When we think of Venice we usually think of gondolas, romance and also of hoards of tourists with their selfie sticks and trolley bags. But since 2021, Venezia is back in the Serie A, where the stadium of the local club can, obviously, only be reached by boat.
At the turn of the century Venezia played in Serie A, but what followed was an immense downfall. In the 21st century alone the team filed for bankruptcy twice and in 2016 they played in the Serie D, the fourth tier of Italian football. After back-to-back promotions manager Pippo Inzaghi nearly managed to get them to a third promotion in a row, but Venezia stranded in the play-offs. A year later they succeeded, in a nerve-breaking final they won against Cittadella and the return to Serie A (after 19 years of absence) was a fact.
Space is scarce in Venice, and that's also the case for the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo, which has been the home of the club for 110 years already. The stadium is located in the east of Venice and was in a horrifying state, but after promotion some refurbishment was done, lifting the stadium's capacity to 11.150. There's still a lot of room for improvement, but we wouldn't want to see Venezia play in another stadium. It's the location that makes Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo so special, at the edge of Venice, close to the water. Around the stadium there are no extensive parking lots, but tiny yacht marinas where you can dock your boat. A must-visit.
In the narrow streets of downtown Venice, you'll find Bacarando Corte dell’Orso on a tiny square near the Ponte Rialto. A great little restaurant where the delicious food on offer is limitless. The restaurant used to be Trattoria da Nane, the restaurant where Venezia was founded in 1907.
The Piazza San Marco is the largest square in Venice. This is where the Venezia Tifosi gathered to celebrate a spontaneous party after their club got promoted to Serie A. The official celebration of the players took place on the water, of course. The players sailed on a giant gondola through the city, whilst being applauded by many fans on other boats and bridges. When they arrived at the stadium, the players dove into the water one by one as they were being cheered by their fans on the quays.
Mestre is one of the mainland areas of Venice. It's a 'normal' part of the city, with actual streets. In the past, Venezia played here temporarily after they merged with the football club Mestre, after which the club was renamed Venezia-Mestre as well. The black and green of Venezia and the orange of Mestre created the extraordinary orange-black-green jerseys Venezia has now. The fusion club played its matches in the Stadio Francesco Baracca.
Order your tickets on the website of Ticketone. It's an official ticketing site for many different events in Italy and for some football clubs too, including Venezia.
As said before, the special thing about Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo is that you can only get there by boat. The Piazzale Roma is the square at the beginning of Venice, not far from the train station Venezia Santa Lucia. Here ends your journey by train, car or bus, and here starts your adventure by boat. Venice has an extensive network of 'water buses' known as the vaporetti. From the pier at the Piazzale Roma take water bus 5.1, which sails around Venice and brings you to Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo in just 30 minutes.
Tip from us: even better is water bus 1 which departs from Pier Ferrovia, right in front of Venezia Santa Lucia. This water bus to Sant'Elena does double your travel time but goes right through the heart of Venezia, underneath the famous Ponte Rialto and passing the Piazza San Marco. In that way, you can catch all the beauty of Venice on your way to the stadium as well.
Images: Giacomo Cosua
