History and archeology in Calonico - Campiroi

Calonico is a former municipality of the Canton Ticino, a part of Leventina and now part of the municiplaity of Faido since 2006. In 1227 the village was called "Callonego", in 1316 "Calonego", in 1341 "Calonicho" and for the first time "Calonico" in 1459.

Calonico is mentioned for the first time in the act of partition of the Leventina Alps dated 23rd May 1227, in which all the "vicinities" agreed on the division of pastures. The "vicinanza" was an economic association which granted its members rights of use over common property. It was responsible for the collection of taxes, the administration of alpine pastures and forests, the rights of burden and the maintenance of roads. In 1441, the Leventina Valley was divided into 8 "Vicinanze", which were further subdivided into "Degagna" (a vicinal body as a subdivision of the "Vicinanza") and into village communities ("Vicinato"). The "Degagna" of Calonico was part of the "Vicinity" of Chiggiogna, which since 1347 also included the "Degagna" of Molare, of Rossura, "De Plano" (Chiggiogna itself) and of Prugiasco in Val Blenio. The communes as we know them today only came into existence in 1798. From 1798 the equivalent of "Degagna", i.e. "Patriziato", was also introduced.

In the Middle Ages, the Leventina Valley belonged to the Milanese cathedral chapter until 1403, when Uri and Obwalden occupied it. With the defeat of Arbedo in 1422, the valley returned to Milan until 1439 when it passed again to Uri. With the victory of Giornico in 1478, where the presence of the Leventines was decisive, Uri was able to consolidate its rule over the valley. Uri retained ownership until the French occupation in 1798, when the Leventina was first integrated into the canton of Bellinzona and then, in 1803, into the newly created Canton Ticino.

From: 1) Materiali e Documenti Ticinesi (MDT) 2) Dizionario Storico della Svizzera (DSS) 3) Le strutture ed il quotidiano, Chiggiogna (Viscontini) 4) Blenio e Leventina (K. Meyer)

Mountains and the agricultural economy on three levels

Campiroi at 1311 m asl is one of the mountains (Maggenghi) in the municipality of Calonico (960 m asl). The word "Maggenghi" comes from the month of May, when cattle was first taken to higher altitudes (i.e. to the mountains). The mountain is an area with meadows and stables at approx. 1200 - 1600 m a.s.l., where farmers could also spend the night.

The mountains are part of a three-tiered agricultural economy consisting of 1) Valley floor/village 2) Mountains and 3) Alp at 1600 - 2000 m asl. The farmers moved their cattle according to where the fodder was (and not the other way round) and thus from one stable to another several times a year.

In winter, cattle in Calonico was kept in the stables near the village, where fodder for the winter had been stored during the previous summer. From the beginning of May to June, the cattle could graze in the meadows around the village or on the nearby mountains and then be moved directly to the alp until September. In July and August, the farmers cut the grass in the meadows around the village and on the mountains and the hay was then stored on site. When the cattle returned from the alp in September, it was first taken to the mountains as Campiroi to consume the fodder stored there and then to the village stables to overwinter.

The "Chiera" alp (ca. 2020 m a.s.l.) of Calonico and Lavorgo: extract from the documentation of the “Patriziato” of Calonico, Quinto and Chiggiogna from 1227 to 1589.

Alpe Chiera was acquired by the Vicinanza of Chiggiogna on 1 July 1227 from the beneficiaries/prebendaries of the church of San Pietro di Quinto. In 1229, within the "Vicinanza" of Chiggiogna, the Alps were distributed among the various "Degagne". The Alps mentioned in the document of the "Vicinanza" of Chiggiogna were: Stuollo, Chiera, Crastumo, Nara, Vallegia and Cavana in the Bedretto valley. Calonico is mentioned for the first time in relation to the Chiera alp, together with Lavorgo, on 6 January 1323, when the two neighbourhoods defined the alpine grazing rights of the women:

The female heir of Calonico and Lavorgo who marries and leaves her father's house will be deprived of her alpine pasture rights in Chiera.
The female heiress who marries and remains in her father's house will share in the alpine pasture rights as long as she lives there and does her usual work.
A woman who marries a foreigner and brings him into her house will keep her alpine pasture rights like any other neighbour as long as she stays in her father's house; if she leaves her father's house, she will be deprived of her rights in the Chiera alpine pasture
Who leaves his property, will be deprived of his alpine rights

The history of Alpe Chiera was a history of disputes between Calonico-Lavorgo on the one hand and Ambri-Varenzo (situated below Alpe Chiera) on the other. Although the alpe had been allocated to Calonico and Lavorgo, Ambri-Varenzo's neighbours also wanted to graze their cattle there in the summer between St Peter's Day (29th June) and St Bartholomew's Day (24th August) according to old customs. This situation caused friction between the neighbourhoods, which requested a legal assessment on several occasions, either from the Podestà/Vicario of Milan (August 1341) or from the General Council of Leventina (July 1344), who reconfirmed the rights of Calonico-Lavorgo.

It seems, however, that the decisions of the Leventina authorities were not (always) executed, as shown by the complaints of July 1345 and July-September 1347, according to which Quinto continued to graze his cattle on Alpe Chiera. In order to clarify matters, in September 1419, it was decided to define the boundaries of the alp accurately and at the same time find a compromise. Nevertheless despite this, the vicar or arbitrators assigned to decide had to confirm again in October 1443, September 1450 and November 1495 that the previously defined boundaries were still valid and also applied to the small livestock. The last document concerning Alpe Chiera is dated July 1589, when Calonico and Ambri-Varenzo signed an agreement: Calonico can graze his cattle 4 days before and 5 days after the fixed dates (see above), in exchange Ambri receives a piece of land previously shared with Calonico for their exclusive use. A story that spans 362 years of history and shows how at that time resources were very limited and how important it was to distribute them in such a way that each party involved agreed on their management.

From: 1) Materiali e Documenti Ticinesi (MDT) 2) Registro delle documentazioni, Archivio Patriziato di Calonico (Rascher)

In the summer of 2002, the Department of Prehistory and Protohistory of the University of Zurich began an excavation campaign in the 'Castle' region after receiving a report on a grave (stone slab tomb). From 2003 to 2005, further excavations were carried out in plot 378, where fragments of clay and Lavez (= soapstone) were found.

The finds in the 'Castello' area at Calonico date from the Neolithic period (in Switzerland between 5400 and 2200 BC): a serpentine axe was found in the 1930s and tools made of rock crystal and radiolarite were found during excavations in the 2000s. Calonico was probably chosen as a settlement site as early as the 10th and 13th centuries, as shown by the C14 dating of the bones in the stone slab tomb. The bones found belonged to at least four different adult individuals. The age of one individual was estimated to be between 23 and 40 years based on the suture sections of the skull. Another had pathologically altered hip joints and was estimated to be over 40 years old, and presumably the grave also contained a woman.

Many pottery sherds were found on plot 378, including some from the 1st century AD. ('Terra Sigillata'). Most of the fragments, however, have been assigned to a time horizon ranging from Late Antiquity (284 - 486 AD) to the Early Middle Ages (6th century AD to about 1050 AD).

Archeology in Calonico

Publications of the UNI Zurich:

Publication "Il Nostro Paese":

"Regionale" (Regional TV news-Ticino) of 09.08.1974, Angelo D'Alessandri and serpentine axe, which was found in the 1930s (only in italian):