Gnosca is a former municipality in the district of Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

On 2 April 2017 the former municipalities of Camorino, Claro, Giubiasco, Gorduno, Gudo, Moleno, Monte Carasso, Pianezzo, Preonzo, Sant'Antonio and Sementina merged into the municipality of Bellinzona.

Gnosca is first mentioned in 1198 as Niosca in the records of Como and the cathedral of Milan.

In 1335 Gnosca is mentioned as a village in the county of Bellinzona, although part of the population was assumed for some time by the cathedral of Milan.

This led to a situation where the church was used for both the Ambrosian and Roman Rites at the same time.

With the construction of many new homes it has lost, in recent decades, its rural character.

[2] Gnosca has an area, as of 1997[update], of 7.45 square kilometers (2.88 sq mi).

[3] The municipality is located in the Bellinzona district, on the right bank of the Ticino river at the entrance to the Riviera.

Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks Italian(94.4%), with German being second most common ( 1.8%) and French being third ( 1.4%).

[6] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Gnosca is; 93 children or 13.9% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 66 teenagers or 9.9% are between 10 and 19.

[7] The historical population is given in the following table:[2] In the 2007[update] Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 433 registered voters in Gnosca, of which 348 or 80.4% voted.

[7] There were 234 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 35.9% of the workforce.

[15] From the 2000 census[update], 447 or 87.0% were Roman Catholic, while 20 or 3.9% 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.