San Candido is located near the saddle of Dobbiaco, on the other side of the Alpine watershed, as it is crossed by the river Drava, a tributary of the Danube. San Candido and the nearby Sesto are therefore among the few Italian municipalities that do not belong to the Italian geographical region because they belong to the Danube catchment area. The toponym is attested as India in 769, Intihha in 822 and Intichingen in 1070 and maybe derives from the Latin name Indius through an *Intica form. The Italian name San Candido (already established in use for some time) was given, accepting only in part the suggestion of Ettore Tolomei (who had proposed San Candido alla Drava) from that of the co-patron of the collegiate church. Moreover, it is attested in Ladin in 1915 San Ciana, still used by the Province of Bolzano for its texts in Ladin.
