Chiasso (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkjasso]; Lombard: Ciass [ˈtʃas]) is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

In 2007, the three mayors of Chiasso, Vacallo and Morbio Inferiore decided to unite into one commune.

Due to the nearby Italian border and customs office, and later as part of an access route to the St. Gotthard's Tunnel, the two villages merged and grew.

In its early history, a castle was built in Chiasso as part of the extended fortifications of the city of Como.

It was a suburb of Como, until 1416 when it was incorporated into the Pieve of Balerna and given to the Rusca family to manage.

The houses in the village centre were owned by the Albrici family and were granted imperial privileges.

In the contemporary documents, it is mentioned as Clasio tabernarum (Chiasso of taverns) referring to its function as a transit point.

Chiasso's church belonged to the Pieve of Zezio (in Como), from which it withdrew in the 16th century.

But the market ended after the invasion of the Swiss Confederation and the march through Chiasso in the War of the League of Cambrai in 1510.

In the late 16th century, Chiasso had a smaller population than other municipalities of the Mendrisiotto valley.

The village survived through its role as a border town (providing warehouses and inns) along with income from agriculture and paper mills.

The construction of the railway along with income from customs induced an economic and demographic recovery in Chiasso.

[4] Today, a large part of the town is devoted to Chiasso's international railway station and related customs (though some of the border-control responsibilities have been moved to Como, in Italy).

There is also a sizeable customs area for traffic passing by road and motorway (both commercial and non-commercial vehicles).

A considerable source of revenue for the town is Italians crossing the border to buy certain goods more cheaply in Switzerland, particularly cigarettes and petrol.

An enlargement of this zone has been put on the agenda by the local administration, but a referendum on this issue is scheduled on 24 September 2006.

Pedrinate was first mentioned in 1291 as Pedrenate, but Roman ruins near the village church indicate a much longer history.

The village church of S. Stefano is first mentioned in 1545 and was part of the Balerna parish until the 17th century.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent lion passant holding a letter C gules standing on a carriage entrance azure.

[8] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Chiasso is; 567 children or 7.3% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 586 teenagers or 7.5% are between 10 and 19.

[13] The historical population is given in this chart:[3][14] The entire village of Chiasso is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

[16] In the 2007[update] Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 4,447 registered voters in Chiasso, of which 2,623 or 59.0% voted.

In the tertiary sector; 810 or 15.2% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 1,550 or 29.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 208 or 3.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 84 or 1.6% were in the information industry, 706 or 13.3% were the insurance or financial industry, 684 or 12.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 132 or 2.5% were in education and 365 or 6.9% were in health care.

Long traffic queues often occur on the motorway around the border where vehicles are being checked for contraband.

From the 2000 census[update], 6,235 or 80.8% were Roman Catholic, while 230 or 3.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

In the lower secondary school system, students either attend a two-year middle school followed by a two-year pre-apprenticeship or they attend a four-year program to prepare for higher education.

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