Sesto Calende
Welcome to Sesto Calende: a city immersed in nature!
Sesto Calende is a small town of 11,160 inhabitants located in the province of Varese, in Lombardy. The city is famous for its privileged location, situated at the southern end of Lake Maggiore, where the Ticino river resumes its course towards the Po. The territory is surrounded by hills and immersed in the nature of the Lombard Nature Park of the Ticino Valley.
An ancient and charming territory
The Mediolanum-Verbannus Road
If you are passionate about history, the city of Sesto Calende is the place for you! In fact, the territory of Sesto Calende was crossed by the famous "Mediolanum-Verbannus" road, one of the main Roman roads that connected Milan to Lake Maggiore. This road was a crossroads of ancient trades and cultural exchanges, representing a testimony of the city's past.
The rapids of the Ticino river
But it is not only ancient history that excites visitors to Sesto Calende. In fact, until the advent of the railway, the economy of the city was based on navigation on the Ticino river. The boats were owned by local merchants who entrusted them to guides called "paroni". These were expert navigators who knew all the treacherous rapids of the river, coming exclusively from the municipalities of Golasecca and Castelletto Ticino. They held a sort of "license" and no one else could enter their corporation without their permission.
The charm of the name of Sesto Calende
A city at Sextum
The name of the city derives from the fact that Sesto Calende was six miles away from Somma Lombardo, another important locality along the "Mediolanum-Verbannus" road. In fact, the name "Sesto" (lat. "Ad Sextum") means "at the sixth mile".
A reference to the Calends
The specification "Calende" instead derives from the Latin "Kalendarum", with a reference to the "calends", which recalls the period in which the public market was held in Roman civilization in this city. This name is a reference to the historical period that saw Sesto Calende as a protagonist of ancient commercial exchanges.
Sesto Calende: a city with an ancient heart
Modern era
Already belonging to the Contado del Seprio as the seat of sculdascio, and subsequently to the Pieve di Angera, from the mid-eleventh century until 1820, it belonged to the diocese of Pavia. In the Napoleonic era (1811), the neighboring municipality of Golasecca was annexed to Sesto Calende, which regained autonomy in 1816, following the establishment of the Lombardy-Venetian Kingdom.
An unchanged charm
Despite the passage of time, Sesto Calende remains a city with an ancient charm, capable of enchanting its visitors with its natural beauty and historical testimonies. Thanks to its title of city in Italy, Sesto Calende is today an increasingly popular destination for tourists looking for places with an ancient charm where they can relax and enjoy the nature. If you are looking for a place to spend your time immersed in the beauty of Lombard nature, then Sesto Calende is the right city for you!
