Cresciano is a former municipality in the district of Riviera in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

[2] During the construction of the Gotthard railway in the 19th century, traces of a Bronze Age settlement were found.

An Imperial charter from 978 mentions a cortis Crissianicum owned by the monastery of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro in Pavia.

In the 15th century, Milan granted the village the right to choose a community leader.

These played an important role in the economy of Cresciano and its neighboring towns.

[2] Cresciano has an area, as of 1997[update], of 17.23 square kilometers (6.65 sq mi).

[3] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per fess azure an arch of stone blocks, a sledge hammer, and a chisel in saltire all argent and gules seven bendlets argent.

[7] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks Italian (491 or 83.6%), with German being second most common (31 or 5.3%) and Portuguese being third (30 or 5.1%).

The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was a decrease of 4 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 11 people.

[6] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Cresciano is; 45 children or 7.2% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 55 teenagers or 8.8% are between 10 and 19.

[7] The historical population is given in the following chart:[2][11] In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 34.63% of the vote.

In the federal election, a total of 140 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 40.5%.

[12] In the 2007[update] Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 350 registered voters in Cresciano, of which 213 or 60.9% voted.

[7] There were 235 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 37.9% of the workforce.

The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 75, of which 14 (18.7%) were in manufacturing, 47 (62.7%) were in mining and 14 (18.7%) were in construction.

In the tertiary sector; 2 or 9.1% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 7 or 31.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 7 or 31.8% were in education.

[7] From the 2000 census[update], 476 or 81.1% were Roman Catholic, while 22 or 3.7% 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 upper secondary school includes several options, but at the end of the upper secondary program, a student will be prepared to enter a trade or to continue on to a university or college.

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