Magadino (Lombard: Magadign) is a former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

The chronicle says it was built in 1365 on the orders of Galeazzo Visconti for the inhabitants of Locarno and destroyed in 1518 by the Swiss.

[1] Magadino was a major port and an important customs station at the transit route north from Lombardy to the cities of the Alps, and its importance grew in 1515 after the collapse of the bridge over the Ticino river at Bellinzona.

With the introduction of regular steamship traffic (1826) and the opening of the road over the Gotthard Pass (1830) Magadino became a stop on the coach routes.

The decline of the port began with the opening of the railway lines to Locarno (1874) and Luino (1882).

[1] Magadino has an area, as of 1997[update], of 7.23 square kilometers (2.79 sq mi).

[2] The village is located in the Locarno district, on the banks of the Riviera del Gambarogno.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Barry wavy of six argent and azure overall an anchor or.

Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks Italian (82.0%), with German being second most common (11.3%) and French being third (1.5%).

[5] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Magadino is; 166 children or 9.8% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 189 teenagers or 11.2% are between 10 and 19.

[9] About 51.1% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage or a rent-to-own agreement).

[6] The historical population is given in the following table:[1][13] The Complesso di S. Carlo, a church and parish house, and the Villa Ghisler are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

[14] In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the FDP which received 34.26% of the vote.

In the federal election, a total of 427 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 39.9%.

[15] In the 2007[update] Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 1,065 registered voters in Magadino, of which 645 or 60.6% voted.

[6] There were 688 residents of the village who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 40.1% of the workforce.

[18] From the 2000 census[update], 1,184 or 79.0% were Roman Catholic, while 134 or 8.9% 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 professional program lasts three years and prepares a student for a job in engineering, nursing, computer science, business, tourism and similar fields.

With winter overnight lows averaging near −3 °C (27 °F), the local climate also has sizeable continental influences.

Even with the continental aspect, extremes seldom differ vastly from the means.

[21] Magadino has an average of 1,806 mm (71.1 in) of precipitation in just 101 days, due to heavy convection for much of the year.