Location: Veneto
Venice (Italian: Venezia) is the capital of the
Veneto region. As a trading city and capital of a colonial empire in
the eastern Mediterranean, Venice was one of the richest cities in
the world in the Middle Ages and still has a rare concentration of
cultural treasures today. The part of the city located in the lagoon
has preserved its uniqueness, where to this day traffic flows only
on foot or by boat.
The islands of the lagoon were settled as
early as the 5th century. According to legend, mainlanders fleeing
from the Huns founded settlements on the lagoon islands.
In
the Middle Ages, Venice became the most powerful maritime republic
thanks to the wealth acquired through a monopoly on the trade of
various goods from Asia and the Orient. Through numerous conquests
in the Adriatic and Aegean areas, Venice became the most important
military power in the eastern Mediterranean. With the European
discovery of America and the sea route to India at the end of the
15th century, Venice's importance as a trading power gradually began
to wane. In the 17th century, Venice gradually lost all conquered
areas in the Aegean to the Ottoman Empire. The conquest by Napoleon
in 1797 finally ended Venice's independence. From 1815 Venice
belonged to Austria-Hungary until 1866 when it became part of the
newly founded state of Italy.
Today the historic center still
has about 55,000 inhabitants and the trend is decreasing. Since the
middle of the 20th century, the population has shifted sharply from
the historical center and the islands to the mainland: while in 1951
55% of the inhabitants still lived in the historical centre, 14% on
the offshore islands and 21% in the mainland districts In 2006 only
23% in the historic center, 11% on the offshore islands and two
thirds on the mainland. Since the 1970s, however, the total
population of Venice (including the mainland districts) has also
been declining: from 363,000 in 1971 to 261,000 in 2017.
Economically, Venice is dependent on tourism, but with 30 million
tourists a year, the city is increasingly reaching its limits.
Especially in the warmer months, congested roads, overcrowded boats
and gigantic amounts of rubbish bring Venice to its breaking point.
That is why there have been demands for years to limit mass tourism.
An entrance fee for St. Mark's Square and a ban on cruise ships are
being discussed. At least the largest ships are to be diverted in
the future (from 2019) to reduce the environmental impact.
In
addition to the "island city", other mainland towns also belong to
the municipality of Venice (Tessera, Mestre, Marghera, Campalto,
Trivignano and others). They are more industrial or have the
character of "dormitory towns" and therefore have little to offer to
tourists. Venice is also the capital of the province of Venice and
the Veneto region.
In several points of the city there are indications written in black on a yellow background which indicate the direction to follow to reach the most important places. If in doubt, it is advisable to follow the direction shown by these indications.
The city
is divided into six districts listed below:
Cannaregio
Castello
Dorsoduro
San
Marco
San Polo
Santa Croce/ Holy Cross
Popular groups
San Marco square (Piazza San Marco)
Furthermore, in the lagoon there are various islands and settlements which are better explained in the article on the Venice Lagoon.
The monuments of the municipality of Venice are found almost entirely
in the historic center and on the islands of the lagoon.
The most
famous place in the city is Piazza San Marco, the only one in the
historic center to be characterized by the toponym "piazza": the other
squares are in fact called "campi" or "campielli". The Basilica of San
Marco is located in the center of the square, colored with gold and
covered with mosaics that tell the story of Venice, together with the
bas-reliefs that depict the months of the year. Above the main door, the
four bronze horses from the imperial palace of Constantinople [Note 5],
which were transported to Venice following the fourth crusade of 1204 on
the orders of doge Dandolo (commander of the crusade). The Greek cross
plan is dominated by five large domes. The factory is the third basilica
dedicated to San Marco that stands in this place: the first two were
destroyed. This version was inspired by the church of the Holy Apostles
of Constantinople (destroyed by the Muslims a few years after the
conquest of 1453), of which it is a sort of small-scale replica. The
interior is covered with gold background mosaics depicting biblical and
allegorical passages. Initially, it was the chapel of the Doges of the
Republic of Venice.
The Palazzo Ducale stands next to the
Basilica: to unite them, the Porta della Carta, the work of Bartolomeo
Bono, which is the exit of the Palazzo Ducale museum. The main entrance
is on the side facing the lagoon. Seat of the government of the
Serenissima, it was built in the 15th century with Istrian marble. Here
stood a castle, then set on fire to let out Pietro IV Candiano who had
found refuge there during a revolt. Now the Palazzo is a museum, with
works by the best Venetian artists: the Sansoviniana Library, which is
located inside, hosts temporary exhibitions. Worth seeing are the Sala
del Maggior Consiglio, which for centuries was the largest seat of
government in the world, the Bridge of Sighs, the prisons and the
Piombi.
Opposite the Palazzo Ducale stands the bell tower of San
Marco: built in 1173 as a lighthouse for sailors, it was restored by
Bartolomeo Bon in the 15th century. It collapsed on July 14, 1902 and
was entirely rebuilt. The loggia in red Verona marble is a work by
Jacopo Sansovino, and on it there are bas-reliefs depicting allegories
with the exploits of the Republic of Leone.
Other important
Venetian monuments are the Arsenale, the basilica of Santa Maria della
Salute, the basilica of Santa Maria gloriosa dei Frari, the synagogues
of the Ghetto.
Venice is also famous for its historic cafés.
Imported from the Ottoman Empire around 1615, from 1683 coffeehouses
sprang up throughout the city. On 29 December 1720 the famous Caffè
Florian was opened, still active in Piazza San Marco, under the
Procuratie Nuove, in 1775 it was the turn instead of the equally famous
Caffè Quadri.
The sought-after Peggy Guggenheim museum is also
located in Venice, where there are great works by artists including
Ernst, Modigliani, Picasso, Mirò, Pollock and Kandinsky. Important
tourist destinations in the lagoon are the islands of Murano, Burano and
Torcello. The island of Lido is instead a renowned seaside resort, as
well as home to the famous Venice Film Festival.
There are countless noteworthy churches that can be found in the
lagoon city, both for their architectural merits and for the artistic
treasures contained therein. Among the most important are the octagonal
Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, with its imposing dome that stands
out at the inlet of the Grand Canal and the famous and majestic Basilica
of San Marco, the city's cathedral and seat of the Patriarch and
Patriarchate of Venice, located in the homonymous square, next to the
Doge's Palace.
Among the other important religious buildings,
there are: the basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the church of
Santa Maria dei Miracoli, the church of San Francesco della Vigna, the
church of San Zaccaria, the basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, the
church of the Redeemer, the latter built on the island of Giudecca to a
design by Andrea Palladio, and the basilica of San Pietro di Castello
which includes two chapels by Veronese, as well as having been the
primitive cathedral of the city until 1807.
Venice is full of stately buildings, overlooking campi, calli, canals
and canals, ancient residences of the richest Venetian families of the
city's golden age.
Apart from the schools and institutional
buildings such as Palazzo Ducale, almost all the palaces are identified
with the name of the family who founded them or who left their mark on
them the most. Among the most famous are Palazzo Fortuny, in Gothic
style donated to the city of Venice by the widow of the Spanish artist
Mariano Fortuny, Palazzo Grassi, the work of Giorgio Massari, Palazzo
Mocenigo with its Renaissance-style facade, Palazzo Grimani, state-owned
and seat of the Court of appeal and Palazzo Loredan in gothic style.
Often two or more families are mentioned in the name such as Palazzo
Cavalli-Franchetti, or Palazzo Gritti-Badoer, or the branch of the
family is specified (eg Palazzo Morosini del Pestrin).
Many
private residences, on the other hand, maintain the traditional Ca'
denomination, which indicated the name of the lineage and the building:
for example Ca' Foscari, seat of the city university of the same name,
Ca' Corner, designed in the 16th century by Jacopo Sansovino, Ca'
Rezzonico , in the Dorsoduro district and designed by Longhena, Palazzo
Balbi, seat of the President and the Regional Council of the Veneto
Region, Ca' Pesaro, Ca' Tron, Ca' Vendramin Calergi and Ca' Dario, sadly
known for the tragic fate of some of its owners.
The use of the
Italian Casa (eg Casa Venier) is more recent. Some small buildings are
often referred to as Palazzetto (e.g. Palazzetto Stern).
In
Venice, given its ancient commercial vocation, there are also
warehouses, ancient buildings of medieval origin used as a warehouse and
shelter for foreign merchants. Along the Grand Canal you can see the
fondaco dei Tedeschi, the fondaco dei Turchi and the fondaco del Megio.
Due to its conformation, Venice has 435 public and private bridges
that connect the 118 islands on which it is built, crossing 176 canals.
Most of them are built in stone, other common materials are wood and
iron. The longest is the Ponte della Libertà which crosses the Venetian
lagoon, connecting the city with the mainland and thus allowing
vehicular traffic. The project dates back to 1931, by the engineer
Eugenio Miozzi, while its inauguration took place in 1933, with the name
of Ponte Littorio.
The main canal that cuts through the city, the
Grand Canal, is crossed by four bridges: the Rialto bridge is the oldest
(built around the 16th century); the Accademia bridge; the Scalzi
bridge, the latter built under the Habsburg domination and rebuilt in
the 20th century, and finally the Constitution bridge, erected in 2008
on a project by the architect Santiago Calatrava.
Another symbol
of the city is the Rialto bridge: the work of Antonio Da Ponte, it was
built in 1591. It was the only way to cross the Grand Canal on foot: in
fact, it remained the only bridge until 1854, when the bridge was built
dell'Accademia (to which the Scalzi bridge and the Constitution bridge
were later added). On the sides of the central body there are luxury
shops while, at the end of the bridge, in the San Polo district, there
are the fruit and vegetable market, the covered building of the fish
market and the church of San Giacomo di Rialto.
Furthermore, one
of the most famous bridges in Venice is the Bridge of Sighs. Built in
Istrian stone in the 17th century to a design by the architect Antonio
Contin, it connects the Palazzo Ducale with the New Prisons.
Venice at the time of the Serenissima had many theaters, for both musical and dramaturgical or comedy performances, many of which were housed in patrician palaces, such as for example the Palazzo Grassi theater renovated in 2013 or in buildings of undoubted architectural interest, such as the eighteenth-century Teatro La Fenice (1792), the Teatro Goldoni (dating back to 1622, although completely renovated in the seventies) and the Teatro Malibran (1678).
The largest library in the city, and one of the largest in Italy, is
the Marciana National Library. It is located in Piazza San Marco,
has about 1,000,000 volumes, specializes in classical philology and
history of Venice, has one of the most valuable collections of
Greek, Latin and Oriental manuscripts in the world. The building
that houses it is the work of the architect Jacopo Sansovino. The
Marciana was officially established in 1560, although already in the
fourteenth century Francesco Petrarca had the idea of creating a
public library in this city. After the fall of the Republic, with
the transformation of the Procuratie Nuove into Palazzo Reale, the
library was moved to Palazzo Ducale, but after the First World War,
due to the limited spaces and the growth of the literary heritage,
the library found a new location in the Palazzo della Zecca.
The State Archive of Venice is located in the former Frari convent
which, with its 70 km of shelves, houses the documentation produced
over a thousand years by the Republic of Venice, from its birth to
the 20th century. Its patrimony consists of a very rich collection
of parchments, papers and drawings, preserved in the hundreds of
rooms (the ancient monks' cells) located around the cloisters, which
testify not only the history of the Serenissima, but also of the
whole world that entertained diplomatic and trade relations with it.
Established in 1815, since 1866 the archives produced by the offices
of the Italian State located in Venice have also flowed into it.
The library of the Querini Stampalia Foundation, in Campo Santa
Maria Formosa with headquarters in Palazzo Querini Stampalia,
collects mainly scientific and naturalistic material, fulfilling the
role of civic library of the city thanks to the availability of
around 350,000 volumes. The library was commissioned in 1868 by N.H.
Giovanni Querini Stampalia, who died the following year without
direct heirs. It underwent an important restoration by the architect
Carlo Scarpa between 1959 and 1963 and more recently by Mario Botta.
The Giorgio Cini Foundation manages a library on the island of
San Giorgio Maggiore, in the rooms of the former Benedictine
monastery, recently restored by Michele De Lucchi, which deals with
the history of Venice, literature, music, theater and melodrama, but
above all specializes in art history, to which a core of over
150,000 volumes and about 800 periodicals are dedicated, 200 of
which are current.
Important specialized collections are also
those of the university libraries of Ca' Foscari (over 830,000
volumes), of the IUAV (about 170,000 volumes), of the Academy of
Fine Arts (about 16,000 inventoried volumes) and of the Benedetto
Marcello Conservatory (over 50 000 volumes). Other libraries with a
significant number of works are: the Monumental Library of the
Patriarchal Seminary of Venice (163,000 volumes and other important
works of art), and the Library of the Cavanis Institute (60,000
volumes).
The Venetian Jewish community manages the "Renato
Maestro" library-archive, located in the Ghetto. Officially
established in 1981, it now offers around 12,000 titles and a
"Catalogue of ancient Jewish books" which includes 2,500 volumes
dating back to the 16th-19th centuries.
On the island of San
Lazzaro degli Armeni, the library is considered the most significant
collection of Armenian manuscripts preserved in the West. Founded in
1740, it has 170,000 volumes of which 4,500 are manuscripts.
Some civic museums also manage dedicated specialist libraries: that
of the Correr Museum (135,000 modern volumes, over 8,000 ancient and
more than 12,000 manuscripts), Ca' Pesaro (over 25,000 volumes), the
Centro Studi di Storia del Tessuto and of the Costume of Palazzo
Mocenigo (over 25,000 volumes and about 13,000 fashion sketches),
and of Casa Goldoni Theater Studies (over 30,000 volumes).
As
far as civic libraries are concerned, the "Venice Library Network"
brings together 23 public and specialist libraries, seven of which
are located in the historic centre, four on the islands and twelve
on the mainland. Since 1980, the Civic Library of Mestre VEZ has
been designated as the central library, opened to the public in 1953
and moved to Villa Erizzo since 2013, which has about 100,000
volumes and 60 periodicals in a total area of 2015 m² .
Of the various secondary schools in Venice, some historical
institutes should be mentioned, such as the "Foscarini" classical
high schools, founded in 1807 by decree of Eugenio di Beauharnais,
viceroy of Italy and "Marco Polo", established in 1812. Among the
high schools located in Mestre, we can mention the Raimondo
Franchetti classical high school. Another historical institute is
the Cavanis Institute of 1804 founded by religious, while the
Benedetti-Tommaseo Institute is a large, more modern centre.
To these we can add the well-known Naval School "Morosini", which
continues the ancient College of young nobles, founded on 2 October
1961 and based on the island of Sant'Elena.
Venice is an important Italian university seat, in fact it has more
than one university. The most famous is the Ca' Foscari University,
which offers degree courses in economics and commerce, foreign
languages and literature, literature and philosophy, and natural
sciences. Founded in 1868 as the first Business School in Italy and
second in Europe, after that of Antwerp, it has its main office at
Ca' Foscari, a Gothic palace overlooking the Grand Canal.
For
the studies of architecture, fashion, design and urban planning,
there is the IUAV University, established in 1926, as the second
architecture school in Italy, after that of Rome, on the initiative
of Giovanni Bordiga, then president of the Academy of Fine Arts from
Venice.
The Academy of Fine Arts was founded on 24 September
1750 by the will of the Venetian Senate as the "Venetian academy of
painting, sculpture and architecture", with Gianbattista Piazzetta
as its first president. Among the artists who taught there are:
Tiepolo, Hayez, Ettore Tito, Alberto Viani, Carlo Scarpa and Emilio
Vedova. The main seat of the university is housed in the former
Ospedale degli Incurabili, at the fondamenta delle Zattere.
Also in Venice, the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory has been present
since 1876, housed in Palazzo Pisani.
In 1995 the Venice
International University was founded, an international training and
research consortium in which the Ca' Foscari University, the IUAV,
the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the Autonomous
University of Barcelona participate, among others. The seat of the
institution is located on the island of San Servolo, in a building
that once housed a monastery.
Venice is also the only Italian
city to host a Faculty of Canon Law, the "San Pio X", erected by the
Congregation for Catholic Education in 2008 within the Studium
Generale Marcianum. Commissioned by the then Cardinal Patriarch
Angelo Scola, the faculty is housed in the restored palace of the
patriarchal Seminary, adjacent to the Basilica della Salute. Also
part of the academic pedagogical center of the Studium Generale
Marcianum is the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences "San Lorenzo
Giustiniani", erected in 2006, and part of the Theological Faculty
of Triveneto.
Mestre is home to the Nursing degree course of
the University of Padua, the IUAV Building Science Laboratory and
the Ca' Foscari Scientific Campus.
Mindful of the long
Venetian maritime tradition, in 1999 the Navy chose the headquarters
of the Venice Arsenal as the seat of the Institute of Maritime
Military Studies for the higher education of its officers.
Inside the monastery of San Nicolò al Lido there is the headquarters
of the European Master in Human Rights.
The Veneto Institute of Sciences, Letters and Arts is an Italian
academy. The Institute's purpose "is to increase, disseminate and
protect science, literature and the arts". For this purpose, in
addition to ordinary academic activity, it periodically promotes
scientific and humanistic events, study meetings, conventions,
seminars, international specialization schools and the organization
of art exhibitions.
The Ateneo Veneto is an institution whose
purpose is to collaborate in the dissemination of science,
literature, the arts and culture, in all their manifestations. The
activities promoted by the Ateneo Veneto involve: history, history
of art and goldsmithing, music, medicine, cinema, theatre,
economics, architecture and literature, involving all categories of
knowledge. They take place on days dedicated to various activities
throughout the year. All the activities promoted by the institute
are free to enter and free of charge.
The Giorgio Cini Foundation
is a non-profit organization established by Count Vittorio Cini. The
aim is to promote the restoration of the monumental complex on the
island of San Giorgio Maggiore and to encourage the development of
educational, social, cultural and artistic institutions in the area,
in collaboration with existing ones. In addition to its research
activities, exhibitions and conferences, shows and concerts, the
Foundation hosts congresses and conferences of scientific and
cultural organizations and hosts initiatives of absolute importance
in the field of international relations.
The Venice Biennale is a
cultural society born in 1895 with the organization of the first
Biennial Art Exhibition in the world in order to stimulate artistic
activity and the art market in the city of Venice. It aims to
promote new artistic trends and organizes international events in
the contemporary arts.
The regatta of the befanas. January 6th.
Epiphany in Sant'Erasmo
(Sant'Erasmo). January 6th. At 05:00 a "berolon" (bonfire) is
erected a few steps from the square; they offer pancakes, sweets and
mulled wine.
Carnival of Venice. In the 10 days preceding Lent
between February and March. The most famous carnival in Italy.
Up
and down the bridges. March April. Non-competitive march
Vogalonga. May. Regatta.
Feast of the violet artichoke, Torre
Massimiliana (Sant'Erasmo). second Sunday in May. Born in 2007, it
offers tasting and sale of local products and demonstrations of
different ways of cooking the artichoke.
Night Marathon. June.
Night running race.
Feast of Christ the King (Sant'Erasmo). first
Sunday in June. Patron Saint day
Feast of the Redeemer. Third
Sunday of July. Great popular festival.
The Venice Biennale,
Palazzo del Cinema di Venezia, Lido di Venezia. end of August -
beginning of September. Attend the annual film festival, the oldest
of its kind. Book in advance as the island is small and hotels fill
up. Many celebrities attend this annual event, so have your camera
ready.
Historical Regatta. First Sunday of September.
Venice
Marathon. October.
Festival of must (Sant'Erasmo). first or
second Sunday of October. It is an event dedicated to must, the
freshly pressed juice used to make wine. It is in fact "torbolino",
a wine obtained from white grapes, not totally fermented, cloudy,
slightly sparkling and sweet.
Our Lady of Health. November 21st.
Ice skating, Campo San Polo. Winter period.
A gondola ride.
During the day (08:00-19:00) € 80.00 for 30 minutes with a maximum
of 6 people and in the evening/night (19:00-08:00) € 100.00 for 35
minutes with a maximum of 6 people. The hourly rate is 20 minutes
and is €40.00 during the day and €50.00 in the evening/night. You
can choose between a standard route or a customized route. In the
latter case, an additional fee is required for a longer route.
Excursion to the islands (Green Line). €18 (Aug 2021). Excursion to
the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello. With a stop of 40
minutes per island. Departure from various points in Venice.
The Venice-Tessera Airport "Marco Polo" (IATA: VCE) in Mestre is
located 8 km north of the lagoon city. The onward journey can be
done either by road or by boat.
By taxi: To Piazzale Roma travel
time approx. 15 minutes, approx. 30 euros. Taxis wait in front of
the terminal building.
By bus: ATVO buses run non-stop to
Piazzale Roma in 20 minutes for €8. Line 5 of the ACTV also costs €8
and has a few stops and takes a few minutes longer.
By water
taxi: If you want to take a water taxi – the journey time to St.
Mark’s Square is around 35 minutes – you can pay €120 during the day
and €150 for the service in the evenings and at night. The booking
can be made either through the hotel or directly in the arrivals
hall. Shared water taxis cost €32 per person per trip (including one
piece of luggage).
By waterbus: You can take a boat from Marco
Polo to the city (St. Mark's Square) operated by the Alilaguna
(public transport company in Venice), it takes about 70 minutes and
costs €15. In addition, you have to reckon with a 7-minute walk
(with a roof) from the airport to the pier.
A little further
is Treviso Airport (IATA: TSF) in Treviso, which is mainly served by
low-cost airlines.
Venezia S.L. and Mestre are on the international railway lines
Villach-Udine-Treviso-Mestre-Venezia,
Venezia-Mestre-Padova-Bologna-Florence-Rome and others. There is a
connection to and from the Brenner Railway in Verona P.N.
The
Venezia Sta Lucia Santa Lucia city train station is connected to the
mainland via the approx. 5 km long Ponte dell'Libertà bridge and is
located directly on the Grand Canal. All long-distance and regional
trains of Italian domestic traffic arrive here, as well as night
trains from Germany and Austria. All trains to and from Venezia S.L.
also stop in Mestre.
Local and national buses stop at Piazzale Roma. Tourist buses
generally stop at the Tronchetto park island, which was specially
built for this purpose. The local bus network extends far beyond
Mestre. There was a tariff reform recently, which unfortunately puts
visitors at a serious disadvantage: the cheaper tariffs (€1.30 (bus)
/ €2.50 (boat) are only available to owners of an "Imob" card, which
are not suitable for visitors worthwhile (except as a season ticket,
see below). Without such a ticket, a single journey costs €6 (bus) /
€7 (boat).
Therefore, the best solution is to buy a season
ticket for the entire network. Prices are staggered according to
periods: €18 (12 h), €20 (24 h), €25 (36 h), €30 (48 h), €35 (72 h),
€50 (7 days) and apply from validation on the first ride.
(More
information: actv.it)
In addition, the possibility of the
VeneziaUnica value card, which can be individually combined for
museums and local public transport, should be reconsidered.
While destinations in the districts of Mestre and Lido (arrival by
ferry) can be reached by car, the old town of Venice, which is
interesting for tourists, is completely car-free. If you want to go
to the old town - like most tourists - you have to park your car
either on the mainland or in one of the (very expensive) garages on
Piazzale Roma or on Tronchetto. The parking lot at Tronchetto costs
€21.00 (as of 09/2016) for 24 hours from check-in. The parking
spaces closest to the center at Piazzale Roma (Autorimessa Comunale
and Garage San Marco) cost around €30 per day.
It is a bit
cheaper if you park your car in a garage in Mestre and then take the
train to Venice (one leaves every few minutes, the journey time is
about 10 minutes; a single ticket costs €1.40 in 2022). There is a
multi-storey car park (Parcheggio Stazione) directly opposite the
train station, where you can park for €2.50/hour with a maximum of
€14.00 per day (until midnight) (as of 09/2016). If you only stay
one or two nights, the parking garage on Tronchetto may be cheaper
because of the billing after 24 hours. Another option is to leave
the car in Punta Sabbioni for a one-off fee of up to €7 per day (as
of 2015) and then take the boat to St. Mark's Square in around 40
minutes.
For longer stays, it is advisable to park your car
in one of the numerous private parking lots near the airport (e.g.
www.alipark.it/de/ ), which are usually fenced and guarded and at
€5/day significantly cheaper than the There are car parks in Mestre
or even Venice. The operators offer a free shuttle service to the
boat docks at the airport, where you can also be picked up and taken
back to your car after making an appointment by telephone. The fare
of the ACTV vaporetto to Venice and back is included in the ACTV
Tourist Ticket, so before departure, pick up the ticket you ordered
online in advance at the ACTV airport office (an easy walk from the
jetty) and make sure that you also boarding the ACTV vaporetto to
Venice (not the Alilaguna Linea Blu boat, for which the ticket is
not valid). Line B goes to Fondamente Nove and Line A through the
Grand Canal to St. Mark's Square, but does not stop at every stop in
the Canal. consists via the Fusina terminal on the mainland. It is
particularly suitable if you want to do a day trip to Venice, as it
is very cheap for 12 hour bookings. Online bookings receive
additional discounts. The journey to Fusina from Padua along the
Brenta Canal is impressive, as it passes a series of the most
beautiful villas in Veneto, including: at the Villa Nazionale and
the Villa Malcontenta. Arriving in Venice via the Giudecca Canal,
get off at the Zattere station, located at the back of the
Accademia, just a few minutes' walk from Santa Maria Salute, the
Peggy Guggenheim Museum and the Punto della Dogana, with its
breathtaking views the Palazzo Ducale, the Doge's Palace.
Venice is the end of the European Goethestrasse, which starts in
Karlovy Vary.
Terminal Fusina Venezia (Circolare linea
Fusina, alternative arrival by car/boat to Venice), Via Moranzani,
79, 30176 Venezia VE, Italy (parking and pier directly on the
lagoon). Tel.: +39 041 547 0160, fax: +39 041 5479133, email:
fusina@terminalfusina.it. The Terminal Fusina Venezia is a guarded
car park with a pier for crossing to Venice from the mainland. It
offers space for cars and buses and can be reached via the A4
motorway and the federal road 309 “Romea”. The ferry connection runs
every hour from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. all year round to Venice,
Zattere stop, longer in the carnival season and in summer. Open:
daily from 8 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., sometimes longer depending on the
season. Price: from €18 for 12h parking and arrival and departure
for 1 person. Accepted payment methods: online only Paypal, cash on
site, no further information.
During the day, the People Mover connects you to the bus station from around 7.30 a.m. for €1.50. The stops are Tronchetto (small ships) <==> Marittima (ferries, cruise ships) <==> Piazzale Roma (bus station). Santa Lucia Venezia train station is 500m away on foot. From Piazzale Roma there is a direct bus connection to Marco Polo Airport.
Cruise Terminal (Venezia Terminal Passeggeri).
From/to Greece: With Anek or Minoan you can reach the new port of
Patras. There are often stops in Ancona, Igoumenitsa or on Corfu.
Connections are daily in summer and 2-3 times a week in low season.
Deck class, the cheapest offer, costs €93 for the entire route in
autumn 2020.
From/to Croatia, more precisely Istria: Poreč (It.
Parenzo. West Coast), Pula (It. Pola) and Rabac (Kvarner Bay). One
provider is VeneziaLines, whose speedboats cost € 66 p.p. in 2023.
costs.
From/to Slovenia: Piran(o).
The entrance to Porto
di Lido leads into the lagoon. The port police ("Polizia di
Frontiera Presso Scalo Marittimo ed Aereo di Venezia") is not far
from the cruise terminal.
The best and most used means of getting around the city, both by residents
and Venetians, are on foot, considering, moreover, the high cost of public
transport. The historic center is not very big, and in about an hour you can
go through it completely. To orient yourself along the most popular routes,
you can follow the appropriate yellow signs. Perhaps not everyone knows that
gondolas are used by the Venetians for the classic "tragheto" or a gondola
ride from one bank of the Grand Canal to the other.
The two banks of
the Grand Canal were connected until 2008 by only 3 bridges (scalzi, Rialto
and Accademia) and only recently the fourth was added: Constitution Bridge
called Ponte di Calatrava, from the name of the architect , which connects
piazzale Roma with the railway area.
Vaporetti
Public transport of people is mainly carried out by the ACTV through its
fleet of water vehicles which includes, alongside the famous vaporettos,
also other types of means, such as the so-called motorboats, and the larger
motorboats. The rates are available in the appropriate rate table.
For occasional users, transport is quite expensive: the ordinary ticket
costs €7.50 (September 2021) for 75 minutes. There are also timed tourist
tickets (€20.00 - 1 DAY, €30.00 - 2 DAYS, €40.00 - 3 DAYS, €60.00 - 7 DAYS
in June 2015). The ticket must be validated upon entry.
NB: in some
stops there are turnstiles as well as priority access for season ticket
holders.
1: P.Le Roma Parisi/S.Chiara "D/G" — Railway "E" — Riva de
Biasio — S.Marcuola (Casino) — S.Stae — Ca' d'Oro — Rialto Mercato — Rialto
"B/ A" — S.Silvestro — S.Angelo — S.Tomà — Ca'Rezzonico — Academy "A/C" —
Giglio — Salute — S.Marco Vallaresso — S.Marco S.Zaccaria (Danieli) "F/E" —
Arsenale — Giardini — S.Elena — Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta (hereinafter,
SME) "D" and vice versa. Suitable for those who want to enjoy a panoramic
tour of the Grand Canal.
2: S.Marco S.Zaccaria (M.V.E.) "B" — S.Giorgio —
Zitelle — Redentore — Palanca — Zattere — S.Basilio — Sacca Fisola —
Tronchetto — Fruit and vegetable market — P.Le Roma (S.Chiara) "F /G" —
Railway "B/A" — S.Marcuola — Rialto "D/C" — S.Tomà — S.Samuele — Accademia
"A/C" — S. Marco Giardinetti and vice versa. Along the Grand Canal it makes
fewer stops than line 1, therefore it is convenient for quickly reaching the
various points.
2 /: P.Le Roma - Railway - Rialto.
3: (by 4.00 pm)
P.Le Roma "D" — Railway "D" — Murano Colonna "A" — Murano Faro — Murano
Navagero — Murano Museum — Murano Da Mula — Murano Venier — Railway "C" — P
.Roma "E". (After 16:00) P.Le Roma "D" — Railway "D" — Murano Venier —
Murano Da Mula — Murano Museum — Murano Navagero — Murano Colonna "A" —
Murano Faro — Railway "C" — P.Le Rome "E".
4.1: starts from Murano and
reaches Venice at the Fondamenta Nuove. Go around the city, take the
Cannaregio Canal, pass in front of the Railway Station, take the Santa
Chiara Canal and then the Giudecca Canal, pass the San Marco Basin, go
around Sant'Elena, skirt Venice to the north and return to Murano .
4.2:
does the reverse round of Line 4.1.
5.1: it starts from the Lido, skirts
the whole of northern Venice, takes the Cannaregio Canal, passes in front of
the railway, runs along the Giudecca Canal and returns to the Lido.
5.2:
does the reverse round of Line 5.1.
6: P.Le Roma Parisi / S.Andrea "E /
B" - S. Marta - S. Basilio - Zattere - Spirito Santo - Giardini Biennale -
S. Elena - Lido (SME) "B" and vice versa (weekdays only )
7: S.
Marco/S.Zaccaria - Murano (Navagero - Faro - Colonna) - S. Marco/S.Zaccaria
8: San Basilio - Giudecca - Giardini - Lido SME / S. Nicolò and vice versa
9: Burano - Torcello and vice versa
10: Zattere - Lido (SME) "E" and vice
versa (weekdays only, vv also stops at S. Marco (Giardinetti))
11: Lido
(SME) - Alberoni (Lighthouse Rocchetta) - S.Maria Del Mare - Pellestrina
(Cemetery) - Caroman - Chioggia and vice versa
12: Venice (F. Te Nove)
"A" - Murano (Lighthouse) - Mazzorbo - Torcello - Burano - Treporti - Punta
Sabbioni vv (Torcello can be visited when Line 9 is not in navigation)
13: Venice (F.Te Nove) "D" — Murano (Faro) — Vignole — S.Erasmo Capannone —
S.Erasmo Chiesa — S.Erasmo Punta Vela — Treporti and vice versa
14:
S.Marco-S.Zaccaria "A" — Lido (SME) "C" — Punta Sabbioni and vice versa
15: S.Marco-S.Zaccaria "A" — Punta Sabbioni and vice versa
16: Venice
(Zattere) — Fusina and vice versa
17: Tronchetto — Lido (S. Nicolò) and
vice versa
18: Murano (Navagero - Faro - Colonna) - Lido SME / S. Nicolò
and vice versa
20: S.Marco-S.Zaccaria (M.V.E.) "B" — S.Servolo —
S.Lazzaro — S.Servolo — S.Marco-S.Zaccaria (M.V.E.) "B"
22: Tre Archi —
F.Te Nove "D/C" — Hospital — Punta Sabbioni and vice versa
N: (night
line) S.Marco-S.Zaccaria (Jolanda) "D" — Zitelle — Redentore — Giudecca
Palanca — Zattere — Giudecca Palanca — S.Basilio — Sacca Fisola — Tronchetto
— Tronchetto Mercato — P.Le Roma (S .Chiara) "F/G" — Railway "B/A" — Riva De
Biasio — S.Marcuola Casino — S.Stae — Ca' D'oro — Rialto Mercato — Rialto
"D/C" — S.Tomà — S .Samuele — Academy "A/C" — S.Marco Vallaresso —
S.Marco-S.Zaccaria (Danieli) "F/E" — Giardini — S.Elena — Lido (SME) "D"
NLN: (North Lagoon Night Line) F.Te Nove "D" — Murano (Lighthouse) — Vignole
— S.Erasmo Capannone — S.Erasmo Chiesa — S.Erasmo Punta Vela — Mazzorbo —
Torcello — Burano — Treporti — Punta Sabbioni v.v.
NMU: (Murano Night
Line) F.Te Nove "B" — Murano Colonna "C" — Murano Faro — Murano Navagero —
Murano Museum — Murano Venier — Murano Serenella — Murano Colonna "A" — F.Te
Nove "B"
People mover
The People mover of Venice has been in
operation since 2010, has a length of 0.857 km with departures every 7
minutes. The route goes from Piazzale Roma (near Santa Lucia station)
through the Marittima stop (port) to the Tronchetto island in the Santa
Croce district.
Various types of cards
If you plan to return to
Venice often or for long stays, it is certainly advisable to purchase the
Venezia Unica card which, contrary to popular belief, is not reserved only
for residents, but can be requested by anyone. If enabled for navigation,
this card entitles you to rides at the reduced price of €1.30 for a time of
75 min. The cost of the Venezia Unica card varies according to the
applicant's residence: (May 2014) €10 for residents of the municipality of
Venice, €10 (card) + €10 (navigation) for residents of the Veneto Region and
€10 (card ) + €30 (navigation) for all others (Actv).
A card is
available for entry to museums and monuments, in different types. The Venice
Card exists in two versions (orange and blue), each available for 12 hours,
48 hours or 7 days.
The blue card costs €18.50, €34 or €56
respectively (€16.50, €31 and €53 respectively for those under 30) and
entitles you to unlimited rides on ACTV public transport.
In addition to
the advantages of blue card free access to the museums included in the
Museum Pass and to the churches in the Chorus Pass.
An additional €21 can
be paid to extend the validity of the blue and orange cards to Alilaguna
trips to and from the airport. The Venice Card can be ordered online a
minimum of 48h in advance to take advantage of a €2.50 discount or by
calling the toll-free number 899.909.090 (free).
Cumulative cards
There are also cumulative tickets such as the Museum Card, The Museums of
Piazza San Marco, at the price of €20 (€13 for children aged 6 to 14 and
students aged 15 to 25, European citizens over 65 and holders of Rolling
Venice) which allows entry to the Doge's Palace, the Correr Museum, the
Archaeological Museum and the Marciana Library. The Museum Pass instead
costs €24 (€18 for the discounted categories as above) and allows access to
Palazzo Ducale, Correr Museum, Archaeological Museum, Marciana Library, Ca'
Rezzonico, Casa Goldoni, Palazzo Mocenigo, Ca' Pesaro, Museum of Burano
Lace, Murano Glass Museum. Both Museum Cards are valid for six months and
for one entry to each of the museums.
It should be noted that the
museums of Piazza San Marco are accessible only with one of the two cards
Museum Card or museum Pass.
The Chorus Pass costs €8 and allows
access to the sixteen churches of the Chorus association for its entire
duration (1 year) (Frari, Gesuati, Madonna dell'Orto, Redentore, San Giacomo
dell'Orio, San Giobbe, San Giovanni Elemosinario, San Pietro di Castello,
San Polo, San Sebastiano, San Stae, Sant'Alvise, Santa Maria dei Miracoli,
Santa Maria del Giglio, Santa Maria Formosa, Santo Stefano).
Ferries
(gondolas)
Venetian pedestrians often use the ferry to cross the Grand
Canal outside its bridges: these are larger gondolas than those that offer
excursions to tourists and allow the transport of 14 people, all standing,
at a cost of 70 cents for residents and imob owners and 2 euros for other
users (May 2015).
In the center of Venice there are no cars, buses and smog, but only pedestrians, boats, gondolas and water buses.
Once the most typical means of getting around the city, today
the gondola is no longer a means of transport, having become exclusively an
entertainment for tourists. However, the view of Venice from the water is
absolutely worthwhile. A 30-minute daytime ride (maximum 6 people) costs
€80, while a 35-minute night ride costs €100. Pay attention to the fact that
almost none of the gondoliers offers the price agreed by the gondola
institution, or they offer times lower than the canonical 40 minutes. It is
therefore advisable to obtain a copy of the official tariff at any
information office.
By water taxi
A comfortable but very expensive
alternative to the vaporetto.
The water taxis are managed by the Coop.
San Marco (☏ +39 041 5222303), Coop. Venetian (☏ +39 041 716124), Coop.
Serenissima (☏ +39 041 5221265 or ☏ +39 041 5229538), Soc. Narduzzi Solemar
(☏ +39 041 5200838), Soc. Marco Polo (☏ +39 041 966170), Soc. Sotoriva (☏
+39 041 5209586), Soc. Serenissima (☏ +39 041 5228538) and Venezia Taxis (☏
+39 041 723009).
There are water taxi stations at Ferrovia (Santa
Lucia Railway Station) (☏ +39 041716286), Piazzale Roma (S. Chiara) (☏ +39
041716922), Rialto (☏ +39 041723112), Lido (☏ +39 0414222303 ) and at Marco
Polo Airport (☏ +39 0415415084).
In the historic center of the city
there is a fixed rate for water taxis of €15 at departure plus €2 per minute
on urban routes. There are supplements of €5 for customer call and
collection services outside the taxi ranks, €10 for night services from
10.00pm to 6.00am, €3 for baggage exceeding 4 pieces and €5 o 10€ for each
person exceeding a group of 4 people. Rates are fixed by resolution of the
City Council of Venice.
The huge tourist flow has meant that an immense number of shops have
flourished in Venice and that offer all kinds of more or less "typical"
junk. This does not mean that in the city you can find pieces of high
craftsmanship, with respect for tradition.
One of the most
characteristic products of Venice are the Murano glasses handcrafted on
the island of the same name in Venice. This type of craftsmanship boasts
a millenary tradition. Pay attention to merchants who sell non-Venetian
(sometimes even Chinese) products. Only the products that have the
special sticker that certifies their authenticity are Venetian.
Also renowned are the laces produced above all on the island of Burano,
but also on the island of Pellestrina and in nearby Chioggia.
Venetian masks are also very popular, which are not actually a
traditional product. In fact, their production only began in the 1980s,
following the revival of the Venice Carnival. Many Venetian masks come
from the East and are sold for local craftsmanship, be careful if you
are a tourist, especially foreigners.
There are numerous high
fashion shops concentrated in the "Mercerie", in Calle Vallaresso and in
via XXII Marzo, in the San Marco district.
Alongside the
handicraft products, the more or less kitsch souvenir market flourishes.
Among these are the plastic gondolas (with lights, dancers and music
boxes) and the gondolier's hats. Alongside the typical offer of all
tourist centres, from t-shirts to reproductions of monuments. The latest
arrivals, in the wake of the carnival, are the jester's hats, which have
achieved a moderate sales success, but which obviously have nothing
"Venetian" about them.
Coffee
Venice is also famous for its historic cafés. Imported from
the Ottoman Empire around 1615, from 1683, coffeehouses sprang up
throughout the city.
1 Caffè Florian, Piazza San Marco 57 (under
the Procuratie Nuove). Opened December 29, 1720.
2 Gran Caffè Quadri,
Piazza San Marco 120. Opened in 1775.
These cafes are also famous
for being much more expensive than the ordinary. For example, at Caffè
Florian you can spend €23 for two coffees (Sept 2021)!
High-priced shops (clothing, shoes, accessories, jewellery, etc.) are
mainly located in the districts of San Marco and Castello. You can buy
cheaper in the shops in Cannaregio.
In Cannaregio, not far from
the Rialto Bridge, you will also find Venice's only department store.
Local specialties are the glassware from Murano (note: there are
also many imported goods from Asia) and the lace from Burano.
Libreria Acqua Alta, Calle Lunga Santa Maria Formosa, 5176b. Phone: +39
041 296 08 41 . We recommend the bookshop and antique shop Libreria
Acqua Alta on Calle Lunga Santa Maria Formosa, number 5176b.
Venetian cuisine is characterized by its proximity to the sea. Many fish
dishes (e.g. spaghetti al vongole, with mussels), also risotto (rice
dish).
The purple artichoke is a specialty from the lagoon, the
vegetable is grown on the lagoon island of Sant'Erasmo. The very first
buds, the delicate castraure, are particularly popular. From the
beginning of April to mid-May, the Venetians snatch the artichokes out
of the hands of the traders. The delicacy hardly ever makes it onto the
national markets. On the second Sunday of May, the festival of the
Artichoke Violetto is celebrated on the island of Sant'Erasmo.
A
specialty that is offered in many places is "Fegato alla Venexiana con
Polenta" (liver in Venetian with polenta).
Many bars have
cicchetti, white bread slices with a variety of different side dishes.
When it comes to restaurants, there is a noticeable price difference
from east to west: high-priced posh restaurants in San Marco and
Castello, numerous, cheaper pizzerias in Cannaregio.
There are
also numerous self-service restaurants and fast food outlets of all
sizes throughout the island.
As has been said, Venetian cuisine
was a fusion of the cultures and customs of distant peoples. But Venice
also has an exceptional territory that offers excellent products that
over time have found an incredible synergy with the international
cuisines that are protagonists of the history of the Serenissima.
In the 16th century, merchants stopped filling the holds of their
merchant ships and the Venetians turned their interest to the mainland:
the land was reclaimed and invested in agriculture, revolutionizing the
territory and gastronomy.
The lagoon areas of Cavallino,
Malamocco, Pellestrina, Lido, the islands of Torcello and Sant'Erasmo
have been populated by vegetable gardens and vineyards basking in the
sea breeze, kissed by the warm sun, giving rise to exceptional products.
Among the best are the purple artichoke of Sant'Erasmo, from which
the castraure are obtained, the vegetable bases usually prepared in
stews that fill the counters of all Venetian markets.
Lands rich
in wild and bruscandoli asparagus, end tips of young hops, yellow
pumpkins and tasty radicchio, white and round onions to combine with
meat and fish, peas and beans.
The possibility of growing wheat
then gave birth to another exceptional product of the lagoon cuisine:
polenta. As an accompaniment to more complex dishes, it is almost always
chosen in the white version. The sea offers sardines and sardines for
saor, peverasse (mussels) for spaghetti, peoci (mussels) for soups,
scallops and oysters; those of the Lagoon, on the other hand, are
delicious shie, tiny prawns that must be eaten in one bite, goby fish,
called gò, for the excellent risotto, to moeche, small molting crabs,
fried and very expensive.
But what do you taste when you arrive
in the city? Which dishes should you try to take home a tasty culinary
postcard?
The true traditional Venetian cuisine today consists of
simple and nutritious dishes, rich in flavor and often combining sweet
with salty, sour with spicy.
Impossible not to try the creamy bacalà,
a cream of long-cooked fish served with grilled polenta slices. Please
prepare without cream or garlic. It's my favorite dish!
Sardines in
Saor, a specialty created to keep fish out of the fridge for a long
time, which combines the fish of our lands with oriental spices. A
perfect balance between sweetness and acidity.
The Venetian liver
cooked with a significant amount of onions, cooked for a long time to
make them almost creamy. You will be surprised by the sweetness of the
dish.
Risi e bisi (rice and peas), the pride of every good housewife,
is the quintessential Venetian dish: it is served during the Doge's
banquets and is now the dish of the feast of San Marco. Tasty and
tender.
Bigoli in sauce, fresh pasta prepared with anchovy and onion
cream in reduced sauce. For extremely strong palates.
Black squid
served with grilled polenta. Then smile sparingly.
Crabs cooked with
oil, salt, pepper and lemon. Light and tasty. If you are on a diet...
Polenta and Schie, tiny and tender prawns served on a creamy and soft
polenta. Absolutely typical.
If you have a sweet tooth: Venetian
pastries consist mainly of dry and savory, fragrant and tasty
preparations. Soaking baicoli, saffron zaeti, buttery and
vanilla-scented bussolà, peppery pevarini, soft and spicy pan del doge,
soft and sugary fritole.
In bars and cafés, standing is cheaper than sitting. Many Venetians
quickly drink a coffee (approx. €1) or a glass of wine ("un ombra",
€0.80-1.60) while standing at the counter. The term "un ombra" for a
glass of wine, ombra Italian shadow, comes from the time when there was
no way to cool the wine in the warm season. The wine merchants followed
the shadows of the buildings to keep the wine as cool as possible.
Pizza is also sold in the piece ("al taglio") to take away, the
piece about 1-3.50 €. It gets cheaper the further away you are from the
tourist centers (Piazza San Marco, Rialto).
1 La Vecia Cavana, Rio Terà SS. Apostoli (Cannaregio). Popular
restaurant, not far from Campo Santi Apostoli, known for its fish
specialities.
2 Trattoria al Gazettino (San Marco. Just south of the
Church of S. Fava.). Very good cuisine, tastefully served.
3
Ristorante Malibran (down-to-earth, friendly service, good food,
affordable prices), Cannaregio 5864 - 30131 Venezia (VE) (240 m
northeast of the Rialto Bridge, northwest of the Malibran Theater).
4 Caffè Florian, Piazza San Marco. One of the oldest cafes in Venice. In
addition to the already high prices (an espresso costs €6.50) there is a
surcharge for the musicians. It is the coffee house that the Italians
frequented when the Austrians ruled here.
5 Coffee Quadri. (An
espresso costs €6.00) Also Piazza San Marco, is the one frequented by
German speakers during Austrian rule. There is also a music surcharge
here. Feature: ★.
6 Coffee Lavena. third music café (an espresso
costs €6.20) on St. Mark's Square. According to tradition, Richard
Wagner sometimes even swung the baton here.
The two other coffee
houses on St. Mark's Square are the "Eden", situated right next to the
"Quadri", and the "Astoria" between "Florian" and Campanile; there is no
music surcharge here and the prices are only slightly below those of the
three aforementioned. The music surcharge in 2013 was between €6.00 and
€8. Music surcharge is only to be paid for the first (!!) consumption.
7 Gran Caffe Chioggia. Music café that offers slightly jazzy music.
8 Al Todaro. at the foot of the column with "St. Theodor". From here you
have a magnificent view of San Giorgio Maggiore, the Paglia (straw)
bridge, the Doge's Palace with the two slightly reddish columns between
which the death sentence was proclaimed, St. Mark's Basilica and the
clock tower. When it's hot, a pleasantly cool fan usually blows here.
Bars and restaurants in every price range for every taste.
In the
evenings, students and young adults meet in the bars on Campo Santa
Margherita.
The hotel prices have also been adjusted to the overall high price
level. But even in hotels of the same quality class, even in the same
street or its extension, there are big price differences. But there are
also private quarters, e.g. B. can be ordered per week.
The bed
tax of up to €5/night remains unaffected by the introduction of the
admission tax.
Especially in the main travel season (summer,
carnival) you should definitely reserve a room in advance. Those
traveling on a budget should consider booking in Mestre, especially if
driving, as the bus is a quicker and (much) cheaper way to get into the
city. A bus ride costs €1. It is also recommended to live on the Lido di
Venezia. Line 1 takes you to St. Mark's Square in 15 minutes.
And
yet one should consider whether the outlay for accommodation in Venice
is not worth it. Nothing can replace the flair of living in the city
itself. A short tour of Venice in the morning, between 6:00 and 8:00
a.m., or a short run through deserted streets to the empty St. Mark's
Square and then quickly back to the hotel for breakfast, is a real
experience. Or when you enjoy the wonderful chioccolatta con panna
outdoors in Caffé Florian in the late evening. It's not cheap, but it's
incredibly good! Or if you look in front of the Caffé Quadri with a view
of the wonderfully illuminated mosaics of St. Mark's Basilica, hear the
deep toll of the great bell of the Campanile at midnight and then stroll
or hurry through the lonely streets back to the hotel without worrying
about a vaporetto, a bus , a train or even to have to worry about the
strike of the transport companies, that certainly outweighs the high
price of the stay in the real Venice!
Camping
During the
summer months, you can also stay at the campsites in Punta Sabbioni. The
prices here are not higher than the other campsites in Italy. The
vaporetto takes you to the city in about half an hour.
youth
hostels
1 Wombats City Hostel, Via Ca' Marcello 6, Mestre.
2 Sunny
Terrace Hostel, Giudecca 392, Ramo Della Palada, Giudecca. Payment
methods accepted: debit card, credit card.
A&O, Via Ca Marcello 19.
Cheap
Even "cheap" means €50-80.
3 Al Vagon. In an ancient
Venetian building in the heart of Venice. Double room from €80 (extra
bed €20).
4 Hotel Acca, San Polo 2160, 30131 Venice. Phone: +39
041.2440126, Fax: +39 041.2440126. lies in a fascinating environment.
5 Hotel Casa Boccassini, Cannaregio 5295, 30131. Tel.: +39.041.5229892,
Fax: +39.041.5236877. 10 rooms, 1*; typical Venetian building with a
lovely garden and just a few minutes from the Rialto Bridge.
located outside:
6 Casa Villa Gardenia, Via Rizzardi 36/c, Venice
Marghera. Phone: +39.041.930207, Fax: +39.041.2528662. A beautiful Art
Nouveau villa with a garden just a few minutes from Venice. Price:
Double room from €80, 3-bed: from €105.
7 Hotel Antico Mulino &
Ristorante Perbacco, Via Moglianese 37, 30037 Scorze, Venice. Phone:
+39.041.5840700, Fax: +39.041.5840347. An old river mill in the Scorzè
countryside, not far from Venice, houses the Hotel Antico Mulino. Price:
Double room from €95.
8 B&B Faronhof, Via seriola Veneta sx, 51
Oriago di Mira. Tel.: +39 041.428 363, Fax: +39 041.563 9755. Rooms for
rent 15 minutes from Venice; Faronhof Bed and Breakfast. Price: Double
room from €40.
9 Hotel Holiday, Via dell'essicatoio, 38. Tel.:
+39.041.611088, Fax: +39.041.5347136. Hotel Holiday, just 15 minutes
from Venice, offers free parking with surveillance. Price: Double room
from €70.
10 Hotel Rivamare, Lungomare Marconi 44. Tel.: +39
041.5260352, Fax: +39 041.5260352. Hotel Rivamare is located on Venice
Lido, 20m from the beach, a few steps from the Palazzo del Cinema and 20
minutes from St. Mark's Square, the heart of Venice. Price: Double room
from €99.
11 Hotel Villa Albertina, Via Vallaresso 1a. Tel.: +39-041
5260879, Fax: +39-041 5260883. Aristocratic building, family run with a
cozy atmosphere. Only 20 minutes to St. Mark's Square. Price: Double
room from €60.
12 A&O Venice Mestre, Via Ca Marcello 19 (near Mestre
train station). Tel: +39 041 884 0990, email: booking@aohostels.com.
Feature: 300 rooms.
Middle
13 Ca' del Pozzo, S. Marco 2612,
30124 Venice. Phone: +39.041.2413875. Bed and Breakfast in Venice
located in the characteristic Campo San Maurizio: a few steps from the
famous La Fenice Theater and a few minutes from St. Mark's Square.
14
Alloggi al Mercante, San Polo, 1770, 30123. Tel.: +39 041.2750158, Fax:
+39 041.723284. Right in the heart of the Levantine Venice with its
markets and shops, just five minutes walk from the Rialto Bridge and
fifteen minutes from St. Mark's Square, the facilities and atmosphere
evoke the memory of the rich patrician houses of the old merchants.
15 Antica Locanda Sturion, Calle del Sturion - San Polo 679 - 30125.
Tel.: +39 041.5236243, Fax: +39 041.5228378. The Hotel Antica Locanda
Sturion, an ancient tradition of hospitality on the Grand Canal, very
close to the Rialto Bridge.
16 Ca' del Nobile, San Marco, 987, 30124
Venice. Phone: +39 041.5283473, Fax: +39.041.722345, Email:
info@cadelnobile.com. Just two steps from St. Mark's Square, elegant
rooms and spaces with modern comforts and services.
17 Cà della
Corte, Dorsoduro, 3560, Corte Surian, 30123. Tel.: +39.041.715877, Fax:
+39.041.5283473. In an important artistic area about 5 minutes from the
Frari Church and the San Rocco School.
18 Hotel Al Sole, Santa Croce
134/136, 30124. Tel.: +39 041.2440328, Fax: +39 041.722287. In a palazzo
from the early 15th century, not far from Piazzale Roma.
19 Hotel
Alla Salute da Cici, Salute 222, Fondamenta Ca' Balà, Venice. Phone: +39
041.5235404, Fax: +39 041.5222271. A 16th-century palazzo, an oasis of
peace just a few steps from St. Mark's Square and easily reachable from
the train station and from Piazzale Roma. Double room from €90.
20
Hotel Antica Locanda al Gambero, Calle dei Fabbri - San Marco 4687,
30124 Venice. Phone: +39 041.5224384, Fax: +39 041.5200431. Typical
Venetian ambience combined with modern comfort. Friendly atmosphere and
excellent restaurant. Single rooms from €90, double rooms from €110.
21 Hotel Becher, San Marco 1857, 30010. Tel.: +39.041.5221253, Fax:
+39.041.5212685. Refined eighteenth-century elegance characterized by
avant-garde comfort, fascinating atmospheres and impeccable service.
Double room from €110.Edit info
22 Hotel Bridge, Campo San Filippo e
Giacomo 4498. Tel.: +39 041 5205287, Fax: +39 041 5202297, Email:
info@hotelbridge.com.
23 Hotel Ca' d'Oro, Cannaregio 4604, 30121.
Tel.: +39 041.2411212, Fax: +39 041.2414385. The hotel is located on a
quiet corner in the Cannaregio district, far from the tourist hustle and
bustle and close to many old pubs, where the atmosphere of the old days
has been preserved. The most interesting places are easily reachable on
foot, 5 minutes from the Rialto Bridge and 10 minutes from St. Mark's
Square. Double room from €80.
24 Hotel Canal, Santa Croce 553, 30135.
Tel.: +39 041.5238480, Fax: +39 041.5239106. The Hotel Canal on the
Grand Canal, in the heart of Venice, creates a romantic atmosphere with
its 18th-century-style furniture.
25 Hotel Capri, Santa Croce 595,
30135. Tel.: +39.041.2752300, Fax: +39.041.2752350. In a quiet zone
close to the terminals.
26 Hotel Castello, Campo SS. Filippo e
Giacomo, Castello 4365. Tel.: +39 041.5234545, Fax: +39 041.5211023. A
stone's throw from St. Mark's Square and the Rialto, Hotel Castello
welcomes its guests in spaces inspired by Venetian tradition. Single
room €80-185, double room €80-240, triple room €120-270, quadruple room
€140-300.
27 Hotel Commercio e Pellegrino, Calle delle Rasse,
Castello 4551/A, 30124 Venice. Phone: +39 041.5207922, Fax: +39
041.5225016. Behind the Doge's Palace, where the San Marco district, the
heart of the "Serenissima Repubblica" (Maritime Republic of Venice),
meets the Castello district and where you can still experience the
living and real Venice.
28 Hotel La Forcola, Cannaregio 2353, 30121.
Tel.: +39 041 5241484, Fax: +39 041 5245380.
29 Hotel Gardena, Santa
Croce 239. Tel.: +39 041.2205000, Fax: +39 041.2205020.
30 Hotel
Gorizia A La Valigia, Calle dei Fabbri, San Marco 4696/A - 4697/A.
Phone: +39 041.5223737, Fax: +39 041.5212789.
31 Hotel Palazzo
Guardi, Dorsoduro 995 - 30123 Venice. Tel.: +39 041 2960725, Fax: +39
041 7241067. A few steps from the Accademia, in an elegant Venetian
palazzo, rooms with every comfort. Double room from €80.
32 Hotel
Palazzo Schiavoni, Castello 3288 - 30123. Tel.: +39 041.2411275, Fax:
+39 041.2414490.
33 Hotel San Giorgio, Rio Terà della Mandola, San
Marco 3781, 30124. Tel.: +39 041.5235835, Fax: +39 041.5228072.
34
Hotel Violino D'Oro, Via XXII Marzo 2091, San Marco, 30124 Venice.
Phone: +39 041.2770841, Fax: +39 041.2771001.
35 Locanda Ca' San
Marcuola, Cannaregio 1763, 30100. Tel.: +39.041.716048, Fax:
+39.041.2759217. Near the church of San Marcuola and the vaporetto stop,
in the heart of the Cannaregio district.
36 Locanda Gaffaro,
Dorsoduro 3589 30123. Tel: +39 041 2750897, Fax: +39 041 2750375.
Located just off Piazzale Roma in the picturesque central Corte, or
courtyard, in Venice.
37 Locanda del Ghetto, Cannaregio 2892 - 2893,
30121. Tel.: +39 041 2759292, Fax: +39 041 2757987. 5 minutes by
vaporetto to San Marco and the Rialto Bridge.
38 Pension Casa La
Corte, Castello 6317, 30122. Tel.: +39.041.2411300, Fax:
+39.041.2415982. Bed & Breakfast hotel in the city center with spacious
rooms.
39 Hotel Ca'Zusto. Tel.: +39 041 524 29 91, Fax: +39 041 244
00 63. Feature: ★★★★.
40 Hotel Giudecca, Corte Ferrando, 409/C -
30133 Venice (VE) Italy. Phone: +39 041 296 01 68, Fax: +39 041 528 95
20.
located outside
Hotel Trieste, Via Trento 2 - 30171.
Phone: +39 041.929462, Fax: +39 041.922221. The Hotel Trieste is located
directly opposite the Venezia-Mestre train station.
Hotel Villa
Beatrice, Via dei Villini 4, 30011 Venice LIDO. Phone: +39 041.731072,
Fax: +39 041.5266101. The Hotel Villa Beatrice, one of the most
exceptional charming hotels on Lido di Venezia, is suitable for those
who want to treat themselves to a holiday in a relaxing hotel in Venice,
between nature, art and culture.
Hotel Villa Dori, Via Colombara 213,
Malcontenta, 30030. Tel.: +39 041.930926, Fax: +39 041.930421. Just a
few minutes from Venice and the Brenta Riviera, the Venice Hotel Villa
Dori welcomes its guests in spaces of exceptional elegance that evoke
the atmosphere of Venetian villas.
Hotel Villa Gasparini, Riviera
Martiri della Liberta' 37 Dolo. Phone: +39 041 5608156, Fax: +39 041
4265047, Email: info@villagasparini.it.
Hotel Garibaldi, V.le
Garibaldi, 24 30124 MESTRE Venice. Phone: +39 041.5349362, Fax: +39
041.5347565. Located in the historic center of modern and functional
Mestre, Hotel Garibaldi is just 10 minutes from the motorway exits and
15 minutes from Venice and the airport, also in a strategic position.
Upscale
41 Al Canal Regio, Corte dei Fiori 3632 / A. Tel.: +39
041.2960220, Fax: +39 041.81064345. Boutique hotel located in the
historic center of Venice.
42 Ca' dei Conti, Castello 4429 30122.
Tel.: +39.041.2770500, Fax: +39.041.2770727. Luxurious 18th-century
palazzo just two steps from St. Mark's Square. Double room from €200.
Feature: ★★★★.
43 Hotel Amadeus, Lista di Spagna, Cannaregio 227.
Tel.: +39 041.2206000, Fax: +39 041.2206020.
44 Hotel Bonvecchiati,
San Marco 4488, 30124 Venice. Phone: +39 041.5285017, Fax: +39
041.5285230. It was founded in 1790 as a hotel in the heart of Venice.
45 Hotel Ca' Vendramin, Cannaregio 2400, 30100 Venice. Phone:
+39.041.2750125, Fax: +39.041.2750543. Original frescoes, Murano glass
chandeliers give this hotel a very special character, in pure Venetian
style. Double room from €160.
46 Ca' dei Dogi, Castello 4242. Tel.:
+39.041.2413751, Fax: +39.041.5285403. 15th century palace very close to
the Bridge of Sighs of San Marco. Double room from €130.
47 Hotel
Gabrielli Sandwirth, Riva Degli Schiavoni 4110, Riva degli Schiavoni,
Castello, 4110, 30122 Venezia. Tel.: +39 041.5231580, Fax: +39
041.5209455 wikipediacommons. Reopening after renovation in 2021.
48
Hotel Giorgione, Calle Larga dei Proverbi, Cannaregio 4587, 30131
Venice. Phone: +39 041.5225810, Fax: +39 041.5239092. Family business,
double room from €150.
49 Hotel Palazzo Paruta, San Marco 3824. Tel.:
+39 041 2410835, Fax: +39 041 2414944, Email: info@palazzoparuta.com.
Feature: ★★★★.
50 Hotel Palazzo Priuli, Castello 4979/B - Fondamenta
de L'Osmarin. Phone: +39 041.2770834, Fax: +39 041.2411215.
51 Hotel
Principe, Lista di Spagna, Cannaregio 146 30121, Lista di Spagna, 146,
Cannaregio, 30121 Venice, Italy. Phone: +39 041.2204000, Fax: +39
041.220402079 commons. Elegant ambience.
52 Hotel Relais di Piazza
San Marco, San Marco 312, 30124. Tel.: +39 041.2960804, Fax: +39
041.7241079.
53 Palazzo del Giglio, Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, San
Marco 2462, 30124. Tel.: +39.041.2719111, Fax: +39.041.5205158. Elegant,
double room from €170. Feature: ★★★★.
located outside:
Hotel
Alexander, Via Forte Marghera 193/c, 30173 Mestre. Tel: +39.041.5318288,
Fax: +39.041.5318283, Email: alexander@hotelalexander.com. Hotel
Alexander is easily reachable from both Venice Airport and Mestre Train
Station.
Hotel Grande Italia, Rione S.Andrea, 597 (P.tta Vigo) 30015
CHIOGGIA. Phone: +39.041.400515, Fax: +39.041.400185. The Hotel Grande
Italia, housed in a twentieth-century palace, is located in one of the
most beautiful corners of Chioggia, on the Venice Lagoon. Double room
from €110.
Venice is a safe city. However, there are many pickpockets in action on
public transport and on the related "imbarcaderi" (which are the places
with the greatest crowds). It also happens to come across self-styled
"entertainers" who offer a well-known "three-card game" scam. The trade
in fake designer items (handbags, watches, etc.) in public places is a
plague that is difficult to eradicate.
We must also pay attention
to some degeneration of the tourist offer. In particular, on the island
of Tronchetto, it will easily happen to come across several illegal
invaders (called, locally, beaters), who will offer tourists passages in
water vehicles (often without a licence), at considerably higher prices
than public transport: to be avoided absolutely.
There is a
widespread bad habit on the part of certain merchants (both bars and
restaurants) of proposing increased bills to tourists. Therefore, pay
attention to the price lists and if necessary protest with the
operators, perhaps using the classic phrase said by the residents "look,
I'm not a tourist".
Gondoliers do not escape this bad habit: it
is difficult for the "stazi" to comply with the obligation to display
the official "freight" prices, and it frequently happens that higher
prices are offered, or shorter times than the norm (40 min.). In case of
problems, you can report the matter to the traffic police. If they say
that "I can't do anything about it" (it happens!) write down the name on
the card: so you can bring them back to their command. Also beware of
illegal water taxis, which are not entitled to carry passengers.
Authorized taxis have the typical yellow band on the side with the word
taxi. Even with official taxis, it is advisable to find out about the
official rates before the ride: you will avoid nasty surprises.
Near the headquarters of the Venice Casino gravitates the criminal
undergrowth of the "cambisti", who lend money to players in difficulty
for usury. Do not be scruple to report any kind of irregularity to the
Guardia di Finanza.
Although unlikely, it is not impossible to
fall into the gully, especially if you have raised your elbow. Drinking
judiciously is valid everywhere, but perhaps it is worth more in Venice.
In the evening and at night in campo Bella Vienna (near Rialto) and
campo Santa Margherita, there are sometimes episodes of violence,
therefore it is advisable to pay attention to them in case of
frequentation or transit.
Municipality of Venice - Security.
Emergency, ☎ 118.
Carabinieri,
☎ 112.
Municipal Police, ☎ +39 041 2747277.
SS Giovanni e Paolo
Hospital (Vaporetto: hospital), ☎ +39 0415294111, urp@ulss12.ve.it.
Pharmacies open 24/7
Public bathrooms
Service, Calle Cossetti
456A (Piazzale Roma).
Service, Cannaregio 1586 (Campo San Leonardo).
San Marco daytime service (Comunal baths), San Marco 1265-1266
(Napoleonic wing of Piazza San Marco (civic 1265-66)). from 9 to
19-20.30.
Service, Royal Gardens of San Marco. from 9 to 19-20.30.
edit
Service, Ponte dell'Accademia (under the Accademia bridge,
Dorsoduro side).
Post
Calle Larga de l'Ascension, ☎ +39 041 2446711.
Sestiere Santa
Croce, Sestiere Santa Croce , 511, ☎ +39 041 2446811.
San Polo, ☎ +39
041 787111.
Telephony
From September 2021 Venice has 4G from
Iliad and TIM and 5G from Vodafone and Wind Tre
Internet
The
Municipality has joined the Free ItaliaWifi national network. The city
is constantly building the municipal Wi-Fi network, which now covers
almost the entire area around the Grand Canal and some of the larger
squares in the centre. It is possible to purchase access for guests for
around €5 a day at the same joint location of "Venezia Unica" where
season tickets for transport and museums are sold.
Venice has
several Internet cafes, but they are much more expensive than the rest
of Europe with prices for an hour of access around €6: Wi-Fi is only
available in some of them. There is a pub "Café Blue" in Dorsoduro,
which has free wi-fi (password protected). Buy a spritz and a sandwich
and hit the town. To use an Internet cafe, buy a mobile SIM card or get
a contract for an Internet connection. Personal identification is
required by law in Italy. Internet cafes will not allow you to use
computers without a passport or national ID card. "Calle Delle Botteghe"
at San Marco 2970 Venice is a cute art gallery type internet café with a
bookshop - it's expensive at €3 for 15 minutes, but you can just pop in
and play chess with a glass of wine.
At the "Telecom Italia
Future Center" in Campo San Salvatore (San Marco) you can surf for one
hour for free, once you register with your identity card.
I.A.T. Office, Piazzale Roma (shop adjacent to the Agenzia Venezia Unica
(permanent)), ☎ +39 041 2722283, info@veneziaunica.it.
IAT office,
Tronchetto.
I.A.T. Office, Santa Lucia Railway Station - platform 1.
I.A.T. office, Marco Polo International Airport (arrivals area).
IAT
office, Piazza San Marco 71/f.
Mestre
Murano the island of glass. Homeland of artistic glass
production, the greatest world center from which merchants began their
journeys bringing with them objects of all shapes. The glass objects are
made exclusively by hand, thanks to the experience handed down for
generations.
Burano the island of lace and colored houses. It seems
that the tradition of lace has medieval origins and derives from the
need of women to embroider to recall the nets of their fishermen
husbands. However, the reason and origin of the lively colors with which
houses on the island are painted are not yet clear. Legend has it that
sailors, returning home, needed a clear reference to find their home,
hidden by fog. According to another hypothesis, each color is the symbol
of a family given that island surnames are few, but very common.
Torcello stupendous island, near Burano, with notable paleo-Christian
monuments.
Lido di Venezia: refined seaside resort and location of
the Venice Film Festival.
Pellestrina: outside the mass tourism
routes, it is a characteristic location, with wide, almost deserted
beaches.
Cavallino-Treporti seaside resort, famous for its numerous
campsites.
Jesolo famous seaside resort, the second Italian beach
after Rimini, famous for its discos and nightlife.
Chioggia and
Sottomarina.
Riviera del Brenta: urban area of the Venetian
hinterland, in the direction of Padua. Numerous inhabited centers along
the Naviglio del Brenta, known for their footwear production and the
rich historical-artistic heritage consisting of the numerous Venetian
Villas of the city's patricians and the numerous works carried out on
the river (mills, locks, canals, embankments).
Itineraries
Venice in one day — Itinerary to discover Venice for a whole day.
Grand Canal — Discovering Venice's most famous waterway.
Secret
Venice — The itinerary is aimed at tourists who are looking for
curiosities, unusual and lesser-known places in a unique city in the
world.
Walled cities of the Veneto - An itinerary to discover the
strongholds and the history of the Veneto.
Post: There are several post offices on the island where you can get
stamps. It's a matter of luck whether you can get them in tobacco shops.
There are two different boxes for posting letters: blue for domestic
mail, red for international mail.
Orientation: Venice consists of a
tangle of alleys, squares and canals and the system of house numbers is
also not accessible to the visitor.
An impressive first overview of
the city and the neighboring islands of the lagoon is available from the
Campanile on San Giorgio Maggiore, the island opposite St. Mark's
Square, which can be reached by vaporetto from e.g. B. can be reached
from St. Mark's Square. It is almost as high as the Campanile of St.
Mark's Square, not nearly as crowded as this one, and you can take the
elevator up to the viewing platform without long waiting times.
A
simple and effective orientation results from the signposts, which are
usually attached as a sign on every corner. From the train station just
follow "PER RIALTO", then continue "PER S.MARCO" and back go in the
direction of "ALLA FERROVIA" (train station) or "PIAZZALE ROMA" (where
most buses depart). It's really amazingly easy - and helps a lot for a
rough orientation.
A navigation app (such as OpenStreetmap) or a
good city map are helpful to get to the desired destination. Most hotels
have a free city map. In the plans, all the streets are often drawn in
with the same width, no matter how wide they actually are. It is
therefore advisable to always be alert so as not to walk past small
alleys or passageways. Incidentally, if you don't get lost in Venice,
you're doing something wrong - you can't really get lost in the city
anyway.
Language: In Venice, of course, the main language spoken
is Italian. But since Venice lives almost exclusively from tourism,
several foreign languages are often spoken. In many tourist restaurants
the menus are multilingual. The frequently encountered carabinieri and
auxiliary police officers also speak at least English, often also
German, and despite the many questions they are consistently friendly
and helpful.
Clothing: The high temperatures and humidity in the
summer months call for light, airy clothing. However, it can still be
very drafty in the shady alleys. Some will be happy about that, but if
you are very sensitive, you should at least have a light shawl with you.
This is also recommended for visiting churches. In Venice people are no
longer so strict in this regard, but if you wear clothes that are too
revealing, or even in bathing suits, you can be rejected. In most
churches there are chiffon towels to borrow if a lady is wearing a
sleeveless top.
luggage storage
Luggage storage in Italy is
not usually done in lockers, but in privately run shops with limited
opening hours (rarely longer than 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.), where billing
by the hour is often not cheap.
Inside the Santa Lucia train
station, platform 1.
In Mestre train station, platform 1.
Marco
Polo Airport, outside the terminal near entrance 1.
Piazzale Roma:
Depot Cooperativa Trasbagagli in the Autorimessa Comunale car park.
The Golden Luggage, Santa Croce 516. Between Piazzale Roma and Santa
Lucia Station.
Company Vaise. With machines: Terminal bus, Rio Terà
Sant’Andrea 460. Second branch San Marco - Fenice, Calle de Piscina de
Frezzaria 1657.
Near People Mover Terminal: Cooperativa Trasbagagli
in Tronchetto.
In the port of Marittima, Fabbr. 103
From a geographical point of view, the municipality of Venice is divided into two parts: the island area and the mainland area. As far as seismic risk is concerned, Venice is classified in zone 4, i.e. very low seismicity.
July and August may be the worst time to visit.
Summer months are very hot and often humid, there are mosquitoes
flies. Additionally there are crowds of tourists and large crowds
anywhere you go. Late spring and early autumn are probably best, a
compromise between temperature (expect 5-15°C in March) and the
tourist load. Between November and January, you may manage to feel
you have Venice all to yourself, an interesting and quiet
experience. Beware of the weather during the winter months: it can
be quite cold, windy, and damp. Fog is an additional hazard if you
are driving in or out, doubly so in the unlikely chance that you
will pilot a boat. But if you've never been to Venice, it's better
to go in summer than not to go. You won't regret it. Many cities are
far worse in summer, and Venice has no cars, hence no smog.
Acqua alta (high water) has become a fact of life in Venice. The
lagoon water level occasionally rises above the level of the squares
and streets, flooding them. This can happen several times a year, at
irregular intervals, usually in the colder months. Acqua alta
usually lasts a few hours and coincides with high tide. You'll see
raised walkways in side alleys ready to be pulled out when acqua
alta hits. When the city begins to flood, sirens will sound to warn
residents and businesses. If you speak fluent Italian, tune into
news programs since their predictions of the times the flood begins
and ends are usually accurate. Normally, the tide rises and falls in
six-hour cycles.
You can get an acqua alta map at the tourist
offices either at the railway station or St Mark's Square. This will
show you the higher, dry routes and the ones with walkways set up
during the various flood alerts. There is a tide measuring station
at the Rialto vaporetto piers, and a noticeboard at the base of the
Campanile in the Piazza San Marco that shows a live tide reading and
predictions for the next few days.
The tide observed in Venice can be thought of as the sum of two components: the astronomical tide, correlated to the motion of celestial bodies, mainly the Moon and the Sun, and the meteorological contribution due to the state of the atmosphere. Under normal conditions the meteorological contribution is small and the observed level coincides approximately with the astronomical tide. In some cases the sum of the effects of atmospheric pressure and wind can determine an important meteorological contribution which leads to significant low tides or, on the contrary, produce the phenomenon of high water.
The term high water indicates particularly pronounced
tidal peaks in the Venice lagoon, such as to cause flooding in the urban
area. The phenomenon is frequent above all in the period between autumn
and spring, when the high tide floods a large part of the city, making
it difficult to move around the alleys and fields. The tide that exceeds
the +80 cm threshold in Venice is commonly referred to as "high water";
at this altitude there are transport and pedestrian traffic problems in
the lower parts of the city. When the tide exceeds 100 cm (5% of public
land flooded), the phenomenon begins to affect more substantial sections
of city routes. At an altitude of +110 cm, about 12% of the city is
affected by flooding. On the other hand, when +140 cm is reached, 59% of
the city is flooded.
The phenomenon of high water is generated by
the combination of two main factors: the regular alternation of the
tides combined with a meteorological cause made up of the combination of
rain, wind and atmospheric pressure on the sea mass; high tide alone
does not generate high water: it is the superimposition of these factors
which, combined with the astronomical tide, brings the water level to
reach higher altitudes in a less predictable way. The rise of the water
above the tide level is a normal phenomenon in a closed basin such as
the Adriatic Sea and the wind that favors it is not so much the bora,
common in Venice, but the sirocco which acts longitudinally over the
whole mass of water from the Adriatic.
Eustatism (rising of the
sea level) and subsidence (lowering of the ground due to natural or
anthropic causes) contribute to the variation in the frequency of high
water events in Venice. It was once thought that the excavation of the
Canale dei Petroli and the deepening of the port inlets (which increased
the water exchange section between the lagoon and the sea) had amplified
the phenomenon, given that in the past it was an extraordinary event for
the city. It was then demonstrated that this specific contribution
exists but is completely negligible when compared with the others.
In order to protect the Venice lagoon from exceptional high waters,
the MOSE project has been underway since 2003, which consists of a
series of mobile barriers made up of a variable number of sluice gates
anchored to the bottom of the lagoon inlets, which they rise when the
predefined tide level is exceeded, blocking the inflow of water from the
sea.
The toponym "Venezia" (and its ancient variants:
Venédia, Venétia, Venésia, Venéxia, Vinegia) was initially used to
indicate all the land of the pre-Roman Venetian populations.
Thus
Venetia appears in the Augustan administrative subdivision of Italy (6
AD) and, alongside ancient Istria, was part of the X Regio. The toponym
continued to be used under the Byzantines who called Venetikà, or
Venetia maritima in Latin, the coastal strip from Chioggia to Grado.
Consequently, the name then passed to indicate the Duchy of Venice and
only later its capital: it is in fact known that the center arose in the
late period by bringing together the settlements that arose on its
islands.
A peculiarity of the Latin name of Venice is that it is
a pluralia tantum, that is, it is declined in the plural Venetiae and
not Venetia; this perhaps because the city was conceived as the union of
several centers which arose on the various islets and then merged
together, or in any case constituted by a plurality of elements. In
ancient documents, therefore, the region appeared in the singular
Venetia (Venetia et Histria, Venetia Maritima), but when referring to
the city, the plural was used instead: Venetiarum Civitas, Venetiarum
Respublica, Venetiarum Patriarcha.
The Venetian lagoon was formed in the 8th century BC.
from a previous fluvial-marshy environment; it is assumed that there
were human settlements since prehistoric times, allowed by the wealth of
resources that could favor hunting and fishing. In the pre-Roman age,
i.e. in the Paleo-Veneto period, civilization was well rooted in the
area, with populations dedicated to fishing, salt production, maritime
transport and other connected mercantile activities. A junction of
intense commercial traffic that connected the Adriatic with central and
northern Europe, in this period some settlements developed in the area,
among which the center of Altino stood out, by now with a proto-urban
physiognomy.
The coming of the Romans strengthened this
situation: the system of ports was strengthened (Chioggia dates back to
this period), while the hinterland was reclaimed and centuriated, as is
still visible in the arrangement of roads and ditches. The lagoon
probably became a holiday resort for the nobility, as evidenced by some
finds.
According to the Chronicon Altinate of the 11th century,
the first mythical settlement in Venice on the Riva Alta (Rialto) dates
back to 25 March 421, with the consecration of the church of San
Giacometo on the banks of the Grand Canal: although recent studies have
however shown that San Giacomo di Rialto is much later, dating back to
the mid-twelfth century, the fifth century is however the probable
period of stable urbanization on the lagoon and, therefore, of the
foundation of the future city of Venice, since at that time the
inhabitants of the mainland sought refuge in the lagoons following the
various waves of barbarian invasions, in particular that of the Huns
(452) and the Lombards (568). At the same time, the major religious
institutions moved to the lagoon, such as the bishop of Altino in
Torcello. However, the lagoon area was then presented as a still very
heterogeneous set of small distinct settlements, while some neighboring
centers such as Torcello, Ammiana and Metamauco had greater importance.
United together with all of Italy to the Eastern Roman Empire with
the pragmatic sanction of Justinian I in 554, the Triveneto was again
overwhelmed by the invasion of the Lombards in 568. The Byzantines lost
most of the area, keeping only the coastal strip: it is from this moment
that the term Venetia, once referring to the whole of Veneto, comes to
indicate only the area of the lagoons.
Venetia maritima was
erected in 697 as a duchy dependent on the Exarchate of Ravenna, with
its capital first at Eracliana and then at Metamauco. Following the
attempted invasion of the Franks by Pepin (Carloman), in 821 the safer
Rialto became the capital of the Duchy of Venice, over time assuming the
name of the territory and the State and becoming definitively Venice.
The proximity to the Holy Roman Empire of the Franks, the privileged
relationship with the Byzantine East and at the same time the distance
from Constantinople made it one of the main ports of exchange between
the West and the East, allowing the development of a dynamic and
enterprising who, over the course of about four centuries, transformed
the city from a remote settlement and imperial outpost to a completely
independent master power of the seas.
During the Late Middle
Ages, Venice was counted among the Maritime Republics and, in memory of
this, the lion of San Marco, emblem of the Serenissima, appears in the
marine insignia of the Italian flag together with the symbols of Genoa,
Pisa and Amalfi. The head of the government was the Doge (from the Latin
dux), who saw, over time, his power increasingly constrained by new
institutional bodies. Many Doges, especially before the year one
thousand, were forced to take the vows because the citizens considered
them too greedy for power: some were even killed or dazzled.
At
the height of its power, in the thirteenth century, Venice dominated
most of the Adriatic coasts, regions such as Dalmatia, Istria, many of
the Aegean islands, Crete, Cyprus, Corfu, and was the most important
military power and among the main mercantile forces in the Middle East.
In the 15th century the territory of the Republic extended from the Adda
to Istria, and part of the province of Belluno, to the Venetian
Polesine. From the fifteenth century the Venetian primacy began to
decline following historical events such as the increase in Ottoman
power and the shift of trade towards the Americas, which severely
affected the maritime vocation of the city, which ended up turning its
economic interests towards the hinterland.
The progressive growth of settled commercial interests on the
mainland, i.e. the growth in importance of agriculture and the relative
construction of numerous villa-farms such as those of Palladio, also
changed the economic condition and lifestyle of the Venetian ruling
class. In the 18th century Venice was among the most important cities in
Europe, with a strong influence on the art, architecture and literature
of the time.
After more than 1,000 years of independence, on 12
May 1797 Doge Ludovico Manin and the Great Council were forced by
Napoleon I to abdicate in order to proclaim the "Provisional Government
of the Municipality of Venice". During the first decade after the loss
of the sovereignty of the Republic of Venice, many interventions were
carried out on the city, such as the silting of the Rio di Sant'Anna,
which became Via Garibaldi, the demolitions to build the Gardens of
Castello and the destruction of the granaries of Terranova to build the
Royal Gardens in the Procuratie Nuove.
With the treaty of
Campoformio between the French and the Austrians, on 17 October 1797 the
"Municipality of Venice" ceased to exist and Veneto, Istria, Dalmatia
and the Mouths of Cattaro were ceded to Austria, which went to form the
" Venetian Province" of the Austrian Empire. Returned to the French with
the peace of Pressburg of 26 December 1805, it was then again Austrian
until the unification of Italy. In 1848 the city took an active part in
the revolutionary uprisings and, under the initiative of Daniele Manin,
was, albeit briefly, independent with the establishment of the Republic
of San Marco. After a year of siege by the Austrians, the Republic had
to surrender on 22 August 1849. In 1866 it became part of the Kingdom of
Italy and the annexation was sanctioned by the plebiscite of 21 and 22
October 1866, which saw the victory of the with 99.9% of the votes in
favor of the active electorate. In 1883 the municipality of Malamocco,
including the entire Lido of Venice, was suppressed and incorporated
into Venice.
On May 24, 1915, Italy entered the First World War
on the side of the Entente powers. With the retreat of Caporetto, in a
desperate attempt to defend Venice and its precious naval base, the
Italian army took up positions on the Piave and repulsed two
Austro-Hungarian offensives (one at the end of the year, the second in
June 1918). Venice therefore found itself close to the front. In this
context it suffered numerous air attacks by Austria-Hungary, which
caused various damages to the city.
In 1917 the Bottenigo area
(whose name was changed to Marghera) was integrated into the
municipality of Venice, and the construction of the new port facilities
of Porto Marghera began there. In the 1920s the city saw its territory
increase considerably, thanks to the unification of the municipalities
of Burano, Murano, Pellestrina (1923), Chirignago, Zelarino, Mestre and
Favaro Veneto (1926). The annexation of the mainland, in particular, was
linked to the birth of the industrial center of Marghera, wanted by the
economic policies of those years. Venice, due to its urban conformation
on the sea, proved in fact incapable of having its own complete
industrial area: expansion onto the mainland became the necessary
solution to give new development to the lagoon city and to work for the
workforce.
In 1933 the road bridge between Venice and the
mainland was built (alongside the previous railway bridge built in
1846). During the Second World War the centers of Marghera and Mestre
suffered heavy air raids. On 21 March 1945, the lagoon city suffered its
only air attack of the conflict: up to that moment, in fact, the Allies
had concentrated on port installations and communication routes on the
mainland, avoiding hitting a city of such great cultural and
architectural value. The bombardment was very specific, hitting the port
and its warehouses and sinking three merchant ships. Overall, Venice
survived the war almost unscathed, thanks to the precautions taken by
the warring powers as well as to its isolated position, easily
recognizable by bomber pilots.
The post-war period saw the great
building expansion of the Venetian mainland, which attracted immigrants
from all over the Veneto hinterland and from the historic center itself.
In parallel with this expansion, the majority of its population
abandoned the historical centre. As a result of these phenomena, the
Venetian mainland now has more than twice as many inhabitants as insular
Venice.
The demographic growth of Mestre became dizzying starting
from the sixties, when the disastrous effects of the 1966 flood added to
the housing and labor policies, which did not favor the residents of the
lagoon, which showed the vulnerability of low-rise houses in Venice .
The incredible rapidity of development meant that this happened in a
rather disorderly way and outside of a master plan (it is the so-called
building sack of Mestre). On the evening of 11 September 1970, the
historic center was hit by a whirlwind of intensity estimated at F4 on
the Fujita scale, which caused serious damage including the sinking of
an ACNIL motorboat which caused the death of 21 people. In the mid-1970s
there was a decline in the chemical, industrial and shipbuilding sectors
with a consequent major re-employment of human and economic capital in
the tourism sector.
During the years of lead, even Venice was
repeatedly the object of criminal acts such as the Veneto fire nights,
the bombing of the headquarters of Il Gazzettino and various murders,
including those of Giuseppe Taliercio, Alfredo Albanese and Lino
Sabbadin. In the city there were cells of the Red Brigades, Prima Linea
and Ordine Nuovo.
The historical newspaper of Venice is Il Gazzettino in its local
edition dedicated to the city. Founded in 1887 by Gianpietro Talamini,
the editorial staff of the newspaper was based until 1977 at Ca'
Faccanon in Venice and then moved to via Torino in Mestre where it is
located. Since 2002, Mestre has also had its own daily newspaper, Il
Mestre. Also in 2002, the publications of the Venice-Mestre edition of
the Corriere del Veneto began, which originated from the Corriere della
Sera editorial staff. In 1984, a newspaper dedicated to the city and
province was born, Nuova Venezia, part of the L'Espresso Publishing
Group.
Furthermore, Mestre is home to the generalist television
station Televenezia, born in 1978, which broadcasts in most of the
Veneto and Emilia-Romagna regions.
The radio station in Venice is
Radio Venezia, which broadcasts on FM 92.400 - 103.500 MHz. Since 1978
there has also been Radio Vanessa, the only radio to broadcast from the
historic center of Venice on 101.800 MHz.
Starting from 3 July
2009, the municipality of Venice was gradually covered by Wi-Fi,
guaranteeing residents a free connection.
The artistic history of Venice has developed over the centuries in a
singular and anachronistic way, with respect to the rest of Europe,
following a path of originality and slow elaboration of external
influences. Born as a Byzantine city, Venice has long been artistically
conditioned by its relations with the Arab world.
If the
forerunner of Venetian painting was certainly Paolo Veneziano
(1300-1365), to whom we can attribute the role of mediator between the
Byzantine taste and the new influences of Giotto, the painter Giovanni
Bellini (1433-1516) was the link conjunction between the Italian
Renaissance and the developments of lagoon painting. In addition to
Bellini, among the greatest exponents of the Venetian artistic scene of
the 15th-16th century are Giorgione (c. 1478–1510), Tiziano Vecellio (c.
1488–1576) and Tintoretto (1518–1594). Again Palma il Vecchio
(1480–1528) extolled by Vasari, Jacopo Palma il Giovane (1549–1628), the
portraitist Lorenzo Lotto (1480–1556) or the mannerist Paolo Veronese
(1528–1588) the canvas maker Vittore Carpaccio (1465 –1525/26) and again
Sebastiano del Piombo (1485–1547), friend and collaborator of
Michelangelo. iAmong the sixteenth-century artist El Greco (1541–1614)
must also be mentioned, a citizen of the Republic of Venice who had
enormous success in Spain.
In the 18th century, Venice is one of
the most important cultural and artistic centers in the world. Many
works were commissioned to the Venetian painters of this period, ranging
from sacred painting for churches to the decoration of the numerous and
sumptuous palaces that arise in the city. Among them we find Giovanni
Battista Pittoni (1687–1767) and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
who painted in Italy and Europe. A school of landscape painting develops
where Canaletto (1697–1768), Francesco Guardi and Bernardo Bellotto
(Canaletto's only nephew and pupil 1721–1780) emerge.
Towards the
end of the 1700s, the sculptor Antonio Canova worked a lot in Venice,
influencing the art of the time to such an extent that he was considered
the greatest exponent of Neoclassicism.
There are numerous
churches in the city that preserve the works of these great artists of
the Venetian Renaissance; among the main city art galleries: the
Accademia Galleries, the Correr museum and the Egidio Martini Art
Gallery housed in Ca' Rezzonico.
With the fall of the Serenissima
and the subsequent Austrian domination of the 19th century, the artistic
life of the city died down until the Risorgimento. Among the numerous
contemporary artists, we should mention the Venetian by adoption
Virgilio Guidi (1891–1984), author of views of the lagoon, Emilio Vedova
or the architect designer Carlo Scarpa or the painter Mario Deluigi.
Thanks to its environmental characteristics and its historical past,
the city of Venice has been used as a backdrop for numerous films. In
Italian cinema, Venice was the setting for the events narrated in
Venice, the moon and you (1958) by Dino Risi, Anonymous Venetian by
Enrico Maria Salerno (1970), Forgetting Venice by Franco Brusati (1979).
The city was the background to tell, halfway between history and novel,
the lives of characters such as Giordano Bruno by Giuliano Montaldo
(1973) and Casanova directed by Lasse Hallström and played by Heath
Ledger (2005).
The city was the scene of the Shakespearean works
of Othello directed by Orson Welles (1952) and the Merchant of Venice by
Michael Radford and starring Al Pacino (2004); Venice was also the
obvious choice for the backdrop to the adaptation of Thomas Mann's novel
Death in Venice, directed by Luchino Visconti (1971), and is one of the
settings for Stephen Norrington's The Legend of Extraordinary Gentlemen
(2003), an adaptation of comic of the same name by Alan Moore.
Hollywood has chosen the city as the scene for sequences in genre films
between thriller and action, starting with Nikita (1990) by Luc Besson
and passing through The Italian Job (2003) by F. Gary Gray with Mark
Wahlberg and The Tourist (2010), directed by Florian Henckel von
Donnersmarck and starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. Steven
Spielberg's blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) has
numerous scenes set in the city, just as James Bond's character
transited Venice for Terence Young's A 007, From Russia with Love films
( 1963), Lewis Gilbert's Moonraker (1979) and Martin Campbell's Casino
Royale (2006).
Among the best known Venetians is Marco Polo (1254-1324) author of Il
Milione, which has become the most famous work for his knowledge of the
Asian world and China in medieval Europe. Other important writers are
Paolo Sarpi, Francesco Algarotti, Pietro Bembo and Riccardo Selvatico.
Venice is a city closely linked to writing, first of all from a
technical point of view because it was the seat of the first Italian
typography, led by Aldo Manuzio (1449-1515) and remained an important
typographic center so much so that in the eighteenth century the half of
the books produced in Italy. Among the works printed in Venice is also a
mathematics text: the Practice of arithmetic and geometry by Lorenzo
Forestani.
In Venice they wrote: Maffio Venier (1550–1586),
erotic poet, Carlo Goldoni (1707 –1793) and Carlo Gozzi (1720–1806)
among the main authors of the dialectal and Italian commedia dell'arte,
and Giacomo Casanova (1725– 1798), prolific writer remembered above all
for his autobiography Histoire de ma vie (Story of my life), which is
identified with Venice also for the libertine fame that the city had in
the eighteenth century, already sung by the poet Giorgio Baffo.
Other illustrious writers are Ugo Foscolo (1778-1827) born in Zante at
the time Republic of Venice, and Giacinto Gallina (1852-1897) playwright
and heir to Goldonian comedy.
Much has been written about Venice,
just remember Shakespeare (1564-1616) who sets Othello and The Merchant
of Venice here.
Thomas Mann is the author of the novel Death in
Venice (1912).
Venice hosted and inspired the poetics of Ezra
Pound, who published and wrote his first literary effort A lume OFF in
the city. Also in Venice, Pound died in 1972 and his remains are buried
in the local cemetery on the island of San Michele.
French writer
Philippe Sollers spent most of his life in Venice and published a
Dictionary for Venice Lovers (2004).
Gabriele D'Annunzio sets Il
fuoco in Venice and during his convalescence while staying in the
residence he calls "Casetta Rossa" on the Grand Canal, writes the
Notturno.
Iosif Brodsky spent long periods in Venice to which he
dedicated the book Fondamenta degli incurabili. Other authors who spent
periods in Venice during which they wrote also include Henry James,
Marcel Proust and John Ruskin.
The illustrator Hugo Pratt has
spent most of his life in Venice working closely with the cartoonist
Lele Vianello.
The writer Tiziano Scarpa sets the novels Venice
is a fish, Eyes on the grill, Stabat Mater, A trip to Venice with
Tiziano Scarpa and The frown of the owl in Venice.
The first musical testimonies in Venice can be found around the 6th
century during the Byzantine period, but the period of maximum activity
was between the 15th and 19th centuries when the Venetian school
established itself as one of the most important musical realities in the
world.
The center of the Venetian school was the basilica of San
Marco with its two organs that accompanied the a capella choirs in vocal
polyphony. The figure of Maestro di Cappella was born in 1436 with
Johannes de Quadris and stabilized with Pietro de Fossis (1491-1525)
succeeded by the Flemish Adrian Willaert (1527-1562) who had the merit
of having made the city a training and innovative center in the musical
field, coming to define the "Venetian style". If in this period the
production of secular music is dominant, sacred music has as valid
exponents Andrea (1533-1588) and Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1612) who will
represent the highest expressions. The composer Claudio Monteverdi
(1567–1643) marked the transition from Renaissance to Baroque music,
abandoning the a cappella form for the concert form, the madrigals.
Other exponents of the 16th-century Venetian music scene include the
organist Claudio Merulo (1533–1604), the composer Giovanni Croce
(1557–1609) and the music theorist Gioseffo Zarlino (1517–1590). The
Venetian school also welcomed musicians from other countries, including
Hans Leo Hassler and Heinrich Schütz, "the father of German music".
In 1637, the first public theater was inaugurated in Venice, the
famous San Cassiano where, thanks to the contribution of Francesco
Mannelli, the first public opera season was organized on the occasion of
the carnival. In the following years numerous new theaters will be
opened, Venice thus becoming an important propulsive center of melodrama
in competition with Rome.
In the following century, the musical
style of the lagoon city began to be influenced by foreign influences.
The playful drama was predominant on the musical scene and its greatest
exponent was the composer Baldassare Galuppi (1706–1785). In those years
Venice was also the birthplace of the famous violinist Antonio Vivaldi
(1678-1741), a great exponent of ensemble music, who was joined by the
composers Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751) and Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770).
Also worth mentioning is Alessandro Marcello (1673-1747), author of the
famous "adagio for oboe in D minor" and older brother of Benedetto
Marcello (1686-1739) to whom the city's Conservatory of Music is named.
The Marciana Chapel, directed by Marco Gemmani, is still active and
is considered, together with that of the Sistine Chapel, one of the two
historically most important liturgical choirs in Italy. Since 1490 there
have always been a Maestro and an organist in San Marco.
In the
twentieth century we remember: Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (Venice, January 12,
1876 - Venice, January 21, 1948), the composer Luigi Nono (1924-1990)
and the conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli (1946-2001).
From 1965 until
1981 it was the seat of the international pop music exhibition, awarding
the Golden Gondola as a prize.
From 1966 the musical group Le
Orme, exponents of progressive rock, burst into the Italian and
international music scene.
On July 14, 1989, the city hosted a
hotly contested Pink Floyd concert. The concert, free and broadcast
worldwide, was held on a floating stage in front of Piazza San Marco. In
those years a reggae group was active in the city, Pitura Freska, who in
1991 released an album with a song about it.
The Venice Biennale
organizes contemporary music festivals.
In 2014, the city of
Venice was the venue for the 8th Venetian Choir Festival held in the
Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista.
Venetian cuisine is obviously characterized by fish, but not only:
products from the island gardens, rice from the mainland, game, fishing
in the upper Adriatic, polenta. Venice mixes local traditions with very
distant influences that come from millenary commercial contacts.
Sardines in saor, marinated sardines that can be preserved during long
voyages. Risi e bisi, Venetian liver, black risotto with cuttlefish,
cicchetti, refined and delicious bites, appetizers or to be enjoyed
throughout the day with a glass of prosecco. Not only that: Venice is
famous for its marinated eel (in Venetian bisàto); for the oval and
golden biscuits called baicoli, and for the various types of desserts
such as the "pan del pescatore", with almonds and pistachios; Venetian
fried cream; the bushes of the island of Burano (biscuits with butter
and shortcrust pastry made in an "S" or ring); chiacchiere also called
galani, or lies, or crostoli; the fregolotta (a crumbly cake with
almonds); the milk pudding called rosada and the yellow semolina
biscuits called zaléti.
Venice hosts a large number of events of international value. With
over 300 public and private bodies and associations involved in the
organisation, 2,886 events spread over 20,214 days, equal to an average
of 56 events per day (2014 data).
In the cultural field, the most
important event is the Venice Biennale, born as a cultural society in
1895, which includes various multidisciplinary exhibitions divided into
sectors including: the International Art Exhibition (every odd year) ,
the International Architecture Exhibition (every even year) and the
International Film Art Exhibition held annually between the end of
August and the beginning of September.
Among the folklore events,
the famous Carnival of Venice, which takes place from the thirteenth day
of Lent to the day before Ash Wednesday. It turns out to be one of the
oldest carnivals in the world, famous for its masks and attracts many
visitors.
The Regatta of the Ancient Maritime Republics is a
historical re-enactment, established in 1955, which is held every four
years on a day between the end of May and the beginning of July, while
the Historical Regatta is held on the first Sunday of September of each
year that mixes folklore with the sporting event. In May the Vogalonga
takes place, a non-competitive event that attracts boats and rowers from
all over the world.
The Venice Marathon takes place in October,
while since 2015 the CMP Venice night trail, a 16 km night race, has
been held in June.
Among the religious celebrations, the feast of
the Madonna della Salute (November 21) which is a local holiday, the
feast of the Sensa on the occasion of the Ascension, the feast of the
Redeemer (third Sunday in July) and the feast of San Marco which is held
every 25 April.
Among the trade fairs of considerable importance
there is the international boat show in spring. A popular spring event
is also the non-competitive walk Su e zo per i ponti which winds through
the streets and bridges of the historic centre.
The Veleziana
sailing competition organized by the Compagnia della Vela takes place in
October.
Urban planning
The territory of the municipality of Venice is
administratively divided into six municipalities and is clearly divided
into the two realities of insular Venice (historical center and islands)
and the mainland.
The historic center of Venice rises in the
middle of the homonymous lagoon on a total of one hundred and eighteen
small islands, consolidated over the centuries thanks to wooden pilings,
which have allowed its urbanization. Some of these islands are grouped
together in organic groups while others are more dispersed. The 118
islets are separated by navigable canals and connected by bridges for
pedestrian use only.
The total extension of the historic centre,
excluding inland waters and the major islands, is equal to 797.96
hectares, which makes it one of the largest historic centers in Italy
and Europe. Calculating the extension of the entire I Municipality, thus
including the islands of the Lagoon such as Murano and Burano, the total
area of insular Venice amounts, excluding internal waters, to 1 688.91
hectares.
The historic part of the city is traditionally divided
into six districts: Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Polo, San Marco,
Cannaregio and Castello. The sestieri of the ancient city are organized
around the double bend of the Grand Canal, the main waterway from which
a dense network of about 158 minor canals winds its way.
After
the Second World War many new areas were built on the island of Venice.
For example, the newly built district of Sacca Fisola, the new
Tronchetto island (with 17 hectares of underground lagoon) and the Saffa
area in Cannaregio.
In the lagoon around the historic center
there are numerous built-up islands, some now uninhabited. Among the
major islands (which are also part of the municipality) we remember
Murano and Burano, famous respectively for the manufacture of glass and
lace, Torcello, Sant'Erasmo, Pellestrina and the long and thin island of
Lido with its establishments bathing.
On the mainland there are
the two large centers of Mestre and Marghera, as well as other smaller
towns. These centers have had a great development after the Second World
War, as an outlet for the building expansion of Venice, which did not
have building spaces in the surrounding lagoon, and therefore have the
appearance of modern cities. About two-thirds of the municipality's
population reside on the mainland.
The municipal territory of
Venice can be divided into the historic centre, to which the first
nucleus of the city belongs and which consists of a set of islands
located in the center of the Venice Lagoon and the part located on the
mainland which extends for 130.03 km².
The historic center has
always been isolated from the mainland (which on several occasions
represented an efficient defensive system) until 1846, when the railway
bridge was completed, flanked, in 1933, by the Ponte della Libertà, open
to road traffic. The main body of the city seen from above has the
appearance of a fish, with its tail pointing east.
The historic
center of Venice was divided into six districts in the 11th century:
Cannaregio, Castello, Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Marco and San Polo.
From an ecclesiastical point of view, Venice is divided into 70
parishes.
The districts are developed on 118 islets connected by
354 bridges and divided by 177 between rivers and canals. In Venice you
can also find various urban environments characteristic of the city,
such as the calle, the sotoportego, the wrinkle, the corte, the campo,
the campiello, the riva, the fondamenta and the salizada. The names of
the streets and squares are painted on the walls (these are the
so-called nizioleti) with the exception of Corte Cappello, in Castello.
The main canals of the city are the Grand Canal and the Giudecca
Canal. The first cuts the city in two by tracing an "S" (dividing Venice
into two clearly distinct areas: "de ultra", beyond the water, and "de
citra", on this side, a still current distinction, deeply felt by the
population), the second, located south of the city, separates the
historic center proper from the island of Giudecca and is heavily
trafficked by large cargo and passenger ships that dock at the Maritime
Station. In ancient times, the most used streets were precisely those of
water, which provided the main view of the city: this explains why some
important facades of palaces overlook not very wide canals.
Discussions about the future of Venice took place over time. Already in
the sixteenth century there were those who, the proto Cristoforo
Sabbadino, planned the maintenance of water and those who, the writer
Alvise Cornaro, hoped for redemption from the past by eliminating the
canals. Water has always been a concern. It requires care, substantial
investments to avoid swamping as well as flooding. At the same time,
however, water attracts and fascinates and, without it, Venice would
lose meaning.
A 2014 research conducted in collaboration with UNESCO
in Venice identified the main wear and tear phenomena that compromise
the stability of the system balance and the survival of the urban
fabric: the problem of high water, the wave motion from the wind and
water traffic, pollution, deterioration of the building heritage and
flooring, changes in intended use due to the progressive loss of the
resident population, changes in the structure of local trade, in
addition to the growing anthropic pressure caused by tourist flows .
The conformation and land on which Venice stands required the
solution to various problems in the construction of buildings and in the
urban planning of the city:
The consolidation of the foundations,
obtained by planting wooden poles in the unstable ground of the lagoon
islands.
The absence of sources of drinking water led to the
development of campi and campielli, where the same urban area was used
as a huge cistern, isolated from the infiltrations of the lagoon with
clay and filled with sand for the collection and filtering of water
rainwater, finally a well in the center of the campiello allowed the
supply of drinking water. Often the wellheads are real works of art in
white marble, there are about 600 of them but, before the construction
of the aqueduct in 1858, there were 6,782 of them in the whole city.
The adaptation of houses with entrances via water for the access of
people and warehouses for the loading and unloading of goods.
Architecture, in Venice, also means "architecture" of the landscape and
the environment.
The delicate balance of the lagoon, which is
affected by the contribution of sediments and fresh water from the
rivers, by the invasion of sea water based on the tides and the wind,
has made it necessary to carefully control the water regime over the
centuries Venice has been a master in this in the past, modeling the
lagoon with hydraulic and environmental management interventions and
finding a balance between the lagoon and the city. This balance was
broken during the twentieth century due to human intervention leading to
the aggravation of the phenomenon of high water. The MOSE project, now
decided by the national government to save Venice from high waters, is
contested by some city circles.
A typical element of Venetian
architecture is the patera.
As already mentioned, the first
nucleus of the city, ergo, the historic centre, consists of a set of
islands located in the middle of the Venice lagoon, on the north-western
Adriatic coast (Gulf of Venice), for a total of about 60,000
inhabitants. To these must be added most of the islands of the estuary
(about 30,000 inhabitants) and the mainland (about 180,000) which, with
its 130.03 km² extension, represents 83% of the emerged surfaces of the
territory.
The historic center has always been isolated from the
mainland (which on several occasions represented an efficient defensive
system) until 1846, when the railway bridge was completed, flanked, in
1933, by the Ponte della Libertà, open to road traffic; 4 km long, it
connects Mestre to piazzale Roma. It is about 37 km from Treviso and 40
km from Padua.
Venice has traditionally been divided into six districts since the
11th century: Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Polo, San Marco, Cannaregio
and Castello. However, after the unification of Italy, the municipal
territorial boundaries underwent numerous changes. In 1883 the
municipality of Malamocco was annexed. Subsequently Marghera di Mestre
(1917), Pellestrina (1923), Murano, Burano and Ca' Savio di Burano
(1924) and finally Chirignago, Zelarino, Mestre, Malcontenta di Mira and
Favaro (1926) became part of the municipality of Venice.
In the
seventies the debate on the separation from the municipality of Venice
of the whole area of the so-called Venetian mainland was heated. In the
three consultative referendums of 1979, 1989 and 1994, the majority of
the population spoke out against the separation. The Cavallino-Treporti
area instead became an independent municipality in 1999 following the
positive result of the referendum held on 13 December 1998. Following
the positive experience of the Cavallino-Treporti municipality, in 2003
the issue was proposed again to the citizens for the fourth time the
separation of the Mestre area and the mainland from the island of
Venice; this last referendum consultation also had a negative outcome
and also the quorum was not reached as well as in the fifth referendum
of 2019, despite the fact that for the first time the majority of voters
who went to the polls expressed themselves in favor of the separation.
Venice was for almost a millennium a city of trade, which became
powerful thanks to its defensive position (from land invasions) and its
institutions used by merchants.
After the nineteenth-century
decadence, in the twentieth century the city found new resources in
tourism.
Agriculture relies on the rural areas of the mainland, especially those extending south of Marghera and east of Mestre. Also noteworthy is the horticulture still practiced on various islands in the lagoon which, more for quantity, stand out for the quality and specificity of the products (the violet artichoke of Sant'Erasmo is typical). In 2007 there were 917 farms in the municipal area (including Cavallino-Treporti), a clear decrease compared to the previous five-year period.
Fishing is based on 366 enterprises.
The Philippine clam
(Tapes philippinarum), different from the Italian clam (Tapes
decussatus), called in Venetian caparòssoło, introduced in the
Mediterranean in the seventies and recently spread in the lagoon, has
influenced traditional forms of fishing, fishing for juveniles and
fishing of the mołéca; the mołéca is the crab in a phase of development
(that is, during the change of moult) in which there are no hard parts
and is completely soft, it is a gastronomic delicacy and its fishing,
now carried out by only a few, takes place according to a technique
unchanged from centuries, handed down from father to son and requiring
around ten years for the fisherman's training. In recent years there
have been episodes of crime linked to the illegal fishing of clams in
polluted land.
According to the 2001 Census of Industry and
Services, 760 workers participated in the primary sector, equal to 0.5%
of the workforce employed in the municipality.
Given the importance of tourism, typical craftsmanship is very much alive in the city. Among the best-known products, we mention Murano glass and Burano lace. Some squero are still active, the shipyards where Venetian boats, such as gondolas, are built and repaired according to traditional methods.
The municipality's industry is based on the Porto Marghera pole,
considerably reduced compared to a few decades ago. Air pollution is a
well-known problem that involves the whole area of the Po Valley, even
if vehicular traffic is practically non-existent in the historic city,
the same levels of PM10 particulate matter are recorded as on the
mainland.
The Marghera petrochemical plant generates emissions of
pollutants in the air and water of the lagoon. A recent survey revealed
the quantities for a series of substances emitted into the atmosphere by
sector of activity, we read that in one year (data relating to 1999)
23,000 t of nitrogen oxides, 27,000 t of sulfur oxides, 1 500 t of
suspended particles and more metals such as 9 t of iron, 3 t of copper,
1.5 t of lead and so on. If initially, at the beginning of the twentieth
century, the industrial center was seen as a source of progress and
economic well-being, over the decades an increasingly critical attitude
has developed among the population, leading to the famous, and
tormented, mega trial against the petrochemical which saw workers and
family members of petrochemical workers, the civil authorities
(including the Veneto Region, the Province and the Municipality of
Venice together with the Prime Minister and the Ministry of the
Environment) face each other as civil parties, associations
environmentalists and trade unionists against the major chemical
companies (Edison, Syndial (formerly EniChem), Eni and Montefibre)
accused and civilly liable, the trial ended in May 2006 with the
sentence of the Cassation.
The energy sector (water, electricity,
gas) employs 2,214 workers. There are 7,176 employees in the extractive
and chemical industries, those in the metallurgical industries 9,203;
construction workers are 7,144. Other industries employ 4,983 workers.
The naval industry is important with Fincantieri.
The leading sector of the Venetian economy is that of services.
35,629 units operate in trade, 7,346 in transport, communications and
information technology; credit and insurance concern 22,262 workers,
while those employed in other services and public administration are
37,070.
Municipal waste collection and water service are carried
out by Veritas.
The official data on tourist presences place Venice in third place in
Italy for the number of visitors after Rome and Milan in 2015 and 2016
with over 10 million presences. To adequately evaluate the phenomenon,
however, it must be considered that several million people visit Venice
every year, staying in the nearby municipalities of Cavallino-Treporti
(until 1999, district of the Municipality of Venice, 6 million tourists
in 2017), Jesolo (5 .3 million), Caorle (4.2 million), connected to the
city with both private and public direct lines. Daily visits to Venice
are organized by various tour operators in the Lake Garda area and in
all the main tourist resorts in the Veneto region, as well as - via
catamaran - from the nearby Istrian coasts, with daily trips in the
summer period from Rovinj, Porec, Pula , Piran and Umag.
A travel
destination for centuries, the first texts dedicated to the discovery of
Venice for travelers still date back to the 15th century. Venice was an
obligatory stop on the Grand Tour (an expression from which the word
tourism derives) which, starting from the 17th century, was undertaken
by young European aristocrats to perfect their knowledge. Some of the
greatest European and world writers and thinkers, such as Goethe, Mann,
Nietzsche, Proust, Stendhal, Byron, Pirandello, D'Annunzio, Hemingway,
Dostoevsky and many others left their travel impressions, thoughts or
aphorisms on Venice.
Tourism has increasingly assumed a decisive
weight for the city's economy, so much so that over the years the
relationship between the historic city with its delicate balances and
the masses of tourists visiting, often hurried, has become increasingly
problematic.
The budget law for 2019 introduced the possibility
of introducing an advance "landing fee" by transport carriers (coaches,
planes, cruise ships) accessing the ancient city of Venice, extending
the possible municipal imposition of the tourist tax also to the daily
flows of tourists. The taxation also aims to "achieve a selective effect
and moderate the access of the so-called large ships to the lagoon
area".
One of the various causes of pollution is the passage of cruise ships and other tourist boats in the lagoon. Through a study carried out by Transport & Environment, the scholars compared the environmental impact of 68 cruise ships with the approximately 111,000 cars registered in the municipal area (Marghera and Mestre included): the former emitted sulfur dioxide in amount twenty times greater than the latter. Furthermore, 138% more nitric oxide was also detected (a gas always deriving from combustion that can lead to chronic inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract and a reduction in lung activity) and 20% more PM2.5. The latter two pollutants in particular were attributed respectively to 20,000 and 60,000 premature deaths in Italy in 2018 alone. If 68 ships pollute much more than 111,000 cars, it is easy to deduce the environmental impact of cruising in Venice, where these giants pass an average of two a day. Moreover, due to the lack of suitable infrastructures, during the stop the ships keep their engines running to guarantee services on board. In addition to emissions, they also generate enormous noise, electromagnetic (due to radars) and marine pollution, due to the antifouling paint on the hulls.
Due to its peculiarity of developing both on the mainland and on the
lagoon, the city of Venice has developed a complex transport system both
by land and by water, capable of allowing it to fulfill any need for
connection, supply or service, both public be private. A similar
peculiarity is evident in the historic center of the city and in the
islands where any movement of people or things takes place either by
boat or by footpath.
Navigation within the lagoon edge, although
it falls under various regulations and jurisdictions (Municipality of
Venice, Port Authority of Venice, Metropolitan City of Venice,
Magistrato alle Acque, Municipality of Chioggia, Port Authority of
Chioggia, Municipality of Cavallino- Treporti) has recently been
unambiguously regulated with the application of a single regulation
established by a government commissioner and the application of speed
limits, limited traffic zones and in general a system of signs similar
to that in use on the roads. This reorganization of water traffic is
aimed in particular at reducing the wave motion caused by motor boats
which causes navigation difficulties for traditional rowing boats and
damages the banks, which are constantly subjected to an intense erosion
phenomenon.
Streets
The territory of the metropolitan city is
affected by the A4 motorway, the A27 motorway and the A57 Mestre bypass
motorway.
The city is also served by several state and provincial
roads:
Regional road 11 Padana Superiore (SR 11), former state road
11 Padana Superiore;
State road 13 Pontebbana;
State road 14 of
Venezia Giulia;
Regional road 245 Castellana (SR 245), former state
road 245 Castellana;
State road 309 Romea.
The entire network
is connected to the historic center through the Ponte della Libertà,
which connects the mainland with the two road terminals of the city:
the island of Tronchetto, intended for the tourist and private flow,
equipped with car parks and interchanges with the ferry lines for the
Lido and the urban navigation lines. Since April 2010, it has been
faster to reach the "pedestrian" city from Tronchetto thanks to the
people mover;
piazzale Roma, terminus of the urban and suburban bus
lines and interchange pole with the main urban navigation lines.
Railways
Venice is an important railway hub for north-eastern Italy
where the lines converge:
Milan-Venice: connects the lagoon capital
to north-western Italy, passing through Vicenza, Verona and Brescia.
Some trains then continue to Turin. Trains heading towards
central-southern Italy (Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Salerno, Bari,
Lecce) also travel along this line up to Padua, from where they continue
on the Padua-Bologna line.
Venice-Trieste: it is the connection with
Slovenia and Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
Venice-Udine: allows
connections with northern Veneto (in Conegliano it connects with the
line for Ponte nelle Alpi) and with Austria and central and northern
Europe.
Trento-Venice through the Valsugana passing through Bassano
del Grappa and Castelfranco Veneto
Adria-Mestre line connecting
Venice with the local territories of the metropolitan city and passing
through the city of Piove di Sacco, the largest in the surrounding area
The trains are sorted out at the Venezia Mestre station, from where the
railway continues towards the long Ponte della Libertà up to the
terminal station of Venezia Santa Lucia, located at the western end of
the Grand Canal and a place of interconnection with urban transport
lagoons.
Venice is one of the destinations served by the famous
Venice-Simplon Orient Express.
You bring
The port of Venice is
the sixth port in Italy by volume of commercial traffic. The movement of
goods sees the transit of 6% of the total national traffic, with
approximately 29,000 thousand tons (2004 data). On the other hand,
passenger traffic is relatively low: the overall movement between
landings and embarkations of 1 365 375 units represents 3.06% of the
national total (2005 data). Approximately 70% of passenger traffic comes
from the cruise sector: the highest added value sector. In addition to
this, the growth trend of this sector has been very rapid: in ten years
it has gone from less than half a million to 1,453,513 passengers (2006
data), making Venice the leading Italian cruise port and one of the
leading in the world: out of a world fleet of 282 cruise ships, no less
than 80 touch the Venetian port of call.
Ships enter the lagoon
through the two "mouths" of the Lido and Malamocco. The piers and docks
are located over a large portion of the territory and broken down by
function:
on the mainland, in Porto Marghera, commercial traffic is
concentrated, especially with container ships and oil tankers that
supply the interport and the industrial area;
in the historic centre,
at the Maritime Station, the ferries to Greece and Turkey and the large
cruise ships dock;
still in the historic center, mainly along the
Sette Martiri bank, large private yachts are moored.
Marco Polo International Airport, inaugurated on 31 July 1961 in the
locality of Tessèra, quickly became the reference airport in the Veneto
region and third in Italy in terms of passenger traffic volume. In the
transport of goods, Tessera is the second airport in the region after
the Treviso-Sant'Angelo airport.
Since 2002, the airport has used
the new terminal, equipped with boarding bridges for airplanes and
designed to operate with 15 million passengers a year; in 2017 the
number of passengers was 10 355 205 with an increase of 7.7%.
For
private and amateur aviation there is also the Giovanni Nicelli tourist
airport (ex Venice-San Nicolò) located on the Venice Lido.
These water vehicles have landing places, the so-called piers, made
up of floating pontoons moored to sturdy pilings and connected to the
banks by footbridges: there are almost a hundred of various kinds and
sizes scattered around the city and the lagoon. Alilaguna, a private
company with a public shareholding of 30% of ACTV, has been operating
since 1999 in the sphere of scheduled public transport, guaranteeing the
connection by water between the Venice airport and the historic centre.
Alilaguna fares are not integrated with ACTV fares.
At
Venice-Piazzale Roma and Lido-Santa Maria Elisabetta the interchange
between water and road public transport takes place, there are also
connections to and from the Fusina terminal, the airport and Punta
Sabbioni, in the municipality of Cavallino-Treporti .
With regard
to public transport, the tram line connecting Venice and Mestre has been
active since 15 September 2015. A people mover is active which connects
Piazzale Roma to Tronchetto. The Imob electronic ticketing system came
into operation on 1 May 2008.
Also in the context of public
transport, in the historic city there is a taxi service on boats that
works exactly like any other public car service in the world.
Finally, a typical system for crossing the Grand Canal is the public
ferry, an inexpensive service carried out with the typical "da parada"
gondolas maneuvered by two gondoliers. The service is active in the five
"stazi" of Dogana, Santa Maria del Giglio, Riva del Vin/Riva del Carbon,
San Tomà, Santa Sofia.
Due to its characteristic of having always been a city in which the
waterways have been used as the main transport route, in Venice there
are numerous types of boats for different uses.
The most
characteristic of the lagoon boats is certainly the gondola. Due to its
characteristics of maneuverability and speed, until the advent of
motorized vehicles, it was the most suitable Venetian vessel for
transporting people. Historically it was built and stored in small
shipyards called squèri, such as the squero di San Trovaso, for example,
this boat is used above all for tourist purposes, but also for
ceremonies such as weddings and funerals or for sporting events, such as
the famous Historical Regatta.
For private transport there is a
very wide range of boats, of the most varied shapes and sizes, the most
numerous of which are mostly typical Venetian boats. For this private
vessel there is a dense network of services, with boathouses for hauling
and launching, construction and maintenance yards, fuel stations and
private moorings, both temporary and licensed.
As for people and
public services, goods also follow a double water and land route in the
historic city, the main junction of this system is the island of
Tronchetto, where the goods are unloaded from trucks and transhipped
onto boats that provide then to distribute them throughout the city (and
vice versa). Similarly, any other work activity, from the transport of
valuables to construction companies, are equipped with their own water
vehicles capable of allowing them to carry out their jobs.
In the
historic centre, all the public utility services and public
administrations have their own boats for the most varied activities,
from the representation service to the health emergency, so you can meet
boats of the State Police, the Carabinieri, the Guardia di Finanza,
water ambulances of the Urgency and Medical Emergency Service,
fire-fighting boats of the Fire Brigade, patrols of the Coast Guard, of
the local and Provincial Police, of which the Lagunare detachment is
present, boats of the Penitentiary Police, of the Postal Service, of the
garbage or funeral services. Many of the institutions use boats designed
exclusively for the Venetian lagoon.
Soccer
The oldest and most famous football team in the city is the
Venezia Football Club: founded in 1907 from the merger of the football
sections of the multi-sports gym Palestra Marziale and Costantino Reyer,
it adopted the name Venezia Foot-Ball Club and the red-blue social
colors (later replaced by black -green in 1909 and transitionally from
Venetian red in the five-year period 1930–1934). Over time, this club
has changed its name on various occasions and has gone through various
interruptions of activity and re-foundations: in 1987 the merger with
the Mestre team brought orange as the third social color and the names
of Unione and Venezia- Mestre. The current corporate name and structure
were achieved in 2015 following the takeover of the club by American
entrepreneur Joe Tacopina. The maximum success of Venezia (which
includes several participations in the first series championships) is
the victory of the 1940-1941 Italian Cup. The team played in Serie A for
the 2021-2022 season.
The second city team is A.C. Mestre,
representative of the mainland town of the same name. Founded in 1927,
in 1987 it merged with Venezia, to then be refounded in 1991 and again
in 2003 and finally (assuming the current structure) in 2015. It boasts
the most successful participation in the Serie B championship 1946-1947,
when this was divided into three groups.
The two main city
stadiums are the "Pier Luigi Penzo", located on the island of
Sant'Elena, and the "Francesco Baracca" in Mestre.
basketball
In 1872 the Reyer Venezia company was founded, which controls the city's
basketball team which has been playing in Serie A since the 2011-2012
season and which has won four league titles in the course of its
history, the last one in the 2018-19 season and the Coppa Italia 2020.
In 2017–18 he won the FIBA Europe Cup 2017–2018.
The Reyer
Venezia Feminine women's team also plays at the highest level, competing
in the Serie A1 national championship in its palmares it can count on
two championships: 1945-46 and 2020-21; one Coppa Italia 2008, two
Italian Super Cups (2008 and 2020), one WABA Liga (2014–2015).
The Giants Basket Marghera 2016–2017 team plays in the women's A2
series, which also won an Italian cup in Serie A2.
Fencing
Venice has always had a strong fencing tradition. The two historic clubs
(no longer existing) Circolo della Spada of Venice (winner of two
absolute Italian fencing championships) and the Circolo della Spada of
Mestre (winner of four absolute Italian fencing championships) together
with the existing circles of the Dlf Venezia the club Foscarini Scherma
and the Circolo Scherma Mestre have trained a series of Italian, world
and Olympic champions including Andrea Cipressa, Dorina Vaccaroni, Mauro
Numa, Antonella Ragno-Lonzi, Fabio Dal Zotto, Andrea Borella, Francesca
Bortolozzi, Luigi Narduzzi, Matteo Zennaro.
Venetian rowing
Venetian rowing is widely practiced at a competitive level: numerous
regattas for typical boats are held in the city throughout the year and
culminate in the competitions that take place on the occasion of the
Historical Regatta. In the municipal area there are 33 sports clubs that
participate in more than 120 regattas.
Other disciplines
In
the field of rugby, Veneziamestre Rugby, now dissolved, dates back to
1986. Also present was the Lido di Venezia rugby club which plays in
Serie C.
In the field of volleyball, the city teams play in Serie
C.
San Marco is home to the Compagnia della Vela, founded in 1911
and winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup as part of the XXIII America's Cup
with Il Moro di Venezia.
Water polo is practiced by three clubs:
Pallanuoto Sant'Alvise (coached by the former Kazakh Olympic champion
Julija Pyreseva), based in the Sant'Alvise swimming pool, and by
Pallanuoto Venezia based in the "Rari Nantes" swimming pool in Sacca
Fisola and the Mestrina water polo that plays in Serie B.
Competitive swimming and synchronized swimming are practiced in the
clubs Rari Nantes, Nuoto Venezia, Serenissima Nuoto and Polisportiva
Terraglio.
Rowing is also practiced a lot in many clubs among
which the most famous are the Royal Society Canottieri Bucintoro (born
in 1882), Canottieri Diadora (1898), Canottieri Giudecca and Reale
Società Canottieri Querini (1901).
From 1908 to 2009 the
Pavia-Venice powerboat race was held across the Po River.
Since
1990, the Motonautica Venezia association has organized the Venice-Monte
Carlo race.
Archery is practiced in the Arcieri del Leon company
and the Arcieri Conte di Carmagnola company.
Target shooting is
practiced at the ancient TSN Venezia company (1858).
Finally, the
University Sports Center of Venice carries out numerous activities.