Osogna is a former municipality[2] in the district of Riviera in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

During the Middle Ages Osogna was under the spiritual and secular power of Milan Cathedral.

During the reign of the Visconti in the 14th century, Osogna, Claro and Cresciano were combined under the jurisdiction of a governor.

Between 1573 and 1798 Osogna was the residence of the Riviera Vogts and the center of government for the valley.

[3] The parish church of SS Felino e Gratiniano was built before the 13th century and was renovated in 1979–84.

The burghers of Osogna belong to this community which goes back to the vicina of the Middle Ages.

Old family names of Osogna are Guidi, Malaguerra, Mattei, Pellanda.

Osogna has an area, as of 1997[update], of 18.99 square kilometers (7.33 sq mi).

[4] The municipality is located in the Riviera district south of Biasca on the left bank of the Ticino river.

The rocks consist mainly of gneisses and granites (three quarries were operated in Osogna).

[8] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks Italian (803 or 85.3%), with Portuguese being second most common (34 or 3.6%) and German being third (32 or 3.4%).

The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 15 and the non-Swiss population change was a decrease of 11 people.

[7] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Osogna is; 104 children or 10.0% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 128 teenagers or 12.3% are between 10 and 19.

[8] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][12] In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the FDP which received 37.69% of the vote.

In the federal election, a total of 273 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 52.5%.

[13] In the 2007[update] Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 522 registered voters in Osogna, of which 347 or 66.5% voted.

[8] There were 422 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 31.0% of the workforce.

In the tertiary sector; 20 or 45.5% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 5 or 11.4% were in a hotel or restaurant, 3 or 6.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 8 or 18.2% were in education and 2 or 4.5% were in health care.

[8] From the 2000 census[update], 752 or 79.9% were Roman Catholic, while 18 or 1.9% 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 upper secondary school includes several options, but at the end of the upper secondary program, a student will be prepared to enter a trade or to continue on to a university or college.

In Ticino, vocational students may either attend school while working on their internship or apprenticeship (which takes three or four years) or may attend school followed by an internship or apprenticeship (which takes one year as a full-time student or one and a half to two years as a part-time student).

The professional program lasts three years and prepares a student for a job in engineering, nursing, computer science, business, tourism and similar fields.