Canton of Lugano

The Diocese of Lugano (Latin: Dioecesis Luganensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Switzerland covering the canton of Ticino. The diocese immediately exempt to the Holy See. In 2004, there were 233,017 baptised of 306,846 inhabitants. It is currently ruled by the Bishop Pier Giacomo Grampa and has as its principal patron St. Charles Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, and as a secondary patron Saint Abundius, Bishop of Como.

The Lugano District (Italian: Distretto di Lugano also called Luganese) is a district of Canton of Ticino, southern Switzerland. The capital is the city of Lugano. It has a population of 150,556 (as of 31 December 2020).

The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the first edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcasters the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) and Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI). The contest, originally titled the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne 1956 (Italian: Gran Premio Eurovisione 1956 della Canzone Europea, English: Grand Prix of the Eurovision Song Competition), was held on Thursday 24 May 1956 at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland, and hosted by Swiss television presenter Lohengrin Filipello, which remains the only time that the contest has been hosted by a solo male presenter. Inspired principally by the Italian Sanremo Music Festival, held annually since 1951, the concept of a televised European song contest, initially proposed by Italian broadcaster RAI, was formulated by an EBU committee led by Swiss broadcaster and executive Marcel Bezençon. Following approval at the EBU's General Assembly in 1955, the rules and structure of the contest were agreed upon. Several of the rules utilised in this first contest would subsequently be altered for future editions, and it remains the only edition in which each country was represented by two songs, with only solo performers allowed to compete, and a voting process which was held in secret and where juries could vote for the entries from their own country. Seven countries participated in the inaugural edition of the contest, and the first winner was the host country Switzerland, with the song "Refrain" performed by Lys Assia. The result was determined by an assembled jury composed of two jurors from each country, with each juror ranking each song between 1 and 10 points. Only the winning country and song were announced at the conclusion of the event, with the results of the remaining participants unknown. Even though it was broadcast on television and radio via the Eurovision network in ten countries, no video footage of the event is known to exist, with the only video available being of the reprise performance from an independent archiver; the majority of the broadcast is, however, available in audio.

The Lugano degli Angioli funicular (Italian: Funicolare Lugano degli Angioli) was a funicular railway and inclined lift in the city of Lugano in the Swiss canton of Ticino. It linked a lower terminus near the lakeside and the church of Santa Maria degli Angioli with an upper terminus adjacent to the Hotel Bristol. The upper station was on the third floor of a tower, linked with a footbridge to the hotel. The line had a single track and single car, which was balanced by a vertically operating counterweight in the tower.When in operation, the line was 142 metres (466 ft) in length and climbed a vertical distance of 53 metres (174 ft), with a maximum gradient of 44% and an average gradient of 38.7%. It was of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauge. The single car had 4 compartments and a maximum capacity of 26 passengers.The line opened in 1913. In 1973 it was gifted by its owner to the City of Lugano. The Hotel Bristol closed in 1981, and the funicular followed in 1986. The line remains in existence, in an abandoned state. In 2012 the line was listed as a cultural property of regional significance. In April 2018 the Lugano city authorities announced a competition, with a CHF36,000 prize, for the best idea for a future for the funicular. In September of the same year, the same authorities requested a loan of CHF325,000 for a study into the future of the funicular and how it could form part of a wider plan for improved access to the lake. It is estimated that restoration as a static monument would cost CHF2.6 million, and a return to operation would cost CHF5.5 million.

Lugano Arte e Cultura (LAC) is a polyfunctional cultural centre dedicated to music, visual and performance arts in Lugano, Switzerland. It houses the Museo d'Arte della Svizzera Italiana (MASI) and hosts events such as "LuganoInScena" and "LuganoMusica". The Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana has its base at the LAC.

The Swiss–Italian Art Museum (Italian: Museo d'arte della Svizzera italiana), commonly known as MASI Lugano, MASILugano or MASI, is an art museum predominantly featuring 20th-century and contemporary art in Lugano, Switzerland. Since December 2019, the museum has two locations, one in the Lugano Arte e Cultura (LAC) art center, and one in the Palazzo Reali.

Loreto is a quarter of the city of Lugano, in the Swiss canton of Ticino. It forms the part of the city which surrounds the shrine of Our Lady of Loreto to the south of the city center, and includes the Lake Lugano waterfront south of the city centre but north of Paradiso. In 2011, it had a population of 3,221.

BSI had been the oldest bank in the Swiss canton of Ticino until its integration into EFG Bank and the following renaming into EFG, which took place in 2017. Founded in 1873 in Lugano as the Banca della Svizzera Italiana, BSI was an institution that specialises in asset management and related services for private and institutional clients. In 1998, the bank became part of the Italian Generali group, one of the world's biggest insurance companies. In July 2014, Generali sold BSI to BTG Pactual for US$1.7 billion, a deal that CEO of the bank, André Esteves stated would make BTG Pactual a “global player in the asset management arena.”In February 2016 EFG International (SIX:EFGN), the global private banking group based in Zurich, announced the acquisition of the Lugano-based private bank, according to an agreement signed on 21 February 2016 with BSI's sole shareholder BTG Pactual. The transaction was finalized on November 1, 2016. Following the closing, BSI's activities have been integrated into EFG, market by market, in Singapore, Hong Kong, Bahamas, Switzerland and Luxembourg. The integration of Monaco's activities is expected to take place by the end of the second quarter 2017. With the integration of the Swiss business, which took place at April 2017, the rollout of the renewed EFG brand has started in all locations where the legal integration of BSI has been completed and those businesses will operate solely under the EFG name.

Lugano Cathedral (Italian: Cattedrale di San Lorenzo) is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Lawrence in Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland. It was founded in the High Middle Ages but rebuilt in the late 15th century, with the façade completed in 1517. It is the seat of the Bishop of Lugano.

Lugano FLP railway station (Italian: Stazione di Lugano FLP) is a railway station in the municipality of Lugano, in the Swiss canton of Ticino. It is the eastern terminus of the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauge Lugano–Ponte Tresa line of Ferrovie Luganesi. The station is located in the forecourt of Swiss Federal Railways' main-line Lugano railway station. The station and line opened in 1912. Between 1990 and 1992 the Lugano FLP station was renovated and expanded. The street level building is now a restaurant, although the platforms remain in use at the lower level.

Sant'Antonio Abate is a Roman Catholic church facing Piazza Dante in the city center of Lugano, Switzerland, and dedicated to Anthony the Great. Construction for the building started in 1633 and continued throughout the centuries.The rich stucco decoration of the interior was executed in 1652 by Luca Corbellini and G. B. Bellotto, and was continued in 1683 by G. Rossi.Italian poet Alessandro Manzoni studied there between 1796 and 1798.

The Lugano Città–Stazione funicular, Funicolare Lugano Città–Stazione, or Sassellina, is a funicular railway in the city of Lugano in the Swiss canton of Ticino. The line's upper station is located within the main railway station of Lugano, and the lower station is on Piazza Cioccaro in the historic city centre below. It is one of the busiest funicular lines in Switzerland, carrying 2.4 million passengers in 2007.The Lugano Città–Stazione funicular is one of three funiculars within the Lugano area. The other two are the Monte Brè funicular, which ascends Monte Brè, and the Monte San Salvatore funicular, which ascends Monte San Salvatore.