Giudecca (; vec, Zueca) is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the Venetian Lagoon, in 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 ...

. It is part of the '' sestiere'' of

Dorsoduro Dorsoduro is one of the six sestieri of Venice, in northern Italy. Dorsoduro includes the highest land areas of the city and also Giudecca island and Isola Sacca Fisola. Its name derives from the Italian for "hard ridge", due to its comparati ...

and is a locality of the ''

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

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 ...

Geography

Giudecca lies immediately south of the central islands of Venice, from which it is separated by the

Giudecca Canal The Giudecca Canal ( vec, Canal de ła Zueca) is a body of water that flows into the San Marco basin in Venice, Italy. It is one of the major canals in the city, it bisects the ''sestieri'' of Dorsoduro, separating Giudecca island and district fr ...

San Giorgio Maggiore San Giorgio Maggiore ( vec, San Zorzi Mazor) is one of the islands of Venice, northern Italy, lying east of the Giudecca and south of the main island group. The island, or more specifically its Palladian church, is an important landmark. It ha ...

lies off its eastern tip.

History

Giudecca was known in ancient times as the ''Spinalunga'' (meaning "Long Thorn"). The name ''Giudecca'' may represent a corruption of the Latin "Judaica" ("Judaean") and so may be translated as " the Jewry": a number of towns in Southern Italy and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

have Jewish quarters named Giudecca or Judeca. Venice historian John Julius Norwich writes in the 1989 edition of his book, ''A History of Venice'': “…by the middle of the thirteenth century there was already a considerable Jewish population in the city and its immediate neighborhood—perhaps 3,000 or more. Many lived at Mestre, on the mainland; others —particularly those who had mercantile dealings with Dalmatia—occupied the island of Spinalunga and were in fact responsible for its change of name to Giudecca.” However, the term "Giudecca" was not generally used to denote the Jewish quarters of towns in northern Italy. It wasn't until 1516 that the first segregated Jewish quarter in Europe, called the New Foundry, or "Ghetto Nuovo," was established in the Cannaregio district in Venice. Jews were required to live in a confined area and were subject to various restrictions. The term "ghetto" itself originated from this Venetian district. Giudecca was historically an area of large

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

s with gardens, the island became an industrial area in the early 20th century with

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

s and factories, and a

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production ...

. Much of the industry went into decline after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but it is now once more regarded as a quiet residential area of largely working-class housing with some chic apartments and exclusive houses. It is known for its long

dock A dock (from Dutch language, Dutch ''dok'') is the area of water between or next to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore) or such structures themselves. The ex ...

and its churches, including the Palladio-designed

Il Redentore The Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore ( en, Church of the Most Holy Redeemer), commonly known as Il Redentore, is a 16th-century Roman Catholic church located on Giudecca (island) in the ''sestiere'' of Dorsoduro, in the city of Venice, Italy. It ...

. The island was the home of a huge flour mill, the

Molino Stucky The Molino Stucky is a Neo-Gothic building in Venice, on the western end of Giudecca island, near the ancient village Fortuny. It was designed by Ernst Wullekopf and built between 1884 and 1895 by the Swiss businessman Giovanni Stucky, whose fath ...

, which has been converted into a luxury hotel and apartment complex. At the other end of Giudecca is the famous five-star Cipriani hotel with large private gardens and salt-water pool.

Resort town

Modern renovations of some antique architecture in Giudecca have bolstered the island's reputation as a vacation locale. In 2011, Venetian developers reopened the lodgings of a prominent 16th-century mansion as long-term rentals under the name "Villa F."

Gallery

Church of the Redentore (7251821740).jpg,

church Festa del Redentore 2009 1.jpeg, The pier that connects Giudecca with

during the Festa del Redentore in July Le Zitelle (7257700906).jpg,

Le Zitelle Le Zitelle (officially Santa Maria della Presentazione) is a church in Venice, Italy. It is part of a former complex which gave shelter to young maidens ("zitelle" in Italian) who had no dowry, and is in the easternmost part of the Giudecca isla ...

church Le quartier Junghans (Giudecca, Venise) (6157086872).jpg, The modern Junghans quarter Teatro junghans giudecca.JPG, Junghans contemporary theater, seat of the Venetian Theatrical Academy Aerial view Venice l 07 2017 4999.jpg, Aerial view of the

(left)

References

External links