Sexten (; it, Sesto ) is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces ('' province''). The can ...

'' in

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

in northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The village is famous as a summer and winter sport resort in the mountains. According to the 2011 census, 95.37% of the population speak German, 4.36% Italian and 0.27%

Ladin Ladin may refer to: *Ladin language, a language in northern Italy, often classified as a Rhaeto-Romance language * Ladin people, the inhabitants of the Dolomite Alps region of northern Italy See also * Laden (disambiguation) *Ladino (disambigua ...

as first language.

Geography

The town sits in a branch of the

Puster Valley The Puster Valley ( it, Val Pusteria ; german: Pustertal, ) is one of the largest longitudinal valleys in the Alps that runs in an east-west direction between Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria, and Mühlbach near Brixen in South Tyrol, Italy. The Sou ...

, near

Innichen Innichen (; it, San Candido , lld, Sanciana) is a municipality in South Tyrol in northern Italy. It is located in the Puster Valley on the Drava River, about northeast of Bolzano, on Italy's border with Austria. It hosts Italy’s International ...

and

Toblach Toblach (; it, Dobbiaco ) is a ''comune''/''Gemeinde'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located in the Puster Valley about northeast of the city of Bolzano, on the border with Austria. Geography As of November 30, 2010, it h ...

, where the

Drava The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

rises. The district borders

East Tyrol East Tyrol, occasionally East Tirol (german: Osttirol), is an exclave of the Austrian state of Tyrol, separated from the main North Tyrol part by the short common border of Salzburg and Italian South Tyrol (''Südtirol'', it, Alto Adige). It ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, to the north and the border is formed by the

Carnic Alps The Carnic Alps ( it, Alpi Carniche; german: Karnische Alpen; sl, Karnijske Alpe; fur, Alps Cjargnelis) are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Ita ...

. To the south lie the

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

Sexten Dolomites The Sexten Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti di Sesto; german: Sextener Dolomiten) is a mountain range and a nature reserve in South Tyrol, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Sou ...

and

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscapes ...

, which includes the famous Drei Zinnen (Tre Cime di Lavaredo). The commune is bordered, clockwise from the west, by Toblach, Innichen,

Sillian Sillian is a market town in the district of Lienz, in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography The municipality, at a height of about , is the main settlement in the East Tyrolean ''Hochpustertal'', the eastern part of the Puster Valley, stretchin ...

(Austria), Kartitsch (Austria),

Comelico Superiore Comelico Superiore ( Ladin: ''Cumelgu d Sora'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about north of Venice and about northeast of Belluno, on the border with Austria. Comelico Superior ...

(

Belluno Belluno (; lld, Belum; vec, Belùn) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites regi ...

) and

Auronzo di Cadore Auronzo di Cadore is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Belluno ( Cadore) in the Italian region of Veneto, located about north of Venice and about northeast of Belluno. While Auronzo is geographically only from the Austrian border ...

, (Belluno).

History

The village's name is of Latin origin: ''ad horam sexta'', meaning "at six-hour", referred to its location south to

. ''Sexta'' is documented starting from 965 AD. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Sexten was on the front line between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and suffered much damage. It was conquered by Italy in November 1918. Later it received further fortifications during the Fascist Era. 150224 Doroth Val Fiscalina Petrides

It is the hometown of tennis player

Jannik Sinner Jannik Sinner (; ; born 16 August 2001) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 9 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on 1 November 2021, and world No. 124 in doubles, achieved on 2 ...

Coat-of-arms

The emblem is azure and represents three

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions t ...

peaks with a

sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaz ...

chamois standing in the centre; the three peaks symbolize the

Tre Cime di Lavaredo The Tre Cime di Lavaredo (; ), also called the Drei Zinnen (; ), are three distinctive battlement-like peaks, in the Sexten Dolomites of northeastern Italy. They are probably one of the best-known mountain groups in the Alps. The three peaks, f ...

. The emblem was granted in 1972 but was in use before World War I.Heraldry of the World: Sexten
/ref>

Twin towns

Sexten is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Sankt Veit in Defereggen, Austria *

Zermatt Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO ...

, Switzerland

Notable residents

(born 2001), tennis player

References

External links

Homepage of the municipality
lkommen Aktiva Ihre Seite Teilnahme Sehen {{Authority control Municipalities of South Tyrol