Sesto San Giovanni (; lmo, Sest San Giovann, label=

Western Lombard Western Lombard is a group of dialects of Lombard, a Romance language spoken in Italy. It is widespread in the Lombard provinces of Milan, Monza, Varese, Como, Lecco, Sondrio, a small part of Cremona (except Crema and its neighbours), Lo ...

), locally referred to as just Sesto ( lmo, Sest, links=no), 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 also ...

'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan,

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, 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 re ...

. Its railway station is the northernmost stop on the

Milan Metro The Milan Metro ( it, Metropolitana di Milano) is the rapid transit system serving Milan, Italy, operated by Azienda Trasporti Milanesi. The network consists of 5 lines, identified by different numbers and colours, with a total network length ...

M1 line. The comune has the honorary title of city, despite being a ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' suburb of Milan. An unimportant agglomerate of buildings until the 19th century, Sesto San Giovanni grew during the end of the 19th century and in the early 20th century, becoming the site of several industries, including companies such as Falck,

Campari Campari () is an Italian alcoholic liqueur, considered an apéritif (20.5%, 21%, 24%, 25%, or 28.5% ABV, depending on the country where it is sold), obtained from the infusion of herbs and fruit (including chinotto and cascarilla) in alcohol a ...

Magneti Marelli Magneti Marelli S.p.A. () is an Italian developer and manufacturer of components for the automotive industry. The firm is headquartered in Corbetta, Italy, and includes 86 manufacturing plants, 12 R&D centres, and 26 application centers in 19 c ...

and

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

. In that period the population increased rapidly, from 5,000 inhabitants in 1880 to 14,000 in 1911. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Sesto became populated by many migrants from other parts of Italy, leading to an increased population of 95,000 inhabitants in 1981. Sesto used to be referred to as the " Stalingrad of Italy", due to the strong historical presence of the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy. The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...

and to its resistance to fascism in World War Two. Because of its diverse and growing industries, Sesto has drawn many immigrants. Census statistics from 2016 state that 17% of the population is composed of immigrants. In the 1990s, Sesto San Giovanni suffered an economic crisis, and most of the larger companies in the town closed their premises. The town partially succeeded in converting its economy from steel production to service industries. Several large companies opened offices in Sesto, such as

ABB Group ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...

, WIND Telecommunications,

Impregilo Webuild SpA (formerly Salini Impregilo SpA) () is an Italian industrial group specialised in the construction and civil engineering business headquartered in Milan. The company was formally founded in 2014 as the result of the merger by incorporat ...

and

Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. In 2020, Oracle was the third-largest software company in the world by revenue and market capitalization. The company sells da ...

. On 23 December 2016, Anis Amri, perpetrator of Berlin truck attack was shot fleeing in the city by the police. Sesto San Giovanni received the honorary title of city by presidential decree on 10 April 1954.

People

Ferdinando Terruzzi Ferdinando Teruzzi (17 February 1924 – 9 April 2014)Nicolás Cotugno Nicolás Domingo Cotugno Fanizzi, S.D.B. (born 21 September 1938 in Sesto San Giovanni, Province of Milan) is an Italian-Uruguayan Roman Catholic priest. Early life He was the Archbishop of Montevideo from 4 December 1998 till 11 February ...

(born 1938), former Roman Catholic Archbishop of

Montevideo, Uruguay Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Teresa Sarti Strada Teresa Sarti Strada, (28 March 1946 – 1 September 2009) was an Italian teacher, pacifist and philanthropist who, together with her husband Gino Strada, founded Emergency, an NGO dedicated to providing free medical treatment to the victims of ...

(1948–2009), co-founder of

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

Gino Strada Gino Strada (21 April 1948 – 13 August 2021) was an Italian war surgeon, human rights activist, peace activist, and founder of Emergency, a recognized international non-governmental organization. Early life and education Gino Strada was ...

(1948–2021) war surgeon and founder of ''

'', a UN-recognized international humanitarian organisation that gives free medical treatment to victims of war *

Massimo Carrera Massimo Carrera (; born 22 April 1964) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of clubs Spartak Moscow and later AEK Athens, before leaving continental football and joining local club Bar ...

(born 1964), footballer and coach *

Marco Saligari Marco Saligari (born 18 May 1965 in Sesto San Giovanni) is a directeur sportif and former Italian road bicycle racer who raced during the 1990s. Since 2002, Saligari has served as manager of the Landbouwkrediet (formerly ''Colnago-Landbouwkredi ...

(born 1965), cyclist *

Barbara Fusar-Poli Barbara Fusar-Poli (born 6 February 1972) is an Italian ice dancing coach and former competitor. With partner Maurizio Margaglio, she is the 2001 World champion, 2001 European champion, and 2002 Olympic bronze medalist. They won nine Italian titl ...

(born 1972), figure skater * Fabio Macellari (born 1974), footballer * Franco Masetto (born 1942), footballer

Twin towns - sister cities

Sesto San Giovanni is twinned with: * Saint-Denis, France *

Zlín Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; german: Zlin) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 73,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Zlín Region and it lies on the Dřevnice river. It is known as an industrial centre. The development of the ...

, Czech Republic

References

Cities and towns in Lombardy {{Milan-geo-stub