Sesto San Giovanni, locally referred to as just Sesto, is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. Its railway station is the northernmost stop on the Milan Metro M1 line. The comune has the honorary title of city, despite being a de facto suburb of Milan.
An unimportant agglomerate of buildings until the 19th century, Sesto San Giovanni grew during the end of the 19th century and in the early 20th century, becoming the site of several industries, including companies such as Falck, Campari, Magneti Marelli and Breda. In that period the population increased rapidly, from 5,000 inhabitants in 1880 to 14,000 in 1911. After World War II, Sesto became populated by many migrants from other parts of Italy, leading to an increased population of 95,000 inhabitants in 1981. Sesto used to be referred to as the "Stalingrad of Italy", due to the strong historical presence of the Italian Communist Party and to its resistance to fascism in World War Two.
Because of its diverse and growing industries, Sesto has drawn many immigrants. Census statistics from 2016 state that 17% of the population is composed of immigrants.