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Airolo
Country Switzerland Canton Ticino District Leventina 46°32′N 8°37′E / 46.533°N 8.617°E / 46.533; 8.617Coordinates: 46°32′N 8°37′E / 46.533°N 8.617°E / 46.533; 8.617
Population	2,032 (December 2002)
- Density	22 /km2 (56 /sq mi)
Area	94.5 km2 (36.5 sq mi)
Elevation	1,175 m (3,855 ft)
Postal code	6780-6781
SFOS number	5061
Mayor	Mauro Chinotti
Surrounded by (view map)	Andermatt (UR), Bedretto, Hospental (UR), Lavizzara, Quinto, Realp (UR), Tujetsch (GR)
Website	www.airolo.ch Profile (Italian), SFSO statistics
Airolo [zoom]

Airolo (Airö in its local dialect) is a municipality in the district of Leventina in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

Airolo in 1835

Location

Located in Leventina valley in the Lepontine Alps, it is the town on the southern flank of the St. Gotthard Pass and the St. Gotthard Tunnel, with the motorway tunnel forming part of the A2 motorway.

Church

In 1877 a fire destroyed almost all of the town, including most of the church dedicated to Santi Nazario e Celso, which had been built in the 12th century and is first documented in 1224. The tower, crowned by a double row of twin arches has survived from the Romenesque building. In 1879 the church was rebuilt, under the auspices of an Uri lawyer based in Airolo, Carl Alois (Luigi) Müller, who was married to Genovefa Lombardi, the daughter of Felice Lombardi, Director of the St Gotthard hospice. There is a marble plaque in the church recording his efforts to get the church rebuilt.

Memorial for the Victims of the building of the St Gotthard Tunnel

This is a bronze bas-relief by the Ticinese sculptor Vincenzo Vela (1820-1891) commemorating the labourers who died building the tunnel in the 1880s.

Ski facilities

Airolo is also a small ski-resort with 30km of prepared slopes.

Noted local individuals

• Giuseppe Motta, former Swiss Confederation President
• Adolfo Müller-Ury, American portrait painter, was born in Airolo, the son of Alois and Genovefa Müller-Lombardi. Müller-Ury painted Motta in the late 1930s.

External links

• Official website (Italian)
• Airolo in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

Airolo, seen from St. Gotthard Pass road

Airolo in winter from the Sasso della Boggia

Municipalities in the district of Leventina, Switzerland Airolo | Anzonico | Bedretto | Bodio | Calpiogna | Campello | Cavagnago | Chironico | Dalpe | Faido | Giornico | Mairengo | Osco | Personico | Pollegio | Prato Leventina | Quinto | Sobrio Ticino | Districts of Canton Ticino | Municipalities of the canton of Ticino