A (plural: ) is a subdivision of certain Italian towns and cities. The word is from (‘sixth’), so it is thus used only for towns divided into six districts. The best-known example is the ''sestieri'' of Venice, but

Ascoli Piceno Ascoli Piceno (; la, Asculum; dialetto ascolano: Ascule) is a town and ''comune'' in the Marche region of Italy, capital of the province of the same name. Its population is around 46,000 but the urban area of the city has more than 93,000. Geo ...

, Genoa, Milan and Rapallo, for example, were also divided into ''sestieri''. The medieval Lordship of Negroponte, on the island of Euboea, was also at times divided into six districts, each with a separate ruler, through the arbitration of Venice, which were known as ''sestieri''. The island of Crete, a Venetian colony (the " Kingdom of Candia") from the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

, was also divided into six parts, named after the ''sestieri'' of Venice herself, while the capital Candia retained the status of a '' comune'' of Venice. The island of Burano north of Venice is also subdivided into ''sestieri''. A variation of the word is occasionally found: the ''comune'' of

Leonessa :''Leonessa is also the name of a ''frazione'' of Bassano Romano.'' Leonessa is a town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Province of Rieti in the Lazio region of central Italy. Its population in 2008 was around 2,700. Situated in ...

, for example, is divided into or sixths. Other Italian towns with fewer than six official districts are frequently divided into analogous ''quartieri'' (4, whence the English word "quarter" to mean a neighbourhood) or ''terzieri'' (3); some towns merely refer to these neighbourhoods by the non-number-specific ''

rioni The Rioni ( ka, რიონი, ; , ) is the main river of western Georgia (country), Georgia. It originates in the Caucasus Mountains, in the region of Racha and flows west to the Black Sea, entering it north of the city of Poti (near ancient P ...

''. {{lang, it, Sestieri, quartieri, terzieri, rioni, and their analogues are usually no longer administrative divisions of these towns, but historical and traditional communities, most often seen in their sharpest relief in the town's annual ''

palio Palio is the name given in Italy to an annual athletic contest, very often of a historical character, pitting the neighbourhoods of a town or the hamlets of a ''comune'' against each other. Typically, they are fought in costume and commemorate som ...

''.

See also