The Cimbric language is Middle High German with a southern Bavarian sound which is domestic for almost thousand years at Luserna
A unique language minority still lives at one of the eastern foothills of the high valley of Lavarone. The village is called “Luserna” and the population there still speaks Cimbric, an ancient southern Bavarian dialect which was taken to these mountains by medieval settlers.
Luserna is quite isolated in this area, so the Cimbric language could be kept very well. Almost all of the 300 inhabitants speak Cimbric in everyday life. The nearest villages of Luserna are Lavarone and Folgaria where Cimbric was spoken until a few decades ago. There the Cimbric is considered to be extinct since the fascistic period (1922 to 1943) when Mussolini and Ettore Tolomei repressed and prohibited the Cimbrian traditions.
More of the Cimbric linguistic enclaves we can find in Val Fersina (Province of Trento), Sappada (Province of Belluno), Sauris and Timau (Province of Udine). In our days the Cimbric language is subject of international studies although it is spoken by only 1,000 people and is one of the less widely used languages worldwide. Exactly because of this point the Cimbric language is protected and supported by regional laws and the Cimbrian minority.
By the way, at Luserna we can also find a documentation centre, a cultural institute and a number of musical and cultural associations which support the Cimbric language and traditions.
