**Vicosoprano** is a former [[Municipalities of Switzerland|municipality]] in the district of [[Maloja (district)|Maloja]] in the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Cantons of Switzerland|canton]] of [[Graubünden]] and is the largest village in the [[Bregaglia Range|Val Bregaglia]]. It's now part of the municipality of [[Bregaglia]].

## History

Vicosoprano is first mentioned in 1096 as *Vicus Supranus*.[^1]

## Geography

Vicosoprano has an area, as of 2006, of 54 km2 (21 sq mi). Of this area, 8.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 25.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (64.7%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers, or mountains).[^2]

The municipality is located in the Bergell sub-district of the Maloja district. It is the largest municipality of the Bergell sub-district. It consists of the village of Vicosoprano (elev. 1,067 m (3,501 ft)) and the [[Hamlet (place)|hamlets]] of Roticcio and [[Pongello]]. In 1971 the settlement of Casaccia joined Vicosoprano.

On 1 January 2010 the municipalities of [[Bondo, Switzerland|Bondo]], [[Castasegna]], [[Soglio, Switzerland|Soglio]], [[Stampa]], and Vicosoprano merged into a new municipality, [[Bregaglia]].[^3]

## Demographics

Vicosoprano had a population (as of 2008) of 445, of which 9.7% are foreign nationals.[^4] Over the last 10 years, the population has decreased at a rate of -10.2%.[^2]

As of 2000, the gender distribution of the population was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.[^5] The age distribution, as of 2000, in Vicosoprano is; 67 children or 15.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 34 teenagers or 7.9% are 10 to 14, and 14 teenagers or 3.3% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 39 people or 9.1% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 55 people or 12.8% are 30 to 39, 82 people or 19.1% are 40 to 49, and 42 people or 9.8% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 33 people or 7.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 38 people or 8.9% are 70 to 79, there are 18 people or 4.2% who are 80 to 89, and there are 7 people or 1.6% who are 90 to 99.[^4]

In the [[2007 Swiss federal election|2007 federal election]], the most popular party was the [[Swiss People's Party|SVP]] which received 64.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the [[Social Democratic Party of Switzerland|SP]] (18.9%), the [[Free Democratic Party of Switzerland|FDP]] (14.3%), and the [[Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland|CVP]] (2.1%).[^2]

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Vicosoprano about 66.7% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory [[Education in Switzerland|upper secondary education]] or additional higher education (either University or a *[[Fachhochschule]]*).[^2]

Vicosoprano has an unemployment rate of 0.96%. As of 2005, there were 24 people employed in the [[Primary sector of the economy|primary economic sector]] and about 11 businesses involved in this sector. 130 people are employed in the [[Secondary sector of the economy|secondary sector]] and there are 15 businesses in this sector. 89 people are employed in the [[Tertiary sector of the economy|tertiary sector]], with 19 businesses in this sector.[^2]

The historical population is given in the following table:[^1]

**^a** Population increase during construction of the dam at [[Albigna lake|Albigna]].

## Languages

Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks Italian (80.7%), with German being second most common (12.8%) and [[Romansh language|Romansh]] being third ( 4.2%).[^2] The majority of the population speaks the local dialect of [[Lombard language|Lombard]].

## Weather

Vicosoprano has an average of 111.4 days of rain per year and on average receives 1,492 mm (58.7 in) of [[Precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]]. The wettest month is May during which time Vicosoprano receives an average of 185 mm (7.3 in) of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.3 days. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 72 mm (2.8 in) of precipitation over 13.3 days.[^6]

## Notes

[^1]: "Vicosoprano" in [German](http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D1536.php), [French](http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F1536.php) and [Italian](http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/i/I1536.php) in the online *[[Historical Dictionary of Switzerland]]*.
[^2]: [Swiss Federal Statistical Office](http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/en/index/regionen/regionalportraets/gemeindesuche.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110904041839/http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/en/index/regionen/regionalportraets/gemeindesuche.html) 2011-09-04 at the [[Wayback Machine]] accessed 19-Oct-2009
[^3]: [Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz](http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/infothek/nomenklaturen/blank/blank/gem_liste/03.html) published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (in German) accessed 23 September 2009
[^4]: [Graubunden Population Statistics](http://www.gr.ch/DE/institutionen/verwaltung/dvs/awt/dienstleistungen/volkswirtschaftlichegrundlagen/Seiten/Bevoelkerung.aspx) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090827132227/http://www.gr.ch/DE/institutionen/verwaltung/dvs/awt/dienstleistungen/volkswirtschaftlichegrundlagen/Seiten/Bevoelkerung.aspx) 2009-08-27 at the [[Wayback Machine]] (in German) accessed 21 September 2009
[^5]: [Graubunden in Numbers](http://www.gr.ch/DE/institutionen/verwaltung/dvs/awt/dienstleistungen/volkswirtschaftlichegrundlagen/Seiten/default.aspx) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090924000647/http://www.gr.ch/DE/institutionen/verwaltung/dvs/awt/dienstleistungen/volkswirtschaftlichegrundlagen/Seiten/default.aspx) 2009-09-24 at the [[Wayback Machine]] (in German) accessed 21 September 2009
[^6]: ["Temperature and Precipitation Average Values-Table, 1961-1990"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090627163841/http://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/web/de/klima/klima_schweiz/tabellen.html) (in German, French, and Italian). Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology - MeteoSwiss. Archived from [the original](http://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/web/de/klima/klima_schweiz/tabellen.html) on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2009., the weather station elevation is 1075 meters above sea level.