Riva San Vitale

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. The Pieve of Riva San Vitale 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 Lugano Valley Community. In 1517, under Swiss Confederation rule, it became part of the bailiwick of Lugano. The Pieve of Riva San Vitale was represented both at the General Conference of the valley (which had power over financial and tax matters as well the salt supply), and in the Landschaftsrat, the valley's administrative body. After the failed attempt on 15 February 1798 for the bailiwick of Lugano to join the Cisalpine Republic, the Pieve formed the Republic of Riva San Vitale. The Republic only existed a few weeks, from 23 February until 16 March 1798. In 1803 the Pieve of Riva San Vitale was added to the district of Lugano and divided into two sections, Ceresio and Riva San Vitale. In 1814 they became part of the district of Mendrisio. ==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. ==Coat of arms==

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules an arm issuant from dexter armoured argent embowed holding a sword hilted and pommed or. ==Demographics==

Riva San Vitale has a population () of . , 16.4% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Between 1997 and 2007, the population changed at a rate of 10.4%. As of 2000, most of the population spoke Italian (2,089 or 91.1%), with German being second most common (117 or 5.1%) and French being third (24 or 1.0%). There was one person who spoke Romansh. , there were 938 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,142 married individuals, 119 widows or widowers and 93 individuals who are divorced. , there were 924 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. there were 1,137 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was four rooms of which there were 361. There were 24 single room apartments and 307 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 913 apartments (80.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 215 apartments (18.9%) were seasonally occupied and 9 apartments (0.8%) were empty. Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:1200 height:210 PlotArea = height:150 left:100 bottom:50 right:100 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:3000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:500 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:100 start:0 PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:30 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1591 from:start till:500 text:"500" bar:1643 from:start till:517 text:"517" bar:1719 from:start till:600 text:"600" bar:1801 from:start till:611 text:"611" bar:1850 from:start till:851 text:"851" bar:1860 from:start till:913 text:"913" bar:1870 from:start till:1014 text:"1,014" bar:1880 from:start till:1149 text:"1,149" bar:1888 from:start till:1106 text:"1,106" bar:1900 from:start till:1333 text:"1,333" bar:1910 from:start till:1355 text:"1,355" bar:1920 from:start till:1109 text:"1,109" bar:1930 from:start till:1119 text:"1,119" bar:1941 from:start till:1145 text:"1,145" bar:1950 from:start till:1166 text:"1,166" bar:1960 from:start till:1358 text:"1,358" bar:1970 from:start till:1607 text:"1,607" bar:1980 from:start till:1837 text:"1,837" bar:1990 from:start till:2181 text:"2,181" bar:2000 from:start till:2292 text:"2,292" bar:2010 from:start till:2490 text:"2,490" bar:2020 from:start till:2654 text:"2,654" ==Heritage sites of national significance==

The Baptistery of S. Giovanni, the Bianchi House, the Church of S. Croce and the Palazzo della Croce are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire town of Riva San Vitale is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites. File:03BattisteroRivaSVitale.jpg | Baptistry of S. Giovanni File:Riva San Vitale Affreschi 03.jpg|Interior of the Baptistry of S. Giovanni File:Bapètistry of Riva San Vitale, Interior.jpg|Interior of the Baptistry of S. Giovanni File:05SCroceRivaSVitale.JPG | Church of S. Croce ==Politics==

In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 1,698 registered voters in Riva San Vitale, of which 1,249 or 73.6% voted. 29 blank ballots and four null ballots were cast, leaving 1,216 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD+GenGiova which received 358 or 29.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PLRT (with 214 or 17.6%), the LEGA (with 190 or 15.6%) and the SSI (with 189 or 15.5%). In the Consiglio di Stato election, 19 blank ballots and seven null ballots were cast, leaving 1,223 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD which received 366 or 29.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the LEGA (with 241 or 19.7%), the PLRT (with 205 or 16.8%) and the PS (with 186 or 15.2%). In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 1,802 registered voters in Riva San Vitale, of which 1,258 or 69.81% voted. 22 blank ballots and 3 null ballots were cast, leaving 1,233 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD+GenGiova which received 304 or 24.66% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the LEGA (with 245 or 19.87%), the SSI (with 218 or 17.68%) and the PLRT (with 191 or 15.49%). In the Consiglio di Stato election, 24 blank ballots and seven null ballots were cast, leaving 1,227 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD which received 325 or 26.49% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the LEGA (with 316 or 25.75%), the SSI (with 185 or 15.08%) and the PLRT (with 181 or 14.75%). In the 2011 federal election (National Council) the most popular party was the PPD which received 28.61% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the LEGA (20.17%), the PLRT (15.52%) and the SSI (9.41%). In the federal election, a total of 1,065 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 59.04%. In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 1,865 registered voters in Riva San Vitale, of which 1,340 or 71.85% voted. 41 blank ballots and 6 null ballots were cast, leaving 1,293 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD+GenGiova which received 303 or 23.43% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the LEGA (with 302 or 23.36%), the SSI (with 235 or 18.17%) and the PLRT (with 187 or 14.46%). In the Consiglio di Stato election, 38 blank ballots and 12 null ballots were cast, leaving 1,291 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the LEGA which received 349 or 27.03% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PPD (with 289 or 22.39%), the SSI (with 226 or 17.51%) and the PLRT (with 181 or 14.02%). In the 2015 federal election (National Council) the most popular party was the PPD which received 26.72% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the LEGA (26.16%), the PLRT (13.88%) and the PS (11.99%). In the federal election, a total of 1,082 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 58.61%. In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 1,924 registered voters in Riva San Vitale, of which 1,219 or 63.36% voted. 48 blank ballots and eight null ballots were cast, leaving 1,163 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PPD+GenGiova which received 238 or 20.46% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the LEGA (with 235 or 20.21%), the SSI (with 231 or 19.86%) and the PLRT (with 172 or 14.79%). In the Consiglio di Stato election, 59 blank ballots and eight null ballots were cast, leaving 1,152 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the LEGA which received 317 or 27.52% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the PPD (with 236 or 20.49%), the SSI (with 216 or 18.65%) and the PLRT (with 173 or 15.02%) In the 2019 federal election (National Council) the most popular party was the PPD which received 24.18% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the LEGA (17.55%), the PLRT (13.37%) and the PS (9.80%). In the federal election, a total of 1,006 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 53.85%. ==Economy==

, Riva San Vitale had an unemployment rate of 3.25%. , there were 31 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 9 businesses involved in this sector. 322 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 43 businesses in this sector. 370 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 72 businesses in this sector. , there were 843 workers who commuted into the municipality and 817 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.0 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 35.1% of the workforce coming into Riva San Vitale are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.4% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 9.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 62.1% used a private car. ==Transport==

Riva San Vitale is served by the Capolago-Riva San Vitale railway station on the Gotthardbahn railway, which is situated about away in the adjoining community of Capolago. Buses of the Autolinea Mendrisiense provide a link to the station, as well as services to Brusino Arsizio, Mendrisio and Porto Ceresio. ==Religion==

From the , 1,914 or 83.5% were Roman Catholic, while 86 or 3.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 7 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.31% of the population), there were 4 individuals (or about 0.17% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 11 individuals (or about 0.48% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 7 (or about 0.31% of the population) who were Islamic. There were 7 individuals who were Buddhist, 14 individuals who were Hindu and 2 individuals who belonged to another church. 133 (or about 5.80% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 107 individuals (or about 4.67% of the population) did not answer the question. ==Education==

In Riva San Vitale about 932 or (40.7%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 231 or (10.1%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 231 who completed tertiary schooling, 51.1% were Swiss men, 30.3% were Swiss women, 13.4% were non-Swiss men and 5.2% were non-Swiss women. There were 31 vocational students who were attending school full-time and 44 who attend part-time. The professional program lasts three years and prepares a student for a job in engineering, nursing, computer science, business, tourism and similar fields. There were 5 students in the professional program. , there were 321 students in Riva San Vitale who came from another municipality, while 95 residents attended schools outside the municipality. Housed in the 250-year-old Villa Maderni, the provides various academic programs for the undergraduate and graduate students of Virginia Tech. The main offering of the Steger Center is its semester-long student residence program. In this program, students live in the municipality, attend classes in the Villa Maderni learning facilities, and participate in field trips around Europe that complement the academic program. The university also offers summer study-abroad programs at the center. ==References==