Sestriere is an alpine village in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, a
comuneIn Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
(municipality) of the
Province of TurinThe Province of Turin is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin.It has an area of 6,830 km², and a total population of 2,277,686 . There are 315 comuni in the province – the most of any province in Italy...
. It is 17 km (10.6 mi) from the French border. Its name derives from Latin:
ad petram sistrariam, that is at sixty Roman miles from
TurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
.
Sestriere is a popular skiing resort; during the winter holidays the population goes up to about 20,000 people. Together with the villages of
PragelatoPragelato is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km west of Turin, in the upper Val Chisone. The name Pragelato, meaning ‘icy meadow’, has been derived from the harsh climate and the fact that the ground is covered with ice for long periods...
,
ClaviereClaviere is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 80 km west of Turin, on the border with France....
,
Sauze d'OulxSauze d'Oulx is a town and comune in the province of Turin, Piedmont located 80 kilometres from Turin in the Val di Susa, at the foot of monte Genevris ....
,
Cesana TorineseCesana Torinese is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km west of Turin, on the border with France.-External links:*...
and San Sicario, and
MontgenèvreMontgenèvre is a commune of the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France.-Geography:Montgenèvre is located in the French Cottian Alps. It is on the Franco-Italian border at the top of the Col de Montgenèvre....
in
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, it makes up the
Via LatteaThe Via Lattea is a winter sports area in the Italian and French Alps, straddling the French-Italian border at Claviere/Montgenèvre. Located some 70km west of Turin, it comprises the five Piedmontese resorts of Claviere , Sansicario , Sauze d'Oulx , Pragelato and Sestriere and additionally the...
(Milky Way) skiing area. Sestriere is connected to 146 skiable pistes, for a total of up to 400 km of trails, of which 120 are provided with artificial snow.
Sestriere is also one of the few facilities where it is possible to ski at night on a floodlit run.
It regularly hosts FIS Alpine Ski World Cup events, and it hosted the
FIS World ChampionshipsThe FIS Alpine World Ski Championships are organized by the International Ski Federation . The first world championships in alpine skiing were held in 1931. During the 1930s, the event was held annually in Europe, until interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, preventing a 1940 event...
in
1997The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1997 were held in Sestriere, northwestern Italy, from February 3-15, 1997.Nine years later, the area would later host the alpine events for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino.-Medals table:...
, and the IPC World Championships in
2011The 2011 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships was held in Sestriere, Italy, from January 14 to January 23, 2011. IPC stands for International Paralympic Committee....
. It was a main venue during the 2006 Winter Olympic Games and the
2006 Winter ParalympicsThe 2006 Winter Paralympic Games, the ninth Winter Paralympics, took place in Turin, Italy from 10 to 19 March 2006. These were the first Winter Paralympic Games to be held in Italy. They were also the first Paralympics to use the new paralympics logo....
, hosting all the men's alpine skiing competitions and being the site of one of the three
Olympic VillageAn Olympic Village is an accommodation centre built for an Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials, athletic trainers, and other staff. Since the Munich Massacre at the 1972...
s.
In the summertime it is possible to play golf on Europe's highest 18-hole course.
It is also a famous starting and arrival point in the
Tour de FranceThe Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
and the
Giro d'ItaliaThe Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
. Notably, it was the scene of a definitive moment in
Lance ArmstrongLance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...
's career when he rode away from the field in a breakaway uphill finish to take the stage in the 1999 Tour de France, which was the first of his seven championships in that race.
The two hotel towers, one of which was part of the Olympic Village, were built in the 1930s by
FIATFIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
's founder
Giovanni AgnelliGiovanni Agnelli was an Italian entrepreneur, who founded Fiat car manufacturing in 1899.-Early life:The son of Edoardo Agnelli and Aniceta Frisetti, he was born in Villar Perosa, a small town near Pinerolo, Piedmont, still the main home and burial place of the Agnelli family...
, and have become the symbol of the village; these were the first buildings of the village.
Linked Resorts
It is a part of the
Via LatteaThe Via Lattea is a winter sports area in the Italian and French Alps, straddling the French-Italian border at Claviere/Montgenèvre. Located some 70km west of Turin, it comprises the five Piedmontese resorts of Claviere , Sansicario , Sauze d'Oulx , Pragelato and Sestriere and additionally the...
(Milky Way) ski area in Italy, where the
2006 Winter OlympicsThe 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
were held.
PragelatoPragelato is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km west of Turin, in the upper Val Chisone. The name Pragelato, meaning ‘icy meadow’, has been derived from the harsh climate and the fact that the ground is covered with ice for long periods...
- the resort is part of the Via lattea(
Milky WayThe Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
) , is connected to this area by the Pattemouche-Anfiteatro cableway, built in 2006. There is a wide variety of activities for tourists, who can enjoy any kind of sport, in summer a 9-hole golf course can be played. Pragelato is a natural paradise for cross-country skiing, you have the chance to try the Olympic course supplied with planned snow-making system over 10 km as well as the tourist course that winds along the gorgeous scenarios of the Val Troncea Natural Park.
The ski-jumping stadium present the Olympic heritage, which highlights the tourist-sport development of this resort.
ClaviereClaviere is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 80 km west of Turin, on the border with France....
- This small resort is just over the border in Italy and is included in the Monts de la lune lift pass. It is where the Olympic cross country ski teams practised for the Olympics in 2006.
San Sicario - They held the Biathlon and Alpine skiing events here in the 2006 winter Olympics. They also held the Bobsleigh and luge events here. You can attempt the Olympic women's super G and downhill courses.
Sauze d'OulxSauze d'Oulx is a town and comune in the province of Turin, Piedmont located 80 kilometres from Turin in the Val di Susa, at the foot of monte Genevris ....
- Free Style Skiing Olympic events held here in 2006. The resort is acclaimed for its lively apres-ski.
Serre ChevalierSerre Chevalier is one of the major French ski resorts. Located in the southern part of the Alps, close to the Parc National des Ecrins, in the Hautes-Alpes department of the French Alps, it enjoys a large skiing area and very sunny weather, boasting 300 days of sunshine a year...
- Nearby French resort with over 250 km of skiing. There is a free day of skiing here on your lift pass.
History
The ski resorts at Sestriere were developed from the 1930s by the
AgnelliAgnelli is a surname, and can refer to:*Members of the Agnelli family of Italy, including:**Giovanni Agnelli , Italian manufacturer and founder of Fiat***Edoardo Agnelli , Italian industrialist, son of Giovanni...
family.
External links