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History of Ascona


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Sebastiano discovered 60 Early Middle Ages graves. The modern municipality of Ascona is first mentioned in 1224 as burgus de Scona. It used to be known by the German name Aschgunen though this is no longer used. In Middle Ages, Ascona, Ronco and Castelletto formed a village cooperative together. In 1321 it was mentioned for the first time, and in 1369 it had its own statutes.

The history of Ascona during the Middle Ages is closely linked with that of Locarno. The important role of Ascona is reflected in the designation plebis Locarni Asconaeque which it was given in 1369. It is believed that in the 6th Century, the Castle of San Michele was the site of a curia (court) and the seat of a sculdascio (Lombardic for officer) of the county of Stazzona, who exercised control over the entire parish of Locarno. In 1004, the court rights were transferred from the Archbishop of Milan to the Bishop of Como. In 1189 this gave the castle of San Michele to the Duni, one of the families of the Capitanei di Locarno. Other noble families from Locarno (Da Carcano, Castelletto, Muralto) settled in Ascona. They were joined by the Griglioni that fled the wars between the Guelphs and Ghibellines of Milan.

In the 12th and 13th Centuries, the Duni enlarged their fortress (demolished in the 17th Century) and the church of S. Sebastiano as well as created a plaza around their residential building. The oldest fortification, probably, is the castle of San Materno. At its location, north of the village, there already seems to have been a Roman tower. The fort was occupied as early as the Early Middle Ages. In the 13th Century, it was owned by the Orelli and Castelletto families. In the 17th Century, only a part of the walls were still preserved. In the course of the 13th Century two new fortifications were built. The first was the Carcani Castle on the shore east of the Church of SS. Pietro e Paolo, and it was already demolished in the 2nd half of the 13th Century. The second, was
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