Pura, Switzerland
Pura is first mentioned around 751-760, though this is found in a 17th-century copy of the original.[3]
In the Middle Ages several institutions such as the monastery of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro in Pavia, Como Cathedral, Disentis Abbey and the monastery of Agno possessed property or land in Pura.[3]
The village was part of the Agno parish until 1603 when it became a separate parish. The parish church of San Martino was first mentioned in 1352. It was rebuilt in 1580 and expanded between 1642 and 1658.[3]
The village economy was based mainly on agriculture, livestock and the dairy industry. The dairy cooperative opened in 1890. Due to limited farming land many of the residents emigrated in the 19th Century. The majority of them went to Italy to work as brickmakers. In the 1960s, a strong construction boom began. By 2000, approximately three quarters of the working population are commuters, especially to Lugano.[3]
Pura has an area, as of 1997[update], of 3.04 square kilometers (1.17 sq mi). Of this area, 0.67 km2 (0.26 sq mi) or 22.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.28 km2 (0.88 sq mi) or 75.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.53 km2 (0.20 sq mi) or 17.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km2 (4.9 acres) or 0.7% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km2 (4.9 acres) or 0.7% is unproductive land.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 14.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.0%. Out of the forested land, 69.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 5.9% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 4.9% is used for growing crops, while 3.0% is used for orchards or vine crops and 14.1% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.3% is in lakes and 0.3% is in rivers and streams.[4]
