Soglio, Switzerland

Soglio is a village and a former municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of the Grisons close to the border with Italy. It is now part of the municipality of Bregaglia.

Soglio
Coat of arms
Location of Soglio
Soglio
Soglio
Coordinates: 46°20′N 9°32′E
CountrySwitzerland
CantonGrisons
DistrictMaloja
Area
  Total67.57 km2 (26.09 sq mi)
Elevation
1,090 m (3,580 ft)
Population
 (December 2008)
  Total167
  Density2.5/km2 (6.4/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)
7610
SFOS number3774
Surrounded byAvers, Bivio, Bondo, Castasegna, Piuro (Italy-SO), Stampa, Vicosoprano, Villa di Chiavenna (Italy-SO)
Website
SFSO statistics

History

Soglio is first mentioned in 1186 as de Solio.[1]

Geography

Soglio from the Stemmatographia Saliceorum

Soglio has an area, as of 2006, of 67.6 km2 (26.1 sq mi). Of this area, 25.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 8.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.5% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (65.6%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[2]

The municipality is located in the Bergell sub-district of the Maloja district. It is located on a terrace at the entrance to the Passo della Duana which leads into the valley of Avers and the Passo da la Prasignola into the Val Madris. It consists of the village of Soglio (at 1,095 m (3,593 ft)) and the section of Spino.

Soglio lies on a ledge on the mountainside on the northern side of the Val Bregaglia (Bergell in German) above the river Maira (Mera in Italian), with views across the valley to the Bondasca glacier and the peaks of the Sciora group, Piz Cengalo and Piz Badile in the Bregaglia Range.

View of Soglio (foreground) with the Sciora peaks (left), Piz Cengalo (left centre) and Piz Badile (centre)

The town is 17 kilometers (11 mi) from the Italian town of Chiavenna at the foot of the Val Bregaglia, and 39 km (24 mi) from Sankt Moritz in the Engadine valley which is reached via the Maloja Pass. These two towns provide the nearest railway stations. The highest point of the territory of the municipality is the summit of Piz Duan (3,131 m (10,272 ft)).

On 1 January 2010 the municipalities of Bondo, Castasegna, Soglio, Stampa, and Vicosoprano were merged into a new municipality of Bregaglia.[3]

Demographics

Soglio has a population (as of 2008) of 167, of which 7.8% are foreign nationals.[4] Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -13.5%.[2]

As of 2000, the gender distribution of the population was 43.9% male and 56.1% female.[5] The age distribution, as of 2000, in Soglio is; 8 children or 4.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 11 teenagers or 6.4% are 10 to 14, and 6 teenagers or 3.5% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 11 people or 6.4% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 14 people or 8.1% are 30 to 39, 32 people or 18.6% are 40 to 49, and 28 people or 16.3% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 17 people or 9.9% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 27 people or 15.7% are 70 to 79, there are 15 people or 8.7% who are 80 to 89, and there are 3 people or 1.7% who are 90 to 99.[4]

Village church of Soglio

In 1552 the village converted during the Protestant Reformation. Most of the population of the village are still members of the Swiss Reformed Church.

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 53.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (24.5%), the FDP (15.2%) and the CVP (7.2%).[2]

In Soglio about 73.6% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).[2]

Soglio has an unemployment rate of 0.2%. As of 2005, there were 18 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 9 businesses involved in this sector. 34 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 8 businesses in this sector. 140 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 15 businesses in this sector.[2]

The historical population is given in the following table:[1][5]

year population
1850 388
1900 349
1950 287
1960 326
1970 219
1980 220
1990 216
2000 172

Languages

Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks Italian (80.2%), with German being second most common (17.4%) and English being third ( 1.7%).[2] The majority of the population speaks the local dialect of Lombard .

Languages in Soglio GR
LanguagesCensus 1980Census 1990Census 2000
NumberPercentNumberPercentNumberPercent
German198.64%3315.28%3017.44%
Italian18885.45%17781.94%13880.23%
Population220100%216100%172100%

Notable residents

Soglio is the commune of origin for the Salis family, one of the oligarch families of the Grisons. There are several Salis houses in the village: Casa Alta; Casa Battista; Casa di Mezzo; and Casa Antonio. The Casa Battista is now a hotel Hotel Palazzo Salis (formerly Pensione Willy) while the others are tenements. For centuries the Salis family fortunes influenced the region, and the bars from the family arms are present in the coat of arms of the municipality, below the capricorn, which indicates church membership.

Heritage sites of national significance

The Casa Antonio No. 139 and Casa Battista no. 131, also known as the Hotel Palazzo Salis, are both listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.[6]

Weather

Soglio has an average of 101.8 days of rain per year and on average receives 1,459 mm (57.4 in) of precipitation. The wettest month is May during which time Soglio receives an average of 179 mm (7.0 in) of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 12.7 days. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 55 mm (2.2 in) of precipitation over 12.7 days.[7]

References

  1. Soglio in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  2. Swiss Federal Statistical Office Archived 2011-09-04 at the Wayback Machine accessed 19-Oct-2009
  3. Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (in German) accessed 23 September 2009
  4. Graubunden Population Statistics Archived 2009-08-27 at the Wayback Machine (in German) accessed 21 September 2009
  5. Graubunden in Numbers Archived 2009-09-24 at the Wayback Machine (in German) accessed 21 September 2009
  6. Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance Archived 2009-05-01 at the Wayback Machine 21.11.2008 version, (in German) accessed 19-Oct-2009
  7. "Temperature and Precipitation Average Values-Table, 1961-1990" (in German, French, and Italian). Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology - MeteoSwiss. Archived from the original on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2009., the weather station elevation is 1093 meters above sea level.
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