Chioggia (; vec, Cióxa , locally ; la, Clodia) is a coastal town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of the

Metropolitan City of Venice The Metropolitan City of Venice ( it, Città Metropolitana di Venezia) is a metropolitan city in the Veneto region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Venice. It replaced the Province of Venice and includes the city of Venice and 43 other municipal ...

in the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

region of northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Geography

The town is situated on a small island at the southern entrance to the Lagoon of Venice about south of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

( by road);

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

s connect it to the mainland and to its ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'', nowadays a quarter, of

Sottomarina Sottomarina is a small town on a peninsula which has the same name. It is a ''frazione'' of the comune of Chioggia, which is part of the Metropolitan City of Venice in the Veneto region in north-eastern Italy. Geography Sottomarina is a peninsula ...

. The population of the ''comune'' is around 50,000, with the town proper accounting for about half of that and Sottomarina for most of the rest. The municipality, located in south of the province, close to the provinces of

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

and

Rovigo Rovigo (, ; egl, Ruig) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Venice and south-southwest of P ...

, borders with

Campagna Lupia Campagna Lupia is a town in the province of Venice, Veneto, north-eastern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterran ...

Cavarzere Cavarzere (; vec, Cavàrzere) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Venice in the Italian region of Veneto, located about southwest of Venice. Neighbouring municipalities of Cavarzere are: Adria, Agna, Anguillara Veneta, Chi ...

Codevigo Codevigo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about southwest of Venice and about southeast of Padua. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 5,901 and an area of .All demographics a ...

, Cona,

Correzzola Correzzola is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about southwest of Venice and about southeast of Padua. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 5,506 and an area of .All demographics ...

Loreo Loreo is a manufacturer of stereo photography equipment, including 3D cameras and stereo lens attachments for SLR cameras. Stereo pictures taken using Loreo systems are instantly viewable using 3D viewers without any cutting or remounting. These ...

Rosolina Rosolina ( vec, Roxołina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto, located about south of Venice and about east of Rovigo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,303 and an area of .All de ...

and

History

Chioggia and Sottomarina were not prominent in antiquity, although they are first mentioned in

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

as the ''fossa Clodia''. Local legend attributes this name to its founding by a ''Clodius'', but the origin of this belief is not known. The name of the town has changed often, being Clodia, Cluza, Clugia, Chiozza and Chioggia.History of Chioggia
/ref> The most ancient documents naming Chioggia date from the 6th century AD, when it was part of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. Chioggia was destroyed by King

Pippin of Italy Pepin or Pippin (or ''Pepin Carloman'', ''Pepinno'', April 777 – 8 July 810), born Carloman, was the son of Charlemagne and King of the Lombards (781–810) under the authority of his father. Pepin was the second son of Charlemagne by his th ...

in the 9th century, but rebuilt around a new industry based on salt pans. In the Middle Ages, Chioggia proper was known as ''Clugia major'', whereas ''Clugia minor'' was a

sand bar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It o ...

about 600 m further into the Adriatic. A free commune and an episcopal see from 1110, it had later an important role in the so-called

War of Chioggia The War of Chioggia ( it, Guerra di Chioggia) was a conflict between Genoa and Venice which lasted from 1378 to 1381, from which Venice emerged triumphant. It was a part of the Venetian-Genoese Wars. The war had mixed results. Venice and her alli ...

between Genoa and Venice, being conquered by Genoa in 1378 and finally by Venice in June 1380. Although the town remained largely autonomous, it was always thereafter subordinate to Venice. On 14 March 1381, Chioggia concluded an alliance with

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

and

Trogir Trogir (; historically known as Traù (from Dalmatian, Venetian and Italian: ); la, Tragurium; Ancient Greek: Τραγύριον, ''Tragyrion'' or Τραγούριον, ''Tragourion'') is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in S ...

against Venice, and finally Chioggia became better protected by Venice in 1412, because

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

became in 1412 the seat of the main

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

office and the seat of the salt consumers office with a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

on the salt trade in Chioggia and on the whole

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

Culture

Until the 19th century, women in Chioggia wore an outfit based on an

apron An apron is a garment that is worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body. The word comes from old French ''napron'' meaning a small piece of cloth, however over time "a napron" became "an apron", through a linguistics process cal ...

which could be raised to serve as a

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...

. Chioggia is also known for

lace-making Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

; like

Pellestrina Pellestrina is an island in northern Italy, forming a barrier between the southern Venetian Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea, lying south west of the Lido. The island is long and has since the eighteenth century been bounded to its seaward side by ...

, but unlike

Burano Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy, near Torcello at the northern end of the lagoon, known for its lace work and brightly coloured homes. The primary economy is tourism. Geography Burano is from Venice, a 45-minute tr ...

, this lace is made using

bobbin A bobbin or spool is a spindle or cylinder, with or without flanges, on which yarn, thread, wire, tape or film is wound. Bobbins are typically found in industrial textile machinery, as well as in sewing machines, fishing reels, tape measure ...

s. Chioggia served

Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...

as the setting of his play ''

Le baruffe chiozzotte ''Le baruffe chiozzotte'' (''Brawling in Chioggia'') is a play by the Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni, first performed at the Teatro San Luca in Venice in January 1762. It deals with the comic struggles between two groups of fishermen in the lag ...

'', one of the classics of Italian literature: a ''baruffa'' was a loud brawl, and ''chiozzotto'' (today more frequently ''chioggiotto'' in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, or ''cioxoto'' in Venetian) is the

demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...

for Chioggia. Goldoni took his setting seriously: the play is replete with lacemaking, fishermen, and other local color.

Main sights

Chioggia is often called "''Little

''", with a few canals, chief among them the Canale Vena, and the characteristic narrow streets known as ''calli''. Chioggia has several medieval churches, much reworked in the period of its greatest prosperity in the 16th and 17th centuries. The church dedicated to St. Mary of the Assumption, founded in the eleventh century, became a cathedral in 1110, then was rebuilt as

Chioggia Cathedral Chioggia Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Chioggia, ''Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta'') is the main place of worship in Chioggia, Italy, in the south of the Venetian Lagoon. It dates from 1627. The interior contains many interesting works of art. Hist ...

from 1623 by

Baldassarre Longhena Baldassare Longhena (1598 – 18 February 1682) was an Italian architect, who worked mainly in Venice, where he was one of the greatest exponents of Baroque architecture of the period. Biography Born in Venice, Longhena studied under the architect ...

. The church of St. Andrew (18th century) has a bell tower from the 11th-12th centuries, the most ancient tower watch in the world. The interior has a ''Crucifixion'' by

Palma the Elder Palma Vecchio (c. 1480 – 30 July 1528), born Jacopo Palma, also known as Jacopo Negretti, was a Venetian painter of the Italian High Renaissance. He is called Palma Vecchio in English and Palma il Vecchio in Italian ("Palma the Elder") to di ...

Economy

Fishing is historically the livelihood of the port, and remains a significant economic sector. Other important modern industries include textiles, brick-making and steel; and Sottomarina, with 60 hotels and 17 campgrounds, is almost entirely given over to seafront tourism.

Demography

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:455 height:373 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:55000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:5000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1861 text:1861 bar:1871 text:1871 bar:1881 text:1881 bar:1901 text:1901 bar:1911 text:1911 bar:1921 text:1921 bar:1931 text:1931 bar:1936 text:1936 bar:1951 text:1951 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1971 text:1971 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2001 text:2001 bar:2011 text:2011 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1861 from:0 till: 0 bar:1871 from:0 till: 28051 bar:1881 from:0 till: 29236 bar:1901 from:0 till: 31218 bar:1911 from:0 till: 35052 bar:1921 from:0 till: 36427 bar:1931 from:0 till: 40252 bar:1936 from:0 till: 42569 bar:1951 from:0 till: 49528 bar:1961 from:0 till: 47151 bar:1971 from:0 till: 49885 bar:1981 from:0 till: 53470 bar:1991 from:0 till: 53179 bar:2001 from:0 till: 51779 bar:2011 from:0 till: 49735 PlotData= bar:1861 at: 0 fontsize:S text: n.d. shift:(-8,5) bar:1871 at: 28051 fontsize:S text: 28.051 shift:(-10,5) bar:1881 at: 29236 fontsize:S text: 29.236 shift:(-10,5) bar:1901 at: 31218 fontsize:S text: 31.218 shift:(-10,5) bar:1911 at: 35052 fontsize:S text: 35.052 shift:(-10,5) bar:1921 at: 36427 fontsize:S text: 36.427 shift:(-10,5) bar:1931 at: 40252 fontsize:S text: 40.252 shift:(-10,5) bar:1936 at: 42569 fontsize:S text: 42.569 shift:(-10,5) bar:1951 at: 49528 fontsize:S text: 49.528 shift:(-10,5) bar:1961 at: 47151 fontsize:S text: 47.151 shift:(-10,5) bar:1971 at: 49885 fontsize:S text: 49.885 shift:(-10,5) bar:1981 at: 53470 fontsize:S text: 53.470 shift:(-10,5) bar:1991 at: 53179 fontsize:S text: 53.179 shift:(-10,5) bar:2001 at: 51779 fontsize:S text: 51.779 shift:(-10,5) bar:2011 at: 49735 fontsize:S text: 49.735 shift:(-10,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Source ISTAT

Traditions and folklore

During the third week end of July, the festival of Palio della Marciliana takes place.

Particularity of Surnames

Chioggia represents an almost unique demographic case in Italy: the most common surname among the inhabitants of Chioggia is Zennaro, while the most common surnames of Sottomarina are Boscolo and Tiozzo. Because of the large amount of people with the same surname, the

officialized what is known as detto (popular nicknames used to distinguish the various branches of the same family). These "third names" are inserted in every official document, including a driving license and identity card.

Personalities

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Chioggia is twinned with: *

Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...

(

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, 2007) *

Saint-Tropez , INSEE = 83119 , postal code = 83990 , image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg , image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-Al ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, 2008)

Trivia

Chioggia gives its name to a variety of

Beetroot The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...

Radicchio Radicchio ( or ; ) is a perennial cultivated form of leaf chicory (''Cichorium intybus'', Asteraceae) sometimes known as Italian chicory because of its common use in Italian cuisine. It is grown as a leaf vegetable and usually has colorful white ...

(Italian chicory), and

Pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...

(Marina di Chioggia).

References

External links

*
Port of Chioggia
* {{authority control Cities and towns in Veneto