| Biasca | ||||||||||
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| Population | 5,935 (December 2004) | |||||||||
| - Density | 102 /km² (39 /sq.mi.) | |||||||||
| Area | 58.1 km² (22.4 sq mi) | |||||||||
| Elevation | 301 m (988 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 6710 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 5281 | |||||||||
| Localities | Loderio, Ponte, Pontirone, Sant'Anna, Valle | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Cauco (GR), Iragna, Lodrino, Malvaglia, Osogna, Personico, Pollegio, Rossa (GR), Semione | |||||||||
| Website | www.biasca.ch | |||||||||
  Biasca
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Biasca is the capital of the district of Riviera in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
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Geography
The municipality lies at the entrance to the Blenio valley, 19 km north of Bellinzona, on the banks of the Brenno. About 3 km east of Biasca is the small lake of Carigiolo, from which a stream with an 80 m. waterfall flows. The villages of Loderio, Ponte, Pontirone, Sant'Anna, and Valle belong to the municipality.
History
Roman coins hae been found in Biasca, testifying to its occupation in antiquity. The church of Biasca has sculptures and paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries. It was built in 1213. A second Catholic church, the Rotonda di San Carlo, is a magnificent example of the modern architecture of the Milanese architect Macciacchini. An avalanche from the Monte Crenone (now called Pizzo Magno) in 1512 buried many houses in Biasca and killed hundreds of people. This was one of the major avalanches in the Alps in modern times. It dammed the Brenno, forming a 14-kilometer-long lake. This dam broke in the spring of 1514, flooding the Ticino valley to the Magadino plain. In 1900 the building of the Gotthard Railway employed about 100 workers in Biasca.
References
This article is based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.
External links
- Official website (Italian)
- Biasca and Riviera Tourism website (Italian, French, German, English)
- Biasca in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
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Biasca | Claro | Cresciano | Iragna | Lodrino | Osogna Ticino | Districts of Canton Ticino | Municipalities of the canton of Ticino |
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