[3] During the Lombards era the monastery of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro in Pavia possessed a farm in Magliaso.

[4] The castle was besieged and conquered in 1117 by Como and the fate of Landolfo, is uncertain (possibly deported or murdered).

In the 13th century the castle passed into the possession of a branch of the Rusca family of Como.

Carlo Corrado Beroldingen, Chancellor of the bailiwick of Lugano, acquired the sovereign rights over the village in 1668.

He had the parish church built and replaced the decaying ruins of the castle with an ornate palace.

[3] There used to be many isolated farms and mills along the irrigation canal, which is typical for the pre-industrial economy.

The municipality experienced a strong migration into Lombardy, South America and up through the 2nd World War into Central Switzerland.

At the beginning of the 21st century, large swathes of the valley and along the lake were covered with new, primarily residential, developments.

While the services sector is the major industry in Magliaso, the tourist infrastructure has remained modest.

The landscape is dominated by the lake, and in an area at the foot of the mountain, a golf course was built.

Of the rest of the land, 0.77 km2 (0.30 sq mi) or 70.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.03 km2 (7.4 acres) or 2.8% is either rivers or lakes.

It consists of the villages of Magliaso, below the church and castle, and Castellaccio, on the lake shore.

[8] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Magliaso is; 136 children or 9.3% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 157 teenagers or 10.7% are between 10 and 19.

[9] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][14] The S. Giorgio Castle is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

[16] In the 2007[update] Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 966 registered voters in Magliaso, of which 504 or 52.2% voted.

[19] From the 2000 census[update], 979 or 72.0% were Roman Catholic, while 159 or 11.7% 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.

Both stations are served by regular trains, operating every 15 minutes during weekday daytime, and every half-hour at other times.