Editing Ticino (section)

==History==
{{Further|Transalpine campaigns of the Old Swiss Confederacy}}
[[File:Castelgrande Bellinzona.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|The [[Castles of Bellinzona]], guarding the access to the [[Gotthard Pass|Gotthard]] and other Alpine passes since the Roman Era]]

During the [[Bronze Age|Bronze]] and [[Iron Age]]s, the area of what is today Ticino was settled by the [[Lepontii]], a [[Celt]]ic tribe. Later, probably around the rule of [[Augustus]], it became part of the [[Roman Empire]]. After the fall of the Western Empire, it was ruled by the [[Ostrogoths]], the [[Lombards]] and the [[Franks]]. Around 1100 it was the centre of a struggle between the free communes of [[Milan]] and [[Como]]: in the 14th century, it was acquired by the [[Visconti of Milan|Visconti]], Dukes of [[Duchy of Milan|Milan]]. In the fifteenth century, the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] Confederates conquered the valleys south of the Alps in three separate conquests.

Between 1403 and 1422 some of these lands were already annexed by forces from the [[canton of Uri]], but subsequently lost. Uri conquered the [[Valle Leventina|Leventina Valley]] in 1440.{{sfn|Coolidge|1911|p=934}} In a second conquest Uri, [[Canton of Schwyz|Schwyz]] and [[Canton of Nidwalden|Nidwalden]] gained the town of [[Bellinzona]] and the Riviera in 1500.{{sfn|Coolidge|1911|p=934}} Some of the land and Bellinzona itself were previously annexed by [[Canton of Uri|Uri]] in 1419 but lost again in 1422. The third conquest was fought by troops from the entire Confederation (at that time constituted by 12 cantons). In 1512 [[Locarno]], the [[Maggia Valley]], [[Lugano]] and [[Mendrisio]] were annexed. Subsequently, the upper valley of the river [[Ticino (river)|Ticino]], from the [[Saint-Gotthard Massif|St. Gotthard]] to the town of Biasca ([[Valle Leventina|Leventina Valley]]) was part of Uri. The remaining territory (''Baliaggi Ultramontani'', ''Ennetbergische Vogteien'', the Bailiwicks Beyond the Mountains) was administered by the Twelve Cantons. These districts were governed by bailiffs holding office for two years and purchasing it from the members of the League.{{sfn|Coolidge|1911|p=934}}

[[File:Ticino franco 1813 Cng641602.jpg|thumb|left|180px|[[Ticino franco|Ticinese franco]], currency of Ticino until the introduction of the [[Swiss franc]] in 1850.]]

The lands of the canton of Ticino are the last lands to be conquered by the [[Old Swiss Confederation|Swiss Confederation]]. The Confederation gave up any further conquests after their defeat at the [[battle of Marignano]] in 1515 by [[Francis I of France]]. The Valle Leventina revolted unsuccessfully against [[Canton of Uri|Uri]] in 1755.{{sfn|Coolidge|1911|p=934}} In February 1798 an attempt of annexation by the [[Cisalpine Republic]] was repelled by a volunteer militia in Lugano. Between 1798 and 1803, during the [[Helvetic Republic]], two cantons were created ([[Canton of Bellinzona|Bellinzona]] and [[Canton of Lugano|Lugano]]) but in 1803 the two were unified to form the canton of Ticino that joined the Swiss Confederation as a full member in the same year under the [[Act of Mediation]].{{sfn|Coolidge|1911|p=933}} During the [[Napoleonic War]]s, many Ticinesi (as was the case for other [[Swiss people|Swiss]]) served in Swiss military units allied with the [[France|French]]. The canton minted its own [[currency]], the [[Ticinese franco]], between 1813 and 1850, when it began the use of the [[Swiss franc]].

As a particularly poor region, Ticino was a land of emigration. Notable examples include the chocolatiers (''cioccolatieri'') of the [[Val Blenio]], who migrated throughout Europe (see [[Swiss chocolate#History]]).<ref>{{cite book | title=Il cioccolato. Industria, mercato e società in Italia e Svizzera (XVIII-XX sec.) | publisher=[[FrancoAngeli]] | author=Luigi, Lorenzetti | year=2007 | chapter=Emigrazione, imprenditorialità e rischi : i cioccolatieri bleniesi (XVIII-XIX secc. | pages=39–52)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C_MTAQAAIAAJ | title=Le fabbriche da cioccolata: nascita e sviluppo di un'industria lungo i canali di Torino | publisher=Umberto Allemandi | author=Ainardi, Mauro Silvio | year=2008 | pages=51 | isbn=9788842215639 | quote=Dall'elenco dei nominativi emerge come la produzione artigianale della cioccolata a Torino, nei primi decenni del XIX secolo, sia appannaggio di alcune famiglie originarie del Canton Ticino | trans-quote=From the list of names it emerges how the artisanal production of chocolate in Turin, in the first decades of the 19th century, was the prerogative of some families originating from the Canton of Ticino}}</ref>

Until 1878 the three largest cities, Bellinzona, Lugano and Locarno, alternated as capital of the canton. In 1878, however, Bellinzona became the only and permanent capital. The 1870–1891 period saw a surge of political turbulence in Ticino, and the authorities needed the assistance of the federal government to restore order in several instances, in 1870, 1876, 1889 and 1890–1891.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/constit_gol_2001_00_3358|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/constit_gol_2001_00_3358/page/132 132]|title=Constituting Federal Sovereignty: The European Union in Comparative Context|first=Leslie Friedman|last=Goldstein|date=21 August 2001|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=9780801866630|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

The current cantonal constitution dates from 1997. The previous constitution, heavily modified, was codified in 1830, nearly 20 years before the constitution of the [[Swiss Confederation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ti.ch/CAN/argomenti/legislaz/rleggi/rl/dati_rl/f/f01_06.htm |title=The Constitution of Ticino |publisher=Ti.ch |access-date=28 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060519040032/http://www.ti.ch/CAN/argomenti/legislaz/rleggi/rl/dati_rl/f/f01_06.htm |archive-date=19 May 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref>