Sottoceneri in the context of "Chiasso"

Ticino (/tɪˈtʃiːnoʊ/ tih-CHEE-noh), sometimes Tessin (/tɛˈsiːn, tɛˈsæ̃/ tess-EEN), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts and its capital city is Bellinzona. It is also traditionally divided into the Sopraceneri and the Sottoceneri, respectively north and south of Monte Ceneri.

Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. It is one of the three large southern Alpine cantons, along with Valais and the Grisons. However, unlike all other cantons, it lies almost entirely south of the Alps and has no natural access to the Swiss Plateau. Through the main crest of the Gotthard Massif and adjacent mountain ranges, it borders the canton of Valais to the northwest, the canton of Uri to the north and the canton of Grisons to the northeast; the latter canton being also the only one to share some borders with Ticino at the level of the plains. The canton shares international borders with Italy as well, including a small Italian enclave.

The Sopraceneri ('Above the Ceneri'; Ticinese: Surascender) is the part of the Swiss canton of Ticino that lies to the north of the Monte Ceneri Pass through the Lugano Prealps. It includes the whole of the valley of the Ticino river and its side valleys, the Swiss shore of Lake Maggiore, the cities of Bellinzona and Locarno, as well as towns including Biasca and Riviera.

The Sopraceneri is not a half-canton with formally defined boundaries, but roughly maps to the districts of Bellinzona, Blenio, Leventina, Locarno, Riviera and Vallemaggia. The remainder of the canton is described as the Sottoceneri ('Under the Ceneri'), and includes the towns of Lugano, Mendrisio and Chiasso.

Lugano (/luːˈɡɑːnoʊ/ loo-GAH-noh, UK also /lʊˈɡænoʊ/ luu-GAN-oh, Italian: [luˈɡaːno]; Ticinese: Lugan [lyˈɡãː]) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population (as of December 2020) of 62,315, and an urban agglomeration of over 150,000. It is the ninth largest Swiss city.

The city lies on Lake Lugano, at its largest width, and, together with the adjacent town of Paradiso, occupies the entire bay of Lugano. The territory of the municipality encompasses a much larger region on both sides of the lake, with numerous isolated villages. The region of Lugano is surrounded by the Lugano Prealps, the latter extending on most of the Sottoceneri region, the southernmost part of Ticino and Switzerland. Both western and eastern parts of the municipality share an international border with Italy.