Biasca

Biasca is the capital of the district Riviera in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

Biasca
Municipality
Biasca
Coat of arms
Location of Biasca
Biasca Show map of Switzerland Biasca Show map of Canton of Ticino
Coordinates: 46°21′N 8°58′E
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Ticino
District	Riviera
Area [1]
• Total	59 km2 (23 sq mi)
Elevation	301 m (988 ft)
Population  (31 December 2018)[2]
• Total	6,115
• Density	100/km2 (270/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)	6710
SFOS number	5281
Localities	Loderio, Ponte, Pontirone, Sant'Anna, Valle
Surrounded by	Cauco (GR), Iragna, Lodrino, Malvaglia, Osogna, Personico, Pollegio, Rossa (GR), Semione
Website	www.biasca.ch SFSO statistics

Geography

The municipality lies at the entrance to the Blenio valley, 19 km north of Bellinzona, on the banks of the Brenno. About 3 km east of Biasca is the small lake of Carigiolo. The villages of Loderio, Ponte, Pontirone, Sant'Anna, and Valle are a part of Biasca.

History

Roman coins has been found in Biasca, which means that it had people living in it in old times.

The church of Biasca has sculptures and paintings from the 1400s and 1500s. It was built in 1213. A second Catholic church, the Rotonda di San Carlo, is a nice example of the modern building of the Milanese builder Macciacchini.

An avalanche from the Monte Crenone (now called Pizzo Magno) in 1512 buried many houses in Biasca and killed hundreds of people. This was one of the big avalanches in the Alps in modern times. It dammed the Brenno, forming a 14 kilometer long lake. This dam broke in the spring of 1514, flooding the Ticino valley to the Magadino plain.