Maggia is a municipality in the district of Vallemaggia in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

"Maggio", meaning "May" in Italian, was thought to be the source of Maggia's name as legend dictated that in this month settlers first arrived at the site.

The Oratory of Madonna delle Grazie was built in 1510 on the site of an earlier chapel.

[3] The local economy was, up in the middle of the 20th century, based on agriculture, even if a portion of the population worked in the quarries.

The old village core included Casa Martinelli which was built in the 17th century, was used as a school house and then a retirement home.

[3] Maggia has an area, as of 1997[update], of 111.09 square kilometers (42.89 sq mi).

Since 2004 it consists of the villages of Maggia, Aurigeno, Coglio, Giumaglio, Lodano, Moghegno and Someo.

[5] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure a fess wavy argent.

[8] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks Italian language (752 or 88.5%), with German being second most common (59 or 6.9%) and Spanish being third (10 or 1.2%).

[8] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Maggia is; 223 children or 9.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 274 teenagers or 11.2% are between 10 and 19.

[11] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][12] The Church of S. Maria Delle Grazie, in Campagna is listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

The entire villages of Aurigeno, Moghegno and Someo are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

[13] Maggia central tourist draws include: beaches on the banks of the Maggia River; Vallemaggia's largest carnival celebration; the 16th century Santa Maria Maggiore church; the Centoscalini church; its COOP grocery store; and, of course, its beloved AC Vallemaggia football club.

Maggia also boasts of its successful football club AC Vallemaggia, which play in the Seconda Lega Regionale of FTC, the fifth-highest level in Switzerland.

Recently the club spent a season in a superior category and reach the final of the Ticino Cup.

Notable players of the Club were Andrea Rotanzi and Remy Frigomosca.

In 2005 a team representing Maggia took part of Jeux Sans Frontiérs, a European game show.

Boston Red Sox player, Dustin Pedroia, is of Swiss origin, with roots in the village of Maggia.

[14] In the 2007[update] Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 1,709 registered voters in Maggia, of which 1,103 or 64.5% voted.

[15] There were 369 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.0% of the workforce.

In the tertiary sector; 48 or 19.8% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 12 or 5.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 43 or 17.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 11 or 4.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 11 or 4.5% were technical professionals or scientists, 22 or 9.1% were in education and 69 or 28.5% were in health care.

[18] From the 2000 census[update], 683 or 80.4% were Roman Catholic, while 40 or 4.7% 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 professional program lasts three years and prepares a student for a job in engineering, nursing, computer science, business, tourism and similar fields.