A
terziere (plural:
terzieri) is a subdivision of several towns in
Italy. The word derives from
terzo, meaning "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; towns divided into
terzieri in other regions include
Lucca in
Tuscany.
Ancona and
Macerata in the
Marches. The medieval
Lordship of Negroponte, in the island of
Euboea, was also divided into three distinct rulerships, which were known as
terzieri.
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.