A (; plural: ) is a territorial subdivision of certain
Italian towns. The word derives from (‘fourth’) and was thus properly used only for towns divided into four neighborhoods by the two main roads. It has been later used as a synonymous of neighbourhood, and an Italian town can be now subdivided into a larger number of ''quartieri''. The Swiss town of
Lugano
Lugano (, , ; lmo, label= Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Lugano has a populat ...
(in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino) is also subdivided into quarters.
Lugano
quartieri
The English word " quarter" to mean an urban neighbourhood (e.g. the French Quarter in , Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
) is derived from the cognate old French word "quartier".
Other Italian towns with other than four official neighbourhoods are frequently divided into analogous terzieri (3) or sestieri (6); some towns merely refer to these neighborhoods by the non-number-specific '' rioni''. ''Quartieri'', ''terzieri'', ''sestieri'', ''rioni'', and their analogues are usually no longer administrative divisions of these towns, but historical and traditional communities. Sometimes towns maintain traditional cultural events linked to quartieri: a notable case is the 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 s ...
of Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...
. Only in a few Italian cities, like in Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
and Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...
, a ''quartiere'' is also an administrative subdivision.
See also
* Circoscrizione
* Contrade
* Frazione
A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a '' comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate terri ...
* Località
* Rione
**Rioni of Rome
A rione of Rome (, pl. ''rioni'') is a traditional administrative division of the city of Rome. " Rione" is an Italian term used since the 14th century to name a district of a town. The term was born in Rome, originating from the administrative di ...
* Sestiere
* Terziere
References
{{Italy topics, state=collapsed
.
Subdivisions of Italy
Subdivisions of Ticino