History
The district of Gandria has been part of Lugano since 2004 and is one of the city's most picturesque areas, attracting tourists with its dramatic lakeside landscapes and generally mild climate.
The village extends across to the opposite shore of Lake Ceresio, encompassing the mountains of Bisnago, Roncaglia, and Caprino. This expanse was the subject of centuries-old disputes with the neighboring municipalities of Oria, Albogasio, Ramponio, and Lanzo.
Originally named Gandrio, the village first appears in history on 7 August 1237, and later in a notarial deed dated 10 June 1423. In the 14th century, Gandrio is mentioned in a series of documents related to rents, weights and measures, roads, and bridges, which are particularly valuable as they show that the original settlement developed halfway up Monte Brè. By 1335, the current lakeside village had been established.
Among Gandria's natural features are two notable rocks: the "Sasso di Gandria," a favorite subject for artists and painters, located along the trail between San Domenico and the village, and the "Sasso della Predescia," an erratic boulder of gneiss above the canton road, bearing inscriptions indicative of ancient forms of worship.
Over the centuries, Gandria's economy relied on agriculture (particularly viticulture and horticulture) and fishing. The village was also renowned as a home for skilled artisans. From the late 19th century to 1950, Gandria engaged in silk farming and the processing of lime bark. On the lake's opposite shore are the cantinas and a border guards' barracks, dating to 1904, which since 1949 has housed the Swiss Customs Museum.
One of Gandria’s cherished traditions was the barche ad arcioni boat races. The Ceresio championship involved a 1,200-meter course, starting at the village's central dock and ending at the Cantinas.
In La Svizzera italiana (1840), Stefano Franscini writes: "Gandria, on Lake Ceresio, near the Valsolda border, less than two miles from Lugano. It has only a few hectares of land, all painstakingly reclaimed from the cliffs. Its fertility rivals that of Castagnola. Figs, olives, and citrons brighten Gandria's slopes, and the American agave occasionally adorns them with its majestic flowers. The white houses of Gandria, terraced on the slopes, make a delightful sight from afar."
The origin of the name Gandria is debated. Linguist Carlo Salvioni theorized that "a landslide area in parts of the Lombard Alps is called Gana, giving rise to Val Gana. Gandria thus derives from Gana to Ganda to Gandra, with the insertion of an 'i' through literary influence." Toponymist Dante Olivieri proposed: "Village on Lake Ceresio: a literary reconstruction of a Gandra, perhaps from Gandola, meaning small Ganda, where Ganda signifies 'landslide, rubble, or scree.'" According to a third interpretation in 1892 by Professor Gaetano Polari Gandara, of Basque origin, would indicate the adhesion of one surface on another. The village of Gandria, in fact, is "clinging to a rock that from Monte Brè reaches the lake."
Gandria's residents, known as Gandriesi or "Tor," reportedly earned this nickname for the "immense efforts" they had to exert when moving around their challenging terrain.
The village honors several prominent individuals who lived in Gandria and brought it renown: the Rabaglio family (artists), Bruno Bordoni (author), Fritz Meijer (artist and gallery owner who lived in Gandria from 1939 to 1969), the Trio di Gandria (folk musicians specializing in Ticino songs), and rowers Ugo Bordoni, Vittorino Genazzini, Ilvo Prosperi, and Mario Pacchin.
Gandria also takes pride in its cherished traditional events:
- Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
- Feast of Saint Nicholas
- Carnevale dei Tor
- Festa di gnocc
- Olive Harvest Festival
The coat of arms
In a text from the Albo d’oro del Comune di Gandria, its coat of arms is described as follows: "Tierced per chevron: the first, gold with a broken crozier in red; the second, silver with a red cross charged with a gold lily at the center and a small silver cross at the top; the third, black with a bull’s head affronté, ringed and langued red."
The crozier symbolizes the Parish of San Vigilio and the martyrdom of the saint. The cross with the lily represents the faith and artistic mastery of Gilio da Gandria. The small Swiss cross alludes to "the first land of the Swiss Lords." The bull symbolizes the Patriziato and the "Tor", as the inhabitants of Gandria are called.
The coat of arms featured in Gastone Cambin’s Armoriale dei Comuni ticinesi, published in 1953 by the Istituto Araldico e Genealogico di Lugano, and displayed on the municipal banner at the 1939 National Exhibition, depicted a bull in the upper part and a three-arched boat in the lower part, referencing the village's lakeside location and the nickname of its inhabitants (the bull).
Places of interest
The village is accessible only on foot and is one of the most beautiful lakeside villages in Ticino. Its distinctive features are the tightly clustered houses, reachable through stairways and narrow alleys.
The Gandria trail is the most beloved walk for both locals and the many tourists who reach the village on foot. The return can be made by boat.
The first Customs Museum was established in 1935 in an old customs house located on the lakeshore, opposite Gandria. Fully restored in 1994, it is a faithful reconstruction of a late 19th-century border guard post.
The Cantine of Gandria can be reached by lake or via the trail starting from Caprino/San Rocco. In the past, due to the area's naturally low temperatures, the inhabitants of Gandria used them to store wine, cured meats, and cheese. Thanks to a complex system of air vents, the cantine maintain the same temperature both in winter and summer.
The educational trail along the paths between Gandria and Brè offers an ideal opportunity to explore the nature and history of this unique area.
For more information, visit luganoregion.ch.
Separated from the mother church, which became a parish in 1463, the church of Gandria is dedicated to San Vigilio, Bishop of Trento and Christian martyr. It is believed that devotion to the saint was introduced in the 12th century by the people of Gandria, who were employed in the construction of the Trento Cathedral under the direction of Adamo da Arogno.
As Plinio Grossi explains in his publication Gandria, while it is impossible to determine the construction date of the original mother church, the southern side of the church preserves "remnants of medieval masonry, with pilasters and a series of Gothic-style arches resting on plain corbels," adjacent to the more recent Baroque-style structure.
The interior
When first built, the church was a modest construction, consisting only of a long nave, two plain chapels (the one on the right dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary), and, at the back of the church, a small chapel with the baptistery. Despite its simplicity, the church still boasted the presence of the Triptych, the Ancona di Gandria, which is now housed in the Swiss National Museum in Zurich.
In the following centuries, four additional chapels were added. Two of them, dedicated to Saint Charles and Saint John the Evangelist, were built at the beginning of the 17th century. Around the same time, the then-unnamed chapel became the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary and welcomed a wooden statue of the Madonna, carved by Antonio Pino.
In the latter half of the century, the two remaining chapels were constructed: the Chapel of Saint Anthony (1677–1678) and the Chapel of Saint Joseph (1685). That same year, the painter Carlone da Rovio undertook the decoration of both the Church of San Vigilio and the Church of Saint Anthony, which are situated across from each other.
In 1674, the choir of the church was elevated. The following year, the marble balustrade and three altar steps were added. In 1679, Giovanni Pietro Giorgioli of Meride was commissioned to create a new tabernacle, and in 1688, he sculpted four busts of saints.
By the 18th century, the parish church of Gandria was nearly complete. With the return of the brothers Vigilio and Pietro Rabaglio, architects and stucco artists, the project of the choir could proceed, culminating in 1777. By 1784, the roof and vault were raised.
According to Bruno Bordoni’s interpretation of records from the Vicinanza found in the parish archive, the large oil painting above the main altar, depicting the martyrdom of Saint Vigilio and dated 1785, is the work of the brothers Giuseppe and Antonio Torricelli. In his article Works by the Luganese Painters Torricelli in Gandria, published in the Bollettino Storico della Svizzera Italiana in 1967, Bordoni also attributes the fresco on the vault of the parish church to Giuseppe Torricelli, as well as The Baptism of Jesus in the second chapel on the right and the Immaculate Conception, painted on the door of the tabernacle in the Chapel of Saint Anthony of Padua.
The facade
In 1867, the flooring was redone, and the reconstruction of the facade was decided upon. The project, entrusted to engineer Francesco Banchini of Neggio, included the demolition of the Ossuary; the crafting of Saltrio stone by stonemason Giacomo Pinardi; the creation of two stone statues depicting Saint Vigilio and the Blessed Virgin Immaculate by sculptor Girolamo Buzzi of Viggiù; and the painting of four saints in designated niches. Unfortunately, no trace of these frescoes remains today, and there are no reliable records of the facade’s appearance before the reconstruction.
The bell tower
Standing 25 meters tall, made of stone, and in a late Romanesque style reminiscent of a fortress tower, the bell tower of the Church of San Vigilio appears to date back to 25 January 1525, as suggested by an inscription on the rounded arch door on its southern base. However, another identical, now-sealed door seems to have once led, via a step, to the church, whose floor level was likely about one meter higher than it is today. It is believed that in 1463 Gandria had a church with a bell tower, whose remains served as the foundation for the Church of San Vigilio.
In 1615, the first bell was installed, followed by a second in 1683. On 7 March 1790, the tower was also equipped with a clock. Five years later, on 19 March 1795, Giuseppe Bizzozzero was tasked with recasting the two bells, but in 1890 the bells were recast again, and three additional ones were added. To accommodate the new bells, the bell tower was modified, resulting in the loss of its "round-arched windows paired with a half Tuscan-style column resting on an elegant and bright capital."
Located next to the cemetery of Gandria, the Oratory of San Rocco was built in 1645. Saint Rocco, patron saint of plague victims, was invoked by the people of Gandria in 1633 when the plague reached the borders of the village, claiming 222 victims in Albogasio. In exchange for protection, the inhabitants promised to dedicate a chapel to him. Spared from the plague, Gandria fulfilled its vow by building the votive chapel, which is also dedicated to Saint Sebastian and Our Lady of Health.
From 1740 to 1745, the oratory was expanded and adorned with paintings by the Torricelli brothers, with the collaboration of stucco artist Francesco Giambonini di Pietro. Among these works was a large fresco depicting the three saints and the Infant Jesus.
After the construction of the new cemetery, the oratory fell into decline. Restoration efforts were insufficient to save the structure and its frescoes from humidity, leading to the loss of the precious painting. Years later, Bruno Bordoni recreated the artwork on canvas based on an old photograph and a sketch, placing it above the altar in its original position. Unfortunately, the canvas was stolen in 1974.
Bruno Brusoni, in his itinerary guide Da Milano a Lucerna, recounts that the people of Gandria, due to the steep terrain they inhabit, sleep horizontally only in the cemetery. However, they must have spent many sleepless nights before achieving a proper cemetery: it took them exactly 25 years.
Originally, the Cemetery of Gandria was nothing more than a marble slab placed on the floor of the parish church of San Vigilio. Later, "for reasons of hygiene and economy," the burial area was extended to the churchyard and the northern area of the church. Separate and communal graves were created, designated for married women, virgins, and the confreres of the Blessed Sacrament.
When the Cantonal Cemetery Law was enacted on 15 June 1833, finding suitable land for a cemetery that complied with the new regulations seemed like an impossible task. On 15 April 1835, the municipality decided to appeal to the Grand Council for an exceptional permit to build the cemetery wherever the rugged terrain of the village allowed. The authorities gave no response, prompting the municipality to submit a second appeal to the Grand Council on 1 July 1841. Again, no response was received.
On 19 December of the same year, the Municipality of Gandria sent a third petition to the Government. This time, progress was made: on 30 October 1842, a doctor was sent to inspect potential locations for the cemetery. However, no suitable solution was found.
After 1853, the Town Assembly decided to construct the cemetery on land owned by the Guglielmini brothers, next to the Oratory of San Rocco. The works were entrusted to Carlo Pezzi from Lugano, but dissatisfied with his performance, the municipality suspended the project. The cemetery was then completed by the Gandria residents themselves, who took turns working on it day after day. The cemetery was consecrated on 28 February 1858, by the archpriest of Lugano.
Gandria in black and white
The English version of this page was created with the aid of automatic translation tools and may contain errors and omissions.
The original version is the page in Italian.