Cimbrian is taught in primary schools, but it is in danger of becoming extinct because it is being displaced by the neighbouring Venetian language, which is increasingly used as a domestic language and by Italian, which is used in public.

The first text written in Cimbrian, a religious hymn, appeared at the end of 16th century. The first evidence of Cimbrian presence in northern Italy dates back to 1287. The Cipolla brothers picked up and transcribed some local tales and songs. Local legends attribute the modern Cimbrians' lineage to the Cimbrian marauders that the Roman general Gaius Marius defeated in 102 BC at Campi Raudii, near Vercelli, however it is more probable that today's Cimbrians are descended from Lombard invaders, who invaded Northen Italy in 588 AD.