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{{short description|Comune and village in South Tyrol in northern Italy}}
{{use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox Italian comune
| name                = Sexten
| official_name       = Gemeinde Sexten<br>Comune di Sesto
| native_name         = 
| image_skyline       = Sexten 2021-10-28.jpg
| imagesize           = 
| image_alt           = 
| image_caption       = 
| image_shield        = Sexten (comune in Italy) coat of arms.png
| shield_alt          = 
| image_map           = 
| map_alt             = 
| map_caption         = 
| pushpin_label_position = 
| pushpin_map_alt     = 
| coordinates         = {{coord|46|42|N|12|21|E|region:IT_type:city(1937)|display=inline}}
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| region              = {{RegioneIT|sigla=TAA}}
| province            = [[South Tyrol]] (BZ)
| frazioni            = Kiniger (Quiniga), Mitterberg (Monte di Mezzo), Schmieden (Ferrara), St. Veit (San Vito), Moos (Moso)
| mayor_party         = [[South Tyrolean People's Party|SVP]]
| mayor               = Thomas Summerer
| area_footnotes      = 
| area_total_km2      = 80
| population_footnotes = <ref name="istat">All demographics and other statistics from the Italian statistical institute ([[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|Istat]])</ref>
| population_total    = 1817
| population_as_of    = 31-07-2025
| pop_density_footnotes = 
| population_demonym  = German: Sextner<br>Italian: di Sesto
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m         = 1310
| twin1               = 
| twin1_country       = 
| saint               = 
| day                 = 
| postal_code         = 39030
| area_code           = 0474
| website             = {{official website|https://www.sesto.eu/de}}
| footnotes           = 
}}
'''Sexten''' ({{IPA|de|ˈsɛkstn̩}}; {{langx|it|Sesto}} {{IPA|it|ˈsɛsto|}}) is a ''[[comune]]'' and a village in [[South Tyrol]] in northern [[Italy]]. 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 language|Ladin]] as first language.<ref name="Volkszählung 2024/Censimento della popolazione 2024">{{cite journal |date=December 2024 |title=Ergebnisse Sprachgruppenzählung 2024/Risultati Censimento linguistico 2024 |journal=astat info |issue=56 |publisher=Provincial Statistics Institute of the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol|url=https://astat.provinz.bz.it/de/aktuelles-publikationen-info.asp?news_action=300&news_image_id=1160209 |access-date=2024-12-09 }}</ref>

==Geography==
The town sits in a branch of the [[Puster Valley]], near [[Innichen]] and [[Toblach]], where the [[Drava]] rises. The district borders [[East Tyrol]], [[Austria]], to the north and the border is formed by the [[Carnic Alps]]. To the south lie the [[Wiktionary:eponymous|eponymous]] [[Sexten Dolomites]] and  [[nature park]], which includes the famous [[Tre Cime di Lavaredo|Drei Zinnen (Tre Cime di Lavaredo)]].
[[File:Dolomiti di Sesto viste dal Monte Elmo.jpg|thumb|700px|center|Sexten Dolomites seen from Mount Elmo]]
The municipality is bordered, clockwise from the west, by Toblach, Innichen, [[Sillian]] (Austria), [[Kartitsch]] (Austria), [[Comelico Superiore]] ([[Belluno]]) 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]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Martin Bitschnau |author2= Hannes Obermair |title=Tiroler Urkundenbuch, II. Abteilung: Die Urkunden zur Geschichte des Inn-, Eisack- und Pustertals. Vol. 1: Bis zum Jahr 1140 |publisher=Universitätsverlag Wagner |place=Innsbruck |year=2009 |isbn=978-3-7030-0469-8 |pages=99–102, no. 134}}</ref> During [[World War I]], 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, descending from the Monte Croce di Comelico pass. However, if the terms of the Paris peace conference had been applied to the letter, the town would have remained Austrian, as it was located east of the Toblach Saddle, a physical border and watershed; however, this did not happen and by 1920 Sexten had passed under Italian sovereignty.<ref>[https://www.montagna.tv/257581/la-grande-guerra-rivive-sulle-dolomiti-di-sesto/ La grande Guerra rivive sulle Dolomiti di Sesto] {{in lang|it}} montagna.tv</ref> Later it received further fortifications during the [[Fascism in Italy|Fascist Era]].
[[File:150224 Doroth Val Fiscalina Petrides.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Historical view of Sexten and the "Sexten Sundial" (Sexten Dolomites) in an oil painting by Konrad Petrides around 1900]]

==Coat-of-arms==
The emblem is [[Azure (heraldry)|azure]] and represents three [[argent]] peaks with a [[sable (heraldry)|sable]] 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.<ref>[http://www.ngw.nl/int/ita/s/sexten.htm Heraldry of the World: Sexten]</ref>

However, this symbol pre-existed its formal adoption: it had been affixed above the entrance to the town hall since the end of the First World War. The design is attributed to the painter Albert Stolz.<ref>Rudolf Holzer, ''Sesto. Da comunità agricola di montagna a zona turistica'', Ed. Tappeiner, 2000.</ref>

The gonfalon is a flag divided into white and red.

==Twin towns==
Sexten is [[town twinning|twinned]] with:

* {{flagicon|Austria}} [[Sankt Veit in Defereggen]], Austria
* {{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[Zermatt]], Switzerland

== Notable people ==
* [[Hilarius of Sexten]] (1839-1900), Austrian Capuchin moral theologian
* [[Michael Innerkofler]] (1848-1888), Austro-Hungarian mountaineer
* [[Patrick Holzer ]] (born 1970), alpine skier
* [[Jannik Sinner]] (born 2001), tennis player

== See also ==
*[[Sextental]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category-inline}}
* [https://www.sesto.eu Homepage of the Municipality] {{in lang|de|it}}

{{South Tyrol}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Municipalities of South Tyrol]]