. The Baptistery of San Giovanni is built on the foundations of a Roman building and is from the early Christian era (c. 500 AD). It was renovated in 1919-26 and again in 1953-55 and is the oldest fully preserved churches in Switzerland. The church of S. Croce was endowed by the Della Croce family and was built in 1582–91. It is one of the most important religious buildings of the late Renaissance in Switzerland. Riva San Vitale was one of the oldest centers of the diocese of Como, to which it belonged until 1884/88. From here, Christianity spread into the Ticino. Together with the Pieves of Balerna and Uggiate (Como) in the 12th century, the parish formed a consortium. A canon priest is first mentioned in 1190, when Lafrancus de Mellano (died 1254) is called to that position. The number of resident and non-resident canons, is difficult to determine. In 1190 and 1321 two are mentioned. In 1786, Pope Pius VI dissolved the college of canons. Originally the Pieve included Rovio, Bissone, Meriden, Tremona, Brusino, Arsizio, Rancate, Arzo, Besazio, Melano, Arogno, Maroggia and Saltrio (Varese). The Pieve was also a secular administrative unit which, in contrast to the church, included Capolago after 1416, but not Saltrio. In 1170 it was part of the county of Seprio, and in the 13th century it was under the city of Como. At the beginning of the 15th century, it formed, together with the Pieves of Agno, Balerna and Capriasca, the…

Geography

Riva San Vitale has an area, , of . Of this area, or 19.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 73.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 14.7% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.3% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.5% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2.3% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 9.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.7%. Out of the forested land, 71.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.9% is used for growing crops, while 4.0% is used for orchards or vine crops and 9.7% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.7% is in lakes and 0.7% is in rivers and streams. The municipality is located in the Mendrisio district, on the southern end of Lake Lugano and at the foot of Monte San Giorgio. It consists of the village of Riva San Vitale and the hamlet of Poiana.

Most-observed species

• Chusan Palm

  Trachycarpus fortunei (Hook.) H.Wendl. · Liliopsida
  2,398
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,962
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,821
• Butterfly-bush

  Buddleja davidii Franch. · Magnoliopsida
  1,790
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,535
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,527
• Great Cormorant/European Shag

  Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,521
• American Pokeweed

  Phytolacca americana L. · Magnoliopsida
  1,494