Pura, Switzerland
Pura is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
History
Pura is first mentioned around 751-760, though this is found in a 17th Century copy of the original.
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.
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.
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.
