Terziere

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A terziere (plural: terzieri) is a subdivision of certain Italian towns. The word is from terzo, or third; and is thus used only for towns divided into three neighborhoods. Terzieri are most commonly met with in Umbria, as for example at Trevi, Spello, Narni and Città della Pieve; but there are towns divided into terzieri in other regions as well, as for example Lucca in Tuscany and Macerata in the Marche.

Other Italian towns with more than three official neighborhoods are frequently divided into analogous quartieri (4, whence the English word "quarter" to mean a neighborhood) or sestieri (6); some towns merely refer to these neighborhoods by the non-number-specific rioni. Terzieri, quartieri, sestieri, rioni, and their analogues are usually no longer administrative divisions of these towns, but historical and traditional communities, most often seen in their sharpest relief in the town's annual palio.

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