Chioggia, Italy

Chioggia Italy

Chioggia is a coastal town and municipality in the Metropolitan City of Venice, in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Chioggia and the nearby Sottomarina were not prominent in antiquity, although they are first mentioned by Pliny as the fossa Clodia. Local legend attributes this name to a founder named Clodius, but the origin of this belief is unknown. The town’s name has changed several times over the centuries, appearing as Clodia, Cluza, Clugia, Chiozza, and finally Chioggia. The oldest documents mentioning Chioggia date from the 6th century AD, when it was part of the Byzantine Empire. Chioggia was destroyed by King Pippin of Italy in the 9th century, but it was rebuilt around a new economy based on salt pans. In the Middle Ages, Chioggia itself was known as Clugia major, while Clugia minor referred to a sandbar about 600 meters further into the Adriatic Sea. A free commune and an episcopal see from 1110, the town later played an important role in the so‑called War of Chioggia between Genoa and Venice, being conquered by Genoa in 1378 and then by Venice in June 1380. Although it retained considerable local autonomy, Chioggia remained subordinate to Venice thereafter. On March 14, 1381, Chioggia concluded an alliance with Zadar and Trogir against Venice. In 1412, its position within the Venetian sphere was further defined when Šibenik became the seat of the main customs office and the salt consumers’ office, with a monopoly over the salt trade in Chioggia and across the entire Adriatic Sea.
Recommended airport
Venezia Tessera (VCE)
Nearby destinations
  • Venice a 24.61 km
  • Padua a 39.00 km
  • Rovigo a 41.69 km