[It. law-kahr-naw] 
| a town in S Switzerland, on Lake Maggiore: Locarno Pact 1925. 15,300. |
| Lo·car·no (lō-kär'nō) A town of southern Switzerland at the northern end of Lake Maggiore. The Locarno Pact between Germany and various European powers was signed here in 1925, in an effort to promote peace and maintain existing territorial borders. Today the city is a popular resort. Population: 14,700. |
Locarno
town, Ticino canton, southern Switzerland. It is situated at the northern end of Lago Maggiore, near the mouth of the Maggia River, west of Bellinzona. The site was settled in prehistoric times, and the town was first mentioned in 789. A possession of the dukes of Milan from 1342, it was taken by the Swiss in 1513. It became part of the newly formed Ticino canton in 1803 and, with Lugano and Bellinzona, was one of the three capitals of that canton until 1878. An Italianate town, it counts among its landmarks the 14th-century castle of the dukes of Milan, now a museum; the Pretorio, or law court, in which the Pact of Locarno, an attempt to guarantee the peace in western Europe, was initiated in 1925; and several old churches, including the pilgrimage church of Madonna del Sasso (founded 1480, extended 1616). It is a noted health and tourist resort with a warm Mediterranean climate and numerous hotels and other tourist facilities. There are machinery and electrochemical factories. The population is Italian speaking and Roman Catholic. Pop. (2007 est.) 14,682.
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