The Italian Graubünden or Italian Grigioni is the region of the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 where Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 and the related Lombard are spoken.

Located in the southernmost part of the canton, it includes the districts of Moesa

Moesa (district)

Moesa District is an administrative district in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has an area of and has a population of . The official language is Italian.It consists of three Kreise and seventeen municipalities:...

 (to the west) and Bernina

Bernina (district)

Bernina District is an administrative district in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has an area of 237.2 km² and has a population of ....

 (to the east), and the municipalities of Bivio

Bivio

Bivio is a municipality in the district of Albula of the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-History:Bivio is first mentioned about 840 as de stabulo Bivio. At one time it was known, in German, as Stallen and until 1895/1903 by its Italian name Stalla.-Geography:Bivio has an area, , of...

 in the Albula district

Albula (district)

Albula District is one of the eleven administrative districts in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It has an area of 723.13 km² and has a population of ....

 and Bregaglia

Bregaglia

Bregaglia is a municipality in the district of Maloggia in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is a merger of the municipalities of Bondo, Castasegna, Soglio, Stampa and Vicosoprano, all located in the Val Bregaglia.-External links:...

 in the Maloggia district. It has a population of about 15,000 inhabitants, of which over 85% speak Italian or Lombard.

The three regions that make up the Italian Graubünden are separated by mountains, isolated from the rest of the canton as well as from each other. 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 Graubünden live and work outside of the region.

The importance of Italian in the canton has been decreasing in recent years, especially in the two regions farther from Ticino

Ticino

Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...

. This is believed to be caused by the immigration of germanophones in traditionally Italian-speaking areas, the spread of German language mass media

Mass media

Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...

 and the absence of secondary schools teaching in Italian in Graubünden.