Sestriere

Sestriere
Comune
Comune di Sestriere
Sestriere in September 2006
Sestriere Location of Sestriere in Italy
Coordinates: 44°57′N 6°53′E / 44.950°N 6.883°E / 44.950; 6.883Coordinates: 44°57′N 6°53′E / 44.950°N 6.883°E / 44.950; 6.883
Country	Italy
Region	Piedmont
Province / Metropolitan city	Province of Turin (TO)
Government
• Mayor	Walter Marin
Area
• Total	25 km2 (10 sq mi)
Elevation	2,035 m (6,677 ft)
Population (2008)
• Total	886
• Density	35/km2 (92/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Sestrieresi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	10058
Dialing code	0122
Patron saint	Saint Edward
Saint day	13 October
Website	Official website

Sestriere (Occitan: Sestrieras, Piedmontese: Ël Sestrier, French: Sestrières) is an alpine village in Italy, a comune (municipality) of the Province of Turin. It is situated in Val Susa, 17 km (11 mi) from the French border. Its name derives from Latin: ad petram sistrariam, that is at sixty Roman miles from Turin.

Sestriere has around 800 inhabitants and is located on the pass that links Val Chisone and Val Susa, at 2,035 metres (6,677 feet) above mean sea level The village is completely surrounded by mountains, which have been exploited to build one of the biggest ski resorts in Italy. The main mountains around Sestriere are: Monte Fraiteve 2,701 m (8,862 ft) in the north-east, Monte Sises 2,658 m (8,720 ft), Punta Rognosa di Sestriere 3,280 m (10,761 ft) and Monte Motta 2,850 m (9,350 ft) in the south-east. Sestriere is divided into several smaller hamlets: Sestriere Colle, on the pass top, Sestriere Borgata, in Val Chisone, Champlas du Col and Champlas Janvier, in Val Susa.

Formerly, the pass belonged to the municipality of Cesana, but from the 18 October 1934 the area was unified with the hamlet of Borgata (formerly belonging to Pragelato) to create the new municipality of Sestriere. The ski resorts at Sestriere were built in the 1930s by Giovanni Agnelli and have been further developed after the Second World War by his nephew Giovanni Nasi.

Sestriere is a popular skiing resort; during the winter holidays the population goes up to about 20,000 people. Together with the villages of Pragelato, Claviere, Sauze d'Oulx, Cesana Torinese and San Sicario, and Montgenèvre in France, it makes up the Via Lattea (Milky Way) skiing area. Sestriere is connected to 146 skiable pistes, for a total of up to 400 km (249 mi) of trails, of which 120 are provided with artificial snow. Sestriere has also one of the few facilities where it is possible to ski at night on a floodlit run.