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Our area: Chioggia

Chioggia is one of the most important towns in the province of Venice.

It is famous for its port, for fishing, the salt pits, its crops, its cuisine and for its narrow streets, small squares, palaces and canals that are very similar to Venice, which can be reached from the town by private boat and by the ACTV public transport service. The main canal is the Canal Vena crossed by nine bridges.

The most imposing is Ponte Vigo which is near the lagoon and the square with a high column topped by the lion of St. Mark, but which locals have ironically named ‘el gato’ (the big cat).

According to legend Chioggia was founded by Clodius, a Trojan exile, who chose the coat of arms of a rampant red lion in memory of Troy. The name Clodia then changed over the centuries into Cluza, Clugia and Chiozza, before finally becoming Chioggia.

In Roman times it was part of a centuriation that included the whole area of the Venice lagoon. The town was independent in the Middle Ages and became known for its flourishing trade in salt. In 1110 it also became a bishopric. 

An important event in the town’s history took place during the "War of Chioggia", which is re-evoked at the Palio della Marciliana: in 1379 the town fell to Genoa, which was attracted by the source of wealth that the salt pits represented, and was then re-conquered by Venice in 1380.

Under the domination of the Venetian Republic, Chioggia not only saw a reduction in its independence, but also in the number of salt pits, together with heavy fines on the production of salt. The economy declined inexorably, but then flourished once more with the development of fishing. Chioggia was part of the Venetian Empire until 1797, the year in which it fell into the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte’s troops. 

After the Treaty of Campoformio, in 1798, the town fell into the hands of Austria, and remained under Austrian domination until 1866, when Chioggia was annexed to the developing Italian State. During the Second World War it risked being razed to the ground by Allied bombing. The Nazis only capitulated after the townspeople revolted and on 27th April 1945 the town was liberated by the Allies.

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