Val Bregaglia
Encyclopedia
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
valley of 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....
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
at the base of which runs the river Mera River
Mera River
The Mera is a river in Switzerland and Italy. Its source is near the Maloja Pass, in Graubünden, Switzerland. It flows west through the Val Bregaglia and crosses the Italian border near Soglio...
(or Maira). It begins at the Maloja Pass
Maloja Pass
Maloja Pass is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps in the canton of Graubünden, linking the Engadin with the Val Bregaglia and Chiavenna in Italy...
(1815 m) which connects it to the Engadin
Engadin
The Engadin or Engadine is a long valley in the Swiss Alps located in the canton of Graubünden in southeast Switzerland. It follows the route of the Inn River from its headwaters at Maloja Pass running northeast until the Inn flows into Austria one hundred kilometers downstream...
(the valley of the river Inn
Inn River
The Inn is a river in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube and is approximately 500km long. The highest point of its drainage basin is the summit of Piz Bernina, at 4,049 metres.- Geography :...
, which is part of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
basin) and extends westwards to Chiavenna
Chiavenna (SO)
This article is about the Italian municipality. For the astronomer, see Paolo Chiavenna.Chiavenna is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 100 km north of Milan and about 40 km northwest of Sondrio...
shortly after which the Mera joins with the Liro and turns south towards Lake Como
Lake Como
Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 km², making it the third largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore...
. From Chiavenna to Maloja, a distance of 32 km, the valley rises 1482 m. Most of the valley falls within the Swiss district of Maloja
Maloja (district)
Maloja District is an administrative district in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has an area of and has a population of . It is trilingual, with official languages used by municipalities inside the district being, in order of dominance, German, Italian, and Romansh.It consists of two...
in the canton of Graubünden
Graubünden
Graubünden or Grisons is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. The canton shares borders with the cantons of Ticino, Uri, Glarus and St. Gallen and international borders with Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein...
, the lower part within the Italian province of Sondrio
Province of Sondrio
The Province of Sondrio is in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the town of Sondrio.It has an area of 3,212 km², and a total population of 176,856...
.
The Bregaglia Range
Bregaglia Range
The Bregaglia Range is a small group of mostly granite mountains in Graubünden, Switzerland and the Province of Sondrio, northern Italy. It derives its name from the partly Swiss, partly Italian valley, the Val Bregaglia, and is known as Bergell in German...
is the group of mountains to the south of the valley. Curiously, it is only in this valley in the whole Europe where the sources of three important basins (which run to different seas) have their origin: the Rhine (which runs to the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
), the Inn
Inn River
The Inn is a river in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube and is approximately 500km long. The highest point of its drainage basin is the summit of Piz Bernina, at 4,049 metres.- Geography :...
(which runs to Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
) and the Po River
Po River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
(running to Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
).
The valley includes the Swiss municipalities of Vicosoprano
Vicosoprano
Vicosoprano is a former municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, and is the largest village in the Val Bregaglia. It's now part of the municipality of Bregaglia.-Geography:...
, Stampa
Stampa
Stampa is a former municipality in the Maloja district of the Swiss canton, Graubünden. It is now part of the municipality of Bregaglia.-Geography:Stampa has an area, , of . Of this area, 14.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.8% is forested...
, Bondo
Bondo, Switzerland
Bondo is a former municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It's now part of the municipality of Bregaglia.-Geography:...
, Soglio
Soglio, Switzerland
Soglio is a former municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden close to the border with Italy. It's now part of the municipality of Bregaglia.-Geography:...
and Castasegna
Castasegna
Castasegna is a former municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, right at the Italian border. It's now part of the municipality of Bregaglia. The town is situated in the Bergell valley, above the river Mera.-Geography:...
; and the Italian municipalities of Villa di Chiavenna
Villa di Chiavenna
Villa di Chiavenna is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 100 km north of Milan and about 35 km northwest of Sondrio, on the border with Switzerland....
, Piuro
Piuro
Piuro is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 100 km north of Milan and about 40 km northwest of Sondrio, on the border with Switzerland...
, and Chiavenna
Chiavenna (SO)
This article is about the Italian municipality. For the astronomer, see Paolo Chiavenna.Chiavenna is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 100 km north of Milan and about 40 km northwest of Sondrio...
.
Elektrizitätswerk der Stadt Zürich (EWZ) operates three hydroelectric power plants in the valley at Vicosoprano, Bondo and Castasegna. The hydroelectric project at Vicosoprano was formed by damming the river Albigna, forming Lake Albigna. Located approximately 1000 m above the town and set back, the site is reachable by an aerial tramway
Aerial tramway
An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
operated by EWZ.
The Swiss part of the valley is inhabited by the descendants of Italian Protestants who came to Switzerland in the mid-16th century to avoid persecution by the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
, and today about 75% of the population is Protestant. The local dialect is a variety of Lombard with similarities to neighboring dialects of Romansh.