Voices from the past

Chioggia rests on the Adriatic sea, it is crossed by canals and filled with bridges: a little Venice of ancient history. Although some traces lead us to believe that it was founded by the Pelasgian people, the first historical hints about the city's origins date back to the Roman age. During the barbaric invasions in the inlands the people sought refuge in the Lagoon, and the latter started becoming a confederation, the Serenissima's first nucleus. Twice razed to the ground between year 800 and 900, after year 1000 Chioggia started having a certain trading centrality, especially for the salt market. Clugia Major (current Chioggia) and Clugia Minor (current Sottomarina) were the 11th and the 12th island of the Serenissima, and they prospered until they became battlegrounds between Venice and Genoa, between 1379 and 1380. Chioggia was at first conquered by the Genoese, who devastated it, and then it was re-conquered by the Venetians after a long siege. The city couldn't regain its previous political and economical role and therefore remained subjected to the more powerful republic. When placed under Austrian domination, the city experienced the famous "pre-Risorgimento" revolution attempt, the Uprising of the Christ, when the crowd revolted against the Hapsburg army during a religious ceremony. Chioggia only managed to settle economically after the second world war, and finally went back to being the lively and prosperous city we know today.

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The city structure itself is an architectural masterpiece, in its suspension between land and sea, and its classic fish bone shape, almost echoing its marine vocation. The Duomo deserves a special mention, almost entirely rebuilt in the 1600's on the previous medieval construction, along with the Tempietto di San Martino, in gothic-Venetian style, the small island of San Domenico, entirely covered by the Basilica and its annexed buildings, containing a wooden crucifix from the 1300's.

Events

Undoubtedly the most popular and famous event in the city, as well as one of the most significant of its kind in Italy, is the yearly Palio della Marciliana, held on the third week of June in memory of the liberation of Chioggia from the Genoese in 1380. Pageants, parades, regattas, tournaments, costume processions, music and dance involving citizens and tourists alike, attracted by an event with such ancient origins yet still so heartfelt by the population.