page_title: Locarno
section_title: Early modern Locarno
hierarchical_section_title: Locarno / History / Early modern Locarno
caption_attribution_description: View from Monte Ceneri road toward Locarno
context_page_description: Locarno is a southern Swiss town and municipality in the district Locarno, located on the northern shore of Lake Maggiore at its northeastern tip in the canton of Ticino at the southern foot of the Swiss Alps. It has a population of about 16,000, and about 56,000 for the agglomeration of the same name including Ascona besides other municipalities.
  The town of Locarno is located on the northeastern part of Maggia's delta; across the river lies the town Ascona on the southwestern part of the delta.
  It is the 74th largest city in Switzerland by population and the third largest in the Ticino canton, after Lugano and Bellinzona.
  The official language of Locarno is Italian.
  The town is known for hosting the Locarno International Film Festival which takes place every year in August and involves open-air screenings at the main square, the Piazza Grande. It is also known for the Locarno Treaties, a series of European territorial agreements negotiated here in October 1925.
  In January 2004, the Italian historian Marino Vigano speculated that Locarno's castle may have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci.
context_section_description: During the Middle Ages, the economy of Locarno and the whole region was closely linked with the nobles who owned the market, fishing, alpine and grazing rights and tithes. Starting in the 13th century, some of these privileges went to the citizens corporation.  The hill areas were dominated by viticulture, while grain was raised in the plains. Within the town, vegetables and fruits were grown. Artisans and stores were concentrated in the interior of the town. The repeatedly flooded shorelines and the alpine pastures were used for grazing. In the early modern period, Locarno developed into a thriving commercial center on an important road that linked the major cities of Lombardy, with German-speaking Switzerland and Germany. Cereals and salt came from the Lombardy and Piedmont to Locarno, while Locarno and its hinterland (especially the Maggia Valley) provided large quantities of wood and cattle to Italy.
  The parish church of Locarno, S. Antonio Abate, was first built in 1353–54. It was replaced by the current building in 1664. The decoration of the church was financed, primarily, by the grain traders at the end of the 17th century, and the chapel frescoes are by Giuseppe Antonio Felice Orelli from 1742. The citizens of Locarno had the right to appoint priests at S. Antonio Abate, S. Maria in Selva (consecrated in 1424, since 1884 only the choir and bell tower remain) and SS Trinità dei Monti (consecrated 1621). The church of San Francesco, together with the adjoining convent, were built in the early 13th century. The church's first consecration was probably in 1230, but the first documented consecration of the church was in 1316. It was rebuilt and enlarged between 1538–1675 using construction material from Visconti Castle. San Francesco hosted the meetings of the nobility and the citizens. Starting in the 16th century, the appointed Governor swore his oath in the church.
  In the 16th century, the Humiliati order was suppressed and St. Catherine's church and monastery closed. All three ruling groups of Locarno agreed to convert the church and monastery into the Hospital S. Carlo. The Hospital remained until 1854 when it closed, due to financial reasons.
  In the 16th century, Locarno's population declined as a result of exodus of Protestants and the plague in 1576–77. After a recovery in the 17th century, the population declined considerably in the 18th century again.
caption: Vineyards above Locarno
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