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 also ...

'' 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 re ...

. 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 S ...

, near Innichen 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 had ...

, where the Drava 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 i ...

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 Itali ...

. 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 it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtiro ...

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 landscape ...

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

Kartitsch Kartitsch is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography Kartitsch lies on both sides of the Gail River, near its confluence with the Puster Valley. The municipal area of Kartitsch is bounded in the north of t ...

(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 Superio ...

( Belluno) 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, i ...

, (Belluno).

History

The village's name is of Latin origin: ''ad horam sexta'', meaning "at six-hour", referred to its location south to Innichen. ''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 one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 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 to b ...

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 Kaza ...

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 with: *

Sankt Veit in Defereggen Sankt Veit in Defereggen is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. Th ...

, 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