Bellinzona (Italian pronunciation: [bɛllinˈdzoːna]; French: Bellinzone, pronounced: [bɛlɛ̃zon]; archaic German: Bellenz [ˈbɛlɛnts]; Latin Bilitio [biˈlitsjo]) is the administrative capital of the canton Ticino in Switzerland. The city is famous for its three castles (Castelgrande, Montebello, Sasso Corbaro) that have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2000.
The town lies east of the Ticino River, at the foot of the Alps. It stretches along th...
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Bellinzona (Italian pronunciation: [bɛllinˈdzoːna]; French: Bellinzone, pronounced: [bɛlɛ̃zon]; archaic German: Bellenz [ˈbɛlɛnts]; Latin Bilitio [biˈlitsjo]) is the administrative capital of the canton Ticino in Switzerland. The city is famous for its three castles (Castelgrande, Montebello, Sasso Corbaro) that have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2000.
The town lies east of the Ticino River, at the foot of the Alps. It stretches along the river valley, surrounded by the Saint-Gotthard Massif.
The toponym is first attested in 590 in Latin as Belitio or Bilitio (in the accusative, Bilitionem), by Gregory of Tours. The name is Gaulish (Lepontic) in origin, possibly from a *belitio "juniper", *belitione "juniper bushes". During the medieval period, the name is found as Berinzona (721, 762, 803, 1002), Birrinzona (1004), Birizona (1168), Beliciona (901, 977) and Belinzona (1055). The German name of the town is Bellenz. A local folk etymology derives the name Bellinzona from zona...
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