Leventina (district)

The district of Leventina is one of the eight districts of the largely Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The capital of the district is Faido but the largest town is Airolo at the beginning or at the end of the valley.

Situated to the north of the canton, its territory covers the area of the Ticino River as far south as Biasca, in particular the valleys of Val Bedretto and Valle Leventina.

Leventina is divided into four sub-districts, termed 'circles' (Italian: circoli), and a total area of 479.57 km² (185.16 sq mi) with a population of 9,412 (as of 31 December 2014). Its capital is the municipality (Italian: comune) of Faido.

Geography

The Leventina District has an area, as of 1997, of 479.57 square kilometers (185.16 sq mi). Of this area, 20.05 km² (7.74 sq mi) or 4.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 175.08 km² (67.60 sq mi) or 36.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 13.59 km² (5.25 sq mi) or 2.8% is settled (buildings or roads), 9.26 km² (3.58 sq mi) or 1.9% is either rivers or lakes and 175.23 km² (67.66 sq mi) or 36.5% is unproductive land.