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Municipal government in Lamone
Municipio di Lamone
Municipio di Lamone
Municipal government in Lamone
- Monday9:30 to 11:30
- Tuesday9:30 to 11:30
- Wednesday14:00 to 17:00
- Thursday9:30 to 11:30
- Friday9:30 to 11:30
- SaturdayClosed
- SundayClosed
- Monday9:30 to 11:30
- Tuesday9:30 to 11:30
- Wednesday14:00 to 17:00
- Thursday9:30 to 11:30
- Friday9:30 to 11:30
- SaturdayClosed
- SundayClosed
- Monday
Municipio di Lamone – Contacts & Location
Description
THE MUNICIPALITY.
Lamone is of very ancient origin and is divided into three distinct parts: the historic core, the new part, and the hamlet of Ostarietta. The historic core is a collection of mostly rustic houses clustered around a few streets and quarters.
It is situated at the foot of San Zeno hill, whose slopes form a natural amphitheater to the south.
For the past few years there has been a "Nature Trail": this route, which partly uses a very old mule track that has fallen into disuse, joins near the top with a path that climbs from Origlio, and along the way there are signs informing about the special vegetation of the place.
The new part of the village, on the other hand, is situated on the plain that extends south of the church. The hamlet of Ostarietta also has rather remote origins.
Essa is separated from the new part of Lamone by the railway line, and the main road passes through this hamlet.
Historical profile
"Lamone with Ostarietta, the main village, although by the nature of the situation it is not the chief town of the Vezia circle (Lugano district). The postal route shaves the edges of Lamone's countryside; but the village is situated some distance away, at the foot of a mountain which, sheltering it from cold winds, enables it to produce wines of good repute. Its dismemberment from the parish of Lugano dates back to the years 1580-90. On the mountain it has the hermitage of San Zenone with an outlook over the Val d'Agno and that of Lugano..."
This is how Stefano Franscini speaks of Lamone in his work "La Svizzera Italiana" published in 1840. In order to better illustrate our municipality, we drew on the very rich source that is the historical monograph on Lamone, written by Canon Giovanni Sarinelli (1885-1967).
The origins of Lamone
The origins of Lamone
are not the same as those of the town of Lamone.
The origins
Lamone, in ancient documents (before the year 1000) is called Namonne. In the 1300s it is called Lemonno or Lemonne and in some cases Lamonno.
Already around 1400, however, Lemone and Alamone are mentioned, designations that are closer to the current name of Lamone.
It is not easy to resolve etymologically the origin and meaning of Lamone's name. Sarinelli states that it probably comes from an ancient personage from an Italian village with the same name as ours (Lamon in the province of Belluno).
If, on the other hand, we consider the older term with II by which the village is defined and that is "Namonne, the same may lead us to reflect on the Iatino word "nemus" which means "rich pasture forest."
In fact, it cannot be ruled out that the territory where the village of Lamone arose was originally a place predominantly devoted to pastoralism.
What events occurred and how the village developed is not easy to ascertain. We know little or nothing about Ticino at the time of the barbarian invasions and the influence they left on the population. There are archaeological traces of the Lombards in the 7th century.
They in the years 568-572 conquered the Po Valley and later pushed into the Alpine valleys where, around 590 they clashed with the Franks at Ponte Tresa.
Some Lombard lords owned property in the Sottoceneri: among them we can count a certain Totone da Campione, whose possessions were so extensive that they even included all the lands of Lamone.
At his death he left all his possessions (thus including the Lamone lands) to the Monastery of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan. With this donation, the monastery in the Lombard capital became one of the oldest feudal lordships in the Sottoceneri of which the greatest traces can be found. The jurisdiction of the monastery lasted until 1300.
The ancient community life
The different families who found themselves living next to each other on the same land created a community in which the enjoyment of property was free to all without being owners. In fact, there was no private ownership, which excluded the co-partnership of other families.
Wood from the forest, stone for the house were to be enjoyed in common, so were pastures for livestock, while land for cultivation was usually drawn by lot; during a public meeting. This form of self-management was called "vicinìa."
Essa had its own ordinances, among which we mention, the appointment of the "dean" or "consul" (corresponding to today's mayor), the discussion and approval of statutes and ordinances for the conduct of the community, etc.
The assemblies, called "vicinities," could be ordinary or extraordinary and were generally held in the central square of the village or in the churchyard.
Community activities
Lamone was a predominantly agricultural village as people derived their livelihood from cultivating the land and raising livestock.
The number of the latter must have been very large as we know that in 1392 Lamone owned two alps on the Camoghè above Isone: this property was held until about 1500.
Another fact that denotes the massive presence of livestock are the municipal ordinances and decrees to regulate the use of pastures.
In addition to the already mentioned agricultural and livestock farming activities, we must point out the silkworm industry, which flourished in Lamone in the late 1700s and early 1800s and then continued for almost a century.
Hemp and flax were also cultivated, the fibers of which, after being properly processed, were made into thread to be woven on hand looms into textiles. Who does not remember the famous linen cloths of our grandparents?
.As a curiosity, we point out the discovery a few years ago, during an excavation in the historic core, of a large worked stone, belonging to a lever press or piemontese (an instrument widely used between 1500 and 1800 for processing grapes and especially for the preparation of walnut oil).
Agriculture was not, however, the only activity of the Lamon people. In fact, in the seventeenth century a number of kilns for firing terracotta were operating in our territory. With the increase in population and the loss of the mountain pastures, several inhabitants had to change trades, becoming bricklayers, painters, carpenters, blacksmiths.
These activities were not the only ones in our area.
These activities did not always give the guarantee of work in the village and as a result, there was only one solution left: emigration.
The living nucleus
Lamone is divided into three distinct parts: the historic core, the new part and the hamlet of Ostarietta.
The historic core is a collection of mostly rustic houses clustered around a few streets and hamlets.
Walking these streets and looking closely at houses, walls, doors, gratings, gates, we can see that some buildings were made without noble materials, but with a lot of passion.
Very often the makers of these works were people of humble conditions who were forced to emigrate in order to make a living.
Far from home they learned the trade and then when they returned they demonstrated what they had learned by building or beautifying their homes.
The old core, on the whole well-preserved and protected by special regulations desired by the town council a decade ago, represents an unmistakable testimony to the peasant civilization.
The new part of the village, located on the plain that extends south of the core, has been gradually developing since the 1960s, with the construction of new small houses and numerous buildings.
The arrival of new population has been matched by the establishment of many eaconomic activities in the industrial and tertiary sectors.
The hamlet of Ostarietta also has rather remote origins. In fact we see that Schinz in his work "Description of Italian Switzerland in the eighteenth century" states that in Ostarietta existed"... an isolated house with a mill and a sawmill next to it "..., it is separated from the new part of Lamone by the railway line.
The village of Ostarietta is a small village with a small village with a small mill and a sawmill.
Routes of communication
The residential core was not and never has been crossed by transit roads: however, this did not prevent the municipality from developing more and more. The main road, first called Regina and then Cantonale, still passes through the hamlet of Ostarietta.
It was widened in two stages: first the Lugano-Ostarietta section, built between 1806 and 1808, then the Ostarietta-Cadenazzo route, built between 1808 and 1811.
This route was (until the opening of the highway) the main artery of communication between Lugano and Monte Ceneri.
In 1896 a passenger service was introduced on this road, connecting neighboring towns with the city of Lugano by stagecoach.
In 1934 the stagecoach was replaced by an automobile service (three daily runs).
Furthermore, with the construction of the Gotthard railroad (1882) and after a series of long vicissitudes lasting more than 30 years, the municipal authorities of Lamone, jointly with those of Cadempino, managed to obtain an additional service for the community: the railway station.
The church
Dedicated to St. Andrew, it is located south of the historic core. Its current appearance is the result of frequent transformations partly in 1612 and partly in the 1800s.
Further renovations were carried out in 1920, while in 1976-77 the interior was restored. The bell tower, located south of the church, dates back to the Romanesque period (1100): witness the blind niches defined by two or three arches. In 1820 it was enlarged toward the north and raised.
The facade of the church is neoclassical; executed in 1894 by architect A.Ghezzi, it has as its entrance a portico with Tuscan-order pillars. The interior includes a nave with three bays, the chancel and two side chapels.
The walls of the nave are supported by Tuscan-order pillars supporting a neoclassical cornice. The high altar is in stucco, with columns topped by capitals of composite order; it is enriched by a 1600s altarpiece depicting Jesus inviting the two brothers Andrew and Peter to follow him and a mid-18th-century Arzo marble mensa.
In the side chapels, notable are the stuccoes by Gabriele Cattori di Lamone (an artist who decorated the high altar). In the left one, dedicated to St. Sebastian, there is an altarpiece depicting the saint in the company of the Virgin and St. Rocco. In the right chapel, dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, the altar is surmounted by a niche decorated with stucco and containing a statue datable to the late 1600s.
Notable are the canvases of the twelve apostles displayed on the walls, attributed to Caresana of Cureglia and made around 1700. The floor, in Venetian mosaic, was executed in 1858.
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