Italian Grisons or Italian Grigioni ( it, Grigionitaliano or Grigioni italiano; german: Italienischbünden; rm, Grischun talian), sometimes also called Lombard Grisons, is the region of the Canton of Grisons,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, in which Italian is the dominant language. Located in the southernmost part of the canton, it is comprised (from west to east) of the district of Moesa, the municipality of Bregaglia in the district of Maloja and the district of Bernina. It has a population of about 15,000, of which more than 85% speak standard Italian or Lombard. The village and former municipality in Bivio in the district of Albula, located to the north of Bregaglia, once had an Italian-speaking plurality as well. Between 1980 and 1990, however, it was overtaken by German, which is now the majority language of the village.

Geography

The three regions that make up the Italian Grisons are separated by mountains, isolated from the rest of the canton as well as from each other, and from Italy. Because of their remoteness and the lack of economic possibilities, emigration has traditionally been a serious issue, and even today more than half of the people born in the Italian Grisons live and work outside of the region in the predominantly Italian-speaking canton of

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

Religion

Moesa and Bernina are predominantly

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, while Bregaglia is chiefly

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. Bregaglia is the only municipality in Switzerland with an Italian-speaking Protestant majority.

Education

The dominance of the Italian language in the canton has diminished in recent years, especially to the east in the two regions furthest from

. This is believed to result from migration of German speakers into traditionally Italian-speaking areas, the spread of German language

mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit informati ...

and the absence of

secondary schools A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

teaching in Italian in Grisons. The situation is similar to that of Romansh in the canton. Pro Grigioni Italiano, an organization created in 1918 to promote the Italian language and culture in Grisons, is officially recognized by the cantonal government as representing the indigenous Italian-speaking minority of the canton.

References

External links

Voci del Grigioni italiano
RSI radio newscast about the Italian Grisons
Pro Grigioni Italiano
{{DEFAULTSORT:Italian Grisons Grisons Regions of Switzerland

Geography

Religion

Education

See also

References

External links