Astano

Geschichte

Astano is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.HistoryAstano is first mentioned in 1272 as Astanum. The old village center has some architecturally notable buildings, such as the Ca 'da Roma. In the Middle Ages the monastery of S. Pietro in Ciel d'Oro owned land in Astano. In the 13th Century, there was a Humiliati monastery in the village. When it was abandoned in the mid-15th century, the property passed to the Humiliati monastery of S. Caterina in Lugano. In 1612 it became a separate parish. The parish church of S. Pietro was built in 1654 on the ruins of an old chapel.The village produced a number of architects who emigrated to other countries for work, including Domenico Trezzini and members of the De Marchi and Donati families. Traditional agriculture included the use of the Alpe di Monte (alpine pasture) on Monte Rogoria. The gold-bearing strata of the Monte Sceree was mined, starting in the early 19th Century and running until after World War II, when the mine stopped producing. Today is a spa town with good tourist infrastructure and many commuters to the Lugano valley.GeographyAstano has an area, of 3.78km2. Of this area, 0.51km2 or 13.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.21km2 or 84.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.34km2 or 9.0% is settled (buildings or roads) and 0.02km2 or 0.5% is unproductive land.