Orselina is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

[3] During the Middle Ages and into the Early Modern Period, it (along with Burbaglio and Muralto) was part of the Vicinanza of Consiglio Mezzano, which belonged to the Locarno and Ascona region.

The castle SS Abbondio e Biagio was given in the 12th century as a fief by the Bishop of Como to the Muralto family.

Up until 1850, Orselina dominated the municipality, thanks to the economic weight of its livestock and vineyards.

The differences in the towns led to a division of the municipality in 1881 into Orselina and Muralto.

From the beginning of the 20th century, Orselina developed into a holiday and tourist destination.

Orselina has an area, as of 1997[update], of 1.94 square kilometers (0.75 sq mi).

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent a castle gules embattled alla Ghibellina and between its towers a fleur-de-lis of the same.

Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks Italian (53.1%), with German being second most common (36.7%) and Dutch being third (2.7%).

[7] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Orselina is; 44 children or 5.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 54 teenagers or 7.0% are between 10 and 19.

[8] The historical population is given in the following table:[3] The Sacro Monte with the church of Dell’Annunziata and the convent and church of Della Madonna del Sasso e Museo is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

[13] In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the FDP which received 35.82% of the vote.

In the federal election, a total of 243 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 43.5%.

[14] In the 2007[update] Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 570 registered voters in Orselina, of which 272 or 47.7% voted.

[8] There were 366 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 46.7% of the workforce.

[17] From the 2000 census[update], 536 or 61.9% were Roman Catholic, while 195 or 22.5% 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.