Italian Grisons or Italian Grigioni ( or ; ; ; French: ''Grisons italiens'') or sometimes also called Lombard Grisons (; ), is the region of the Canton of Grisons,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, in which

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

is the dominant language. GR SantaMaria04

Located in the southernmost part of the canton, it comprises (from west to east) of the region of Moesa, the municipality of Bregaglia in the Region of Maloja and the region 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, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

Religion

Moesa and Bernina are predominantly

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, while Bregaglia is chiefly

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. 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 include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

and the absence of

secondary schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

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