The municipality was created in 2004 by a merger of Broglio, Brontallo, Fusio, Menzonio, Peccia and Prato-Sornico.

The slow population decline intensified in the late 19th century with emigration to the cities and to other countries.

In 1990, agriculture and livestock, which for centuries were the main sources of income, employed about a third of the workforce.

[6] The church, consecrated in 1455 to the Beata Vergine Assunta, was a Chapel of ease of Sornico until the 16th century.

Through the construction of the dam in the Sambuco valley (1950–56) the amount of agricultural land has been reduced.

Today it is no longer inhabited all year round and serves only as a holiday village.

[6] The church of San Giovanni Battista Decollato was built in 1626 and was initially a chapel of ease of the parish of Peccia.

The new building, by Mario Botta, was built in 1997 after 10 years of planning and construction work.

The unique construction of the building has already become a point of interest and a source of critical debate.

At the time of the Swiss Confederation rule over Ticino, Menzonio was one of seven villages in the valley.

In the 17th century, the population reached its peak and then decreased gradually, initially because of emigration to Italy.

Later the residents emigrated to California and finally they moved away from the villages to the cities of Ticino and the rest of Switzerland.

[7] Peccia, together with Broglio, Fusio, Prato and Sornico were part of the comunità or valley community of Lavizzara until 1374.

When the valley community broke up into separate villages, Peccia was the largest in the Lavizzara region.

[8] At the beginning of the 20th century, most of the jobs in the village were in the extraction, processing (vessels and stone ovens) and trade in soapstone.

In 1950-56 largest hydroelectric power plants in Switzerland was built in the Valle di Peccia.

[8] Prato and Sornico, along with Broglio, Fusio and Peccia, formed the valley community of Lavizzara.

It contains the rich library of Giulio Giovanni Gerolamo Berna, the archpriest of Locarno.

The parish church of SS Fabiano e Sebastiano in Prato was built in 1487, rebuilt in 1730 and re-consecrated in 1761 by the Bishop of Como.

[9] In the 19th and 20th century, the emigration overseas and into the cities led to a sharp population decline.

In this alpine village at the beginning of the 21st century, one-third of the workforce still works in agriculture.

In the last decades of the 20th century, many vacation homes and tourist infrastructure were built in the village.

[14] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Lavizzara is; 52 children or 9.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 65 teenagers or 11.3% are between 10 and 19.

[13] The historical population is given in the following chart:[4][5][6][7][8][9][15] The A Mott D’Orei Settlement is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

The villages of Broglio, Brontallo, Fusio, Prato, Sornico and Cortignelli are all part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

[17] In the 2007[update] Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 454 registered voters in Lavizzara, of which 331 or 72.9% voted.

In the tertiary sector; 2 or 3.0% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 28 or 42.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 20 or 30.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 or 1.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 2 or 3.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 6 or 9.1% were in education.

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.