Sexten (; ) is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' and a village in

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

in northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The village is famous as a summer and winter sport resort in the mountains.

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2024 census, 92.37% of the population speak German, 7.38% Italian and 0.25% Ladin as first language.

Geography

The town sits in a branch of the Puster Valley, near Innichen and Toblach, where the

Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.

rises. The district borders East Tyrol,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, to the north and the border is formed by the

Carnic Alps The Carnic Alps (; ; ; ) are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Italian Friuli (Province of Udine) and marginally in Veneto. Etymology They are ...

. To the south lie the

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

Sexten Dolomites and nature park, which includes the famous Drei Zinnen (Tre Cime di Lavaredo). The commune is bordered, clockwise from the west, by Toblach, Innichen, Sillian (Austria), Kartitsch (Austria), Comelico Superiore (

Belluno Belluno (; ; ) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the Capital (political), capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites region. W ...

) and Auronzo di Cadore, (Belluno).

History

The village's name is of Latin origin: ''ad horam sextam'', meaning "at the sixth hour", referring to its location south of Innichen. ''Sexta'' is documented starting from 965 AD, due to its connections to the Bavarian Prince-Bishopric of Freising. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 is currently ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the ATP, the first Italian to reach the top ranking. Sinner has won 19 singles titles on the ATP Tour ...

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 Kaz ...

chamois standing in the centre; the three peaks symbolize the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. The emblem was granted in 1972 but was in use before World War I.Heraldry of the World: Sexten
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Twin towns

Sexten is twinned with: * Sankt Veit in Defereggen, Austria *

Zermatt Zermatt (, ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Visp (district), Visp in the German language, German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is cl ...

, Switzerland

Notable residents

(born 2001), tennis player was raised in Sexten

References

External links

Homepage of the municipality
{{Authority control Municipalities of South Tyrol