tourists year-round. Astrovia Locarno The Astrovia Locarno is a 1 : 1,000,000,000 scale model of the Solar System. The Sun can be found at the end of Via Gioacchino Respini where the cycle path, which runs alongside the river Maggia, starts. Pluto, the final planet in the model, can be found away from this starting point in the village of Tegna. Madonna del Sasso, Cardada and Cimetta The sanctuary of Madonna del Sasso in Orselina above the city is the principal sight and goal of pilgrimage in the city. The founding of the sanctuary goes back to a vision of the Virgin Mary that the Franciscan brother Bartolomeo d'Ivrea experienced in the night of 14/15 August 1480. The interior is highly decorated, and a platform has views of the city. The Locarno–Madonna del Sasso funicular links Locarno city centre with the Madonna del Sasso sanctuary and Orselina. From Orselina, a cable car operates to the top of Cardada (el. ), and a chair lift goes further to the top of Cimetta (el. ). Castello Visconteo Castello Visconteo, on the edge of the old town, was built in the 12th century, probably as the residence of a Captain Orelli, who remained true to the Emperor. In 1260, it fell into the hands of the Ghibellines. In 1342 the Visconti of Milan, for whom it is now named, attacked the castle from both the land and the lakeside and took it. It first came into the hands of the Eidgenossen in 1503. Today, only a fifth of the original structure remains. Most of that dates from the 15th and 16th centuries. Only the foundation remains from the original structure. Politics In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the FDP which received 34.88% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (19.72%), the CVP (18.75%) and the Ticino League (9.54%). In the federal election, a total of 3,303 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 40.5%. In the Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 8,555 registered voters in Locarno, of which 4,291 or 50.2% voted. 90 blank ballots and 15 null ballots were cast, leaving 4,186 valid ballots in the election. The most popular party was the PLRT which received 913 or 21.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were; the SSI (with 822 or 19.6%), the PS (with 790