Editing Locarno (section)

===Protestant Reformation===
By 1535, there was a [[Protestant Reformation|Protestant]] community known as the ''ecclesia christiana locarnensis'' in Locarno. They owed their existence to the work of Giovanni Beccaria, several notables of the town (including Taddeo Duni) and religious refugees from [[Milan]] and Piedmont. To counteract the tensions, the Protestant community and the Catholic clergy met for a debate on 8 May 1549. At the end of the debate, Beccaria was imprisoned. However, because of protests against his arrest, he was immediately released. In 1550, Locarno declared itself to be a Catholic town, but a large group continued to practice the Protestant faith. However, in 1554, the Diet of Baden issued an ultimatum to the Protestants, either renounce their new faith or go into exile. On 3 March 1555, over 100 people left Locarno to emigrate to [[Zürich]].<ref name=HDS_Religion/>

In the course of [[Counter-Reformation]] in the 17th century, many religious buildings in Locarno were renewed or rebuilt. These include the 1604 church dedicated to SS Sebastiano e Rocco with the [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchin]] monastery and the church of S. Maria Assunta (Chiesa Nuova).<ref name=HDS_Religion/>