Editing Ascona (section)

===Modern Ascona===
[[File:13 Ascona, Ticino.jpg|thumb|Ascona in 1932]]
After various changes, the ''Collegio Papio'' seminary was secularized in 1852 and then served initially as a high school. It then became a girls' school and later the ''Istituto Elvetico''. In 1879, it returned to its original name and purpose and was placed under the Bishop of Como. In 1885 it came under the authority of the bishop of Lugano. Under the bishop of Lugano, several religious orders administered the seminary, including the [[Oblates of St. Francis de Sales|Salesians]] (1894–1910), the [[Assumptionists]] (1910–14), and finally the [[Order of Saint Benedict|Benedictines]] (since 1924). In the 20th century, the building was rebuilt and expanded several times (1924–27, after a fire in 1960, 1975–76, and 1992).

In the second half of the 18th century, the Church of SS Peter and Paul was extensively rebuilt. In 1859, the façade and the south side were totally redone in a [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] style. A further renovation began in 1948 but was aborted after the 18th-century vaults collapsed.

In 1798 Ascona elected to join the [[Helvetic Republic]], and was granted a certain degree of local self-government. French troops moved into the town but were driven out, and it was then occupied by [[Habsburg monarchy|Austrian]] units. When the canton of Ticino was founded in 1803, Ascona became a political municipality.<ref name=HDS_new/>

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the local economy depended mostly on crops, livestock, and fisheries. A smaller, but important source of income was the emigration of builders, architects, and artists to Rome and Tuscany. The most famous Ascona artist families were the Serodine, Abbondio, Pancaldi, and Pisoni. In the 19th century, linen production and mills offered job opportunities to the locals. In the second half of the 19th century, a [[dynamite]] factory operated in Ascona, but it closed after repeated explosions in 1874.<ref name=HDS_new/>

[[File:Minigolf Ascona.jpg|thumb|right|Minigolf Ascona, opened in 1954, the oldest course worldwide following the norms of Paul Bongni]]
In the 20th century, tourism became a major part of the local economy. Since 1970 the number of second homes has increased substantially, and at the end of the 20th century, during the summer season, around 20,000 to 25,000 visitors came to Ascona each year. Closely connected with the rise of tourism was population growth in the 1920s. In 1925 an extensive redistribution of land ownership allowed non-locals to purchase land. By 1934, the number of landowners included not only 299 Ticinesi, but 88 other Swiss, 41 German, 35 Italian, and 31 foreign nationals. The settlement area has expanded since 1960. The expansion has proceeded more and more towards the north, so that {{as of | 2023 | lc = on}} Locarno and Ascona form a single agglomeration. Two bridges connect Ascona with the left bank of the Maggia river. The one at Solduno, which was built 1815–16, and rebuilt in 1887 after the flood of 1868, was totally replaced in 1996. The second bridge, further into the valley, was built in 1974–80. Since 1947, Ascona has also had an airport; however, it is likely to close in the near future.<ref name=HDS_new/>

In 1945 negotiations over [[World War II]] surrender plans took place between [[United States of America|U.S.]] and [[Nazi Germany|Nazi German]] representatives in Ascona.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Emde
 |first1               = Heiner
 |year                 = 1980
 |title                = Verrat und Spionage in Deutschland: Texte, Bilder, Dokumente
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=EXg0AQAAIAAJ
 |publication-place    = Munich
 |publisher            = Ringier
 |page                 = 168
 |isbn                 = 9783858591258
 |access-date          = 7 May 2023
 |quote                = Dulles war auch der kluge Kopf hinter den deutsch-alliierten Kapitulationsverhandlungen in Zürich und Ascona.
}} 
</ref>