Bivio

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Bivio

Canton	Grisons
District	Albula
Coordinates	46°28′N 9°39′E
Population	220 (December 2005)
Area	76.73 km²
Elevation	1769 m
Postal code	7457
SFOS number	3531
Website	www.bivio.ch
Bivio

Bivio is a municipality in the district of Albula of the Swiss canton of Graubünden.

The village is located on the roads to the Julier and Septimer pass. It is the only traditionally Italian language village north of the continental divide. However, the German-speaking population is now in the majority, with large Romansh- and Italian-speaking minorities.

Neighboring municipalities are Marmorera, Bever (exclave), Silvaplana, Sils im Engadin/Segl, Stampa (exclave Maloja), Soglio, Avers and Mulegns. The area is 76.7 km² and the population 220 (2005).

[edit] Languages

Since the Middle Ages, three languages have been spoken in the municipality: Most inhabitants speak German and Romansch, as well as the official language, Italian. However, German has become more and more common. The local Italian dialect is a sub-dialect of Lombard (Bargajot), but with local variations. The local version of Romansch is somewhere between the two main dialects: Surmiran und Putér. Since both the German and Italian spoken breaks up into local dialects, up to seven dialects can be counted. This causes a real dilemma. In 1880, 67.5% spoke some version of Romansch, and in 1910, 67.44% (compared to a minority of 26.36% that spoke Italian). This percentage sank to 43.0% in 1941. Today, Italian is the only official language for municipality busines..

Languages in Bivio
Language	1980 Census		1990 Census		2000 Census
Language	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
German	88	36.97%	120	53.81%	113	55.39%
Romansh	44	18.49%	20	8.97%	25	12.25%
Italian	100	42.02%	76	34.08%	60	29.41%
Population	238	100%	223	100%	204	100%