Venice Street Map

Understanding Venice Streets

Venice has its own vocabulary for streets and public spaces. Learning these terms will help you navigate and understand addresses.

Venice Street Terminology

• Calle: A narrow street (plural: calli) - the most common term
• Campo: A square or plaza (not piazza - only St. Mark's is a piazza)
• Fondamenta: A walkway alongside a canal
• Rio: A small canal
• Rio Terà: A filled-in canal, now a street
• Salizada: One of the first paved streets
• Ruga: A street with shops
• Sottoportego: A covered passageway under a building
• Ponte: A bridge

Reading Venetian Street Signs

Street names are painted on the walls in white rectangles called nizioleti, usually in Venetian dialect. The same name can appear in several districts, so always check the sestiere as well. At corners, yellow signs with arrows point towards major landmarks such as San Marco, Rialto, Accademia and Ferrovia (the train station).

Main Thoroughfares

• Lista di Spagna and Strada Nova: the main route from the train station through Cannaregio towards the Rialto.
• Mercerie: the shopping streets connecting Rialto with St Mark's Square.
• Via Garibaldi: one of the few streets called "via", a wide, lively street in Castello.
• Zattere: the long waterfront promenade along the Giudecca Canal in Dorsoduro.

Navigation Tips

Phone GPS can be unreliable between tall buildings, so it helps to follow a paper or offline map and note the campi you pass. Many alleys end at a canal without a bridge; if a calle looks like a dead end, it probably is. Remember that Venetians walk on the right and step aside on narrow bridges.

Frequently Asked Questions