Theme Trails – The Historical Sonvico Nature Trail
Stage 2: House of Reason
Located in the main square, it was the administration and justice building of the Castellany of Sonvico, which included the villages of Sonvico, Dino, Villa and Cimadera, Tració.
According to recorded documents, this building could date back as far as the 1600s. The very elaborate façade could have been built in the middle of the eighteenth century. In the upper area of the first floor of the façade, we find the coats of arms of the twelve cantons. They all have a fess underneath them with the name of the Canton and the date of their adhesion to the Confederation. In turn, these Cantons sent bails (balivi) to administer The Italian territories. At the centre, in a prominent position, is the imperial coat of arms: a double-headed eagle with crowned heads on a gilded field. In a privileged position with respect to the other figures, this was probably so as to remind the local people of the Imperial laws when local ordinances didn’t give any guidance. The coat of arms chosen to represent Sonvico is a rampant unicorn on a blue field with above a fess with the writing "Sonvicum Eiusque Castellantia". It should be pointed out that Sonvico never used the coat of arms the Castellany received from Filippo Maria Visconti, duke of Milan, in 1414. This was possibly due to the quick return (1416) to the dominion of Como under Loterio Rusca.
Who commissioned these paintings? Perhaps the inhabitants of Sonvico who, with great opportunism, once again had the sensitivity not to show their new Lords a coat of arms that symbolised loyalty and devotion towards the dukes of Milan. Furthermore, they had good reasons to feel gratitude to an occupier who let them retain all their privileges and who was not very interested in the internal affairs of the Castellany. Therefore, Sonvico had good reasons to fight against the new Helvetic Republic, wanted by Napoleon, which ended the bail system (1798-1803).
On the façade it is still possible to see three hooks made of iron with an animal's head at the end. One of them still has a ring decorated with broken lines, regularly intercalated by a sun. Word of mouth alleges that these hooks were used to exhibit in public people condemned to the pillory. Even up to 1870/1880 boys caught stealing were punished and tied to these hooks.
Before joining the city of Lugano, the municipality of Sonvico restored the loggias on the top floor using the rusticated motif on the corners of the building, without, unfortunately, reintroducing the original baroque cornices which decorated the windows on the first floor.
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Related Excursions
The Historical Sonvico Nature Trail
Stage 1: Well and "Riaron"
Stage 3: Graad
Stage 4: Cassinel
Stage 5: The mixed broadleaf woods
Stage 6: Geological oddities
Stage 7: Mill and bridge
Stage 8: The glade in the wood
Stage 9: The torrent Franscinone
Stage 10: Wash-house
Stage 11: The birds of the wood
Stage 12: The eroded valley of the Franscinone
Stage 12: Water and energy
Stage 13: The edge of the flood-level wood
Stage 14: Dairy farm for the processing of milk
Stage 15: Lime-kiln
Stage 16: The rural area
Stage 17: The Humid area of Canéed
Stage 18: The earth kiln for charcoal production
Stage 19: Terracing
Stage 20: Madonna d'Arla
Stage 21: The Chestnut Wood of Pian Piret
Stage 22: The Beechwood
Stage 23: The Boulder with Engraved Cupels
Stage 23: I Denti della Vecchia
Stage 24: R’Alborón
Stage 25: The Oratory of S. Martino
Stage 26: The old center of Sonvico
Stage 27: The Walnut Press
Stage 28: The Church of Saint John the Baptist -
How to arrive
The Luganese Regional Bus Line covers the Lugano – Sonvico stretch; from Val Colla you can reach Sonvico, using the postal bus from Tesserete to Sonvico.
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Related activities
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Theme Trails
The Historical Sonvico Nature Trail
The comparison between past and present, at every step of the way, will make us more aware of the delicate and complex relationship between living organisms and the surrounding nature.
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Theme Trails
Stage 1: Well and "Riaron"
No community survives without water. Therefore, it is not a surprise that the village centre of Sonvico developed around a well and a stream.
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Theme Trails
Stage 3: Graad
Chestnuts ensured the food subsistence for the population even during the winter. Amongst the many ways of preserving this precious fruit for an extended time, is the desiccation of the chestnuts in the graad.
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Theme Trails
Stage 4: Cassinel
Milk was another essential product of our villages. To exploit all the milk's potentials it was necessary to be able to preserve it for a long time and to transform it into cream, butter, ricotta, and other cheeses.
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Theme Trails
Stage 5: The mixed broadleaf woods
As we leave this area south of the village centre, characterized by areas of extensive cultivation, we enter the mixed broadleaf woods.
The structure of this natural wood consists of four layers of vegetation. -
Theme Trails
Stage 6: Geological oddities
As we leave this area south of the village centre, characterized by areas of extensive cultivation, we enter the mixed broadleaf woods.
The structure of this natural wood consists of four layers of vegetation. -
Theme Trails
Stage 7: Mill and bridge
This area, called Murín (mill), was characterized by the presence of three mills, one of them operated by a turbine water wheel.
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Theme Trails
Stage 8: The glade in the wood
We are now in a very different environment from the one in the wood we just visited: the glade.
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Theme Trails
Stage 9: The torrent Franscinone
The movement and the mass of the torrent's water are variable and considerably influence the stability of these biotopes, continuously modifying their aspect and ecology.
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Theme Trails
Stage 10: Wash-house
This building more than any other makes us think about the rapid changes that took place in the way of life during the last decades. The transition from the washhouse to the washing machine represented a very important step in the improvement in the quality of life for women.
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Theme Trails
Stage 11: The birds of the wood
As we leave the path that runs along the Franscinone we reach another path and here we notice a change in vegetation. The Beech appears here, a tree that does not tolerate the highly humid ground of the bottom of the valley.
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Theme Trails
Stage 12: The eroded valley of the Franscinone
The Franscinone valley is a good example of a "valley formed by erosion" and from here we have a good view over the gorge hollowed out by the torrent.
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Theme Trails
Stage 12: Water and energy
This part of the path goes along the old water duct belonging to the Utility producing electricity for the population of Massagno, which became self-sufficient in the production of energy in 1925.
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Theme Trails
Stage 13: The edge of the flood-level wood
The flood-level wood is typical of these periodically flooded areas along watercourses with the humid, more or less swampy areas, that provide a high degree of instability to this kind of biotope.
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Theme Trails
Stage 14: Dairy farm for the processing of milk
The small building along the path is a typical construction used for the processing of milk: a cassinél built over a water source with a chimney on the first floor.
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Theme Trails
Stage 15: Lime-kiln
All that is left of a lime kiln is a small shaft without exits opening into the dry wall.
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Theme Trails
Stage 16: The rural area
Some of the shrubs commonly found in broad-leaf forests are also typical of shrub areas and hedges in rural areas, where the forest interchanges with meadows and fields.
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Theme Trails
Stage 17: The Humid area of Canéed
Walking towards the humid area, we see a tall plantation of Copper Beech.
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Theme Trails
Stage 18: The earth kiln for charcoal production
Walking in the woods we come across many oval open spaces. These are man-made for the production of charcoal. This activity was still in use up to World War II and later swiftly abandoned.
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Theme Trails
Stage 19: Terracing
The whole territory is marked by the presence of man. Tilling the ground to gain pastures and meadows, and terracing were jobs that generated enough work for whole generations for many years. This demanded a level of physical effort that can hardly be imagined today.
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Theme Trails
Stage 20: Madonna d'Arla
This is an important thoroughfare for reaching the Val Colla and Cimadera (until 1878 part of Sonvico) and carries on towards the Val Cavargna. The road connection dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century.
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Theme Trails
Stage 21: The Chestnut Wood of Pian Piret
At this stop we can observe a plantation of chestnuts that is still as it was run in the past. In the chestnut woods the trees are panted at a good distance from each other.
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Theme Trails
Stage 22: The Beechwood
Leaving the chestnut woods (the result of human intervention on the vegetation), we enter a more natural and because of its beauty a more fascinating wood: the beechwood.
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Theme Trails
Stage 23: The Boulder with Engraved Cupels
This is considered to be a natural monument. This chestnut is probably the oldest living piece of vegetation on our territory.
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Theme Trails
Stage 23: I Denti della Vecchia
From this panoramic point, from where we can admire the hills and the mountains of the whole area of Luganese. A sight of particular beauty are the Denti della Vecchia.
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Theme Trails
Stage 24: R’Alborón
This is considered to be a natural monument. This chestnut is probably the oldest living piece of vegetation on our territory.
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Theme Trails
Stage 25: The Oratory of S. Martino
The oratory of St. Martino has always been considered one of the oldest Roman churches of our region.
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Theme Trails
Stage 26: The old center of Sonvico
The centre of Sonvico is the most significant evidence of man's millennial presence on our territory.
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Theme Trails
Stage 27: The Walnut Press
This is one of the biggest and oldest Piemontese lever presses in Ticino.
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Theme Trails
Stage 28: The Church of Saint John the Baptist
The Parish church of Saint John the Baptist, mentioned already in 1375, is a monument of particular value, the result of a slow and long evolution.
