Airolo (Airöö in Lombard, in Romansh: Irielⓘ) is a municipality in the district of Leventina in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

Airolo is located in Leventina valley and the Lepontine Alps, on the southern flank of the St. Gotthard Pass.

It is the largest municipality in the canton of Ticino, and consists of the village of Airolo and the hamlets of Valle, Madrano, Brugnasco, Nante and Fontana.

[5] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure on a base Vert a fir tree Argent issuant and a lion rampant Or.

[8] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Airolo is as follows: 114 children or 7.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 131 teenagers or 8.5% are between 10 and 19.

[9] The historical population is given in the following table:[3] The Hospice Complex on the St. Gotthard Pass with old station, house and barn, the Forte Airolo and Forte Foppa, the prehistoric settlement and Roman era necropolis of Madrano and the prehistoric settlement on the St. Gotthard Pass (known as Alpe di Rodont) are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

The entire town of Airolo and the village of Fontana are listed in the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

[14] 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 Romanesque 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.

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.

[15] In the 2007[update] Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 1,109 registered voters in Airolo, of which 870 or 78.4% voted.

[18] Airolo is also home to a small ski-resort with 30 km (19 mi) of prepared slopes.

From the 2000 census[update], 1,287 or 80.8% were Roman Catholic, while 34 or 2.1% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

The wettest month is October during which time Airolo receives an average of 193 mm (7.6 in) of rain or snow.

The driest month of the year is January with an average of 88 mm (3.5 in) of precipitation over 9.3 days.

The professional program lasts three years and prepares a student for a job in engineering, nursing, computer science, business, tourism and similar fields.

The station is served by an hourly InterRegio train between Arth-Goldau and Locarno, most of which start from either Basel SBB or Zürich HB.