Around us
The privileged location of Hotel Grande Italia allows also to discover the historic center of Chioggia, among ancient buildings, shops and cafes, here there are some tips that will allow you to discover the beauty of our city:
Just outside the hotel you find the great Vigo Bridge, entirely built in Istrian stone, and Vigo column with the winged lion jokingly called “El gato”, the cat, as opposed to the ‘solemn’ lion of Venice, the republic that Chioggia tied his name to.
A few steps beyond Vigo bridge, there is San Domenico church with the historical Christ that dates back to 1300 and whose origins and provenance are hidden by many legends and myths.
In Riva Vena, that runs along one of the two canals of the old town there is Palazzo Grassi, a typical “Venetian house” in “fifteenth century Gothic” style, built between the seventh decade of the seventeenth century and the first decade of the eighteenth century.
In the pedestrian area of the Centre you can admire Sant’ Andrea church, which has at its side the bell tower in Romanesque style dating back to the XI-XII sec. Once it was used as a defensive and military watch tower and it also contains an ancient medieval clock nowadays.
Start at “Piazzetta Vigo” and walk under the arcades of “Corso del Popolo”, the city’s main artery, which is crossed by smaller streets and parallel to three canals – Lombardo, Vena and San Domenico – still sailed through by the old “bragozzi”, traditional lagoon fishing boats.
Continuing along the main street, you will arrive at Chioggia Cathedral, decorated with paintings by Tiepolo and Piazzetta. Just a bit further on, passing through Porta Garibaldi with its arched structure now entrance to the city Centre once defensive fortification, you can visit the South Lagoon Civic Museum, rich of Roman archaeological findings and an exhibition of rare local naval objects, from the 1700s to today.
Moving a few km away from the old town, in Sottomarina you can enjoy a completely different landscape. The beach of Sottomarina is long about ten km and particularly appreciated for the quality of its fine sand and its air, rich of iodine and considered curative.
Going beyond the typical Murazzi, large boulders in Istrian stone in order to face the destructive effect of storms, you reach the Sottomarina dam, where you can walk to the lighthouse and enjoy the splendid natural view of the sea.
For people extremely keen on walking or cycling outdoors, it is impossible not to mention the shore Lusenzo that runs along the lagoon and embraces all around areas going from Chioggia to Sottomarina.
You cannot miss every Thursday morning the colorful market along the center, the largest in Veneto; after finishing the tour of its stalls you have to visit the Churchof St. James, where you can admire the beautiful frescoed ceiling by local painter Antonio Marinetti called “Chiozzotto”.
Before you leave you definitively have to make a stop at the famous fish market, which every morning exhibits an extraordinary variety of fresh fish.
The Venetian lagoon and its surroundings
The beauty of our country does not simply stop at Chioggia. Our lagoon is a unique place to discover, here there are just some of the treasures you can visit:
Venice
Oasis of Bosco Nordio
Lipu Oasis of Ca 'Roman
Park of the Po Delta
Padua
Brenta Riviera