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Venice glossary: the words of the city
Calle, campo, fondamenta, rio terà, sotoportego: the Venetian words you read on street signs, maps and menus, explained by a licensed guide so you can find your way around Venice, Italy.
- Licensed guide no. 05000058
- Guiding since 2008
- Private tours only
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In short
What do the street names in Venice mean?
In Venice a street is a calle, a square is a campo, a walkway along a canal is a fondamenta and a canal is a rio: only Piazza San Marco is called a piazza. A rio terà is a canal that was filled in, a sotoportego is a passage under a building, and the city is divided into six districts called sestieri, which also give their name to the addresses. This glossary is written by Daniela Zarpellon, licensed tourist guide who has been guiding in Venice since 2008.
On the street signs
Streets and squares
The words painted on the walls tell you what kind of space you are walking into.
Calle
The ordinary Venetian street, usually narrow and lined with houses. The word comes from the Latin callis, a path. A calle larga is a wider one.
Campo
A square. The name means "field": many squares were once unpaved open ground around a church. Only Piazza San Marco is a piazza; the Piazzetta and Piazzale Roma are the other exceptions.
Campiello
A small campo, often a quiet open space where several calli meet.
Corte
A courtyard shared by the surrounding houses, frequently reached through a single entrance and often a dead end.
Fondamenta
A walkway running along a canal, built on the foundations of the houses beside it. Fondamente Nove, on the northern edge of the city, is where boats leave for the islands.
Riva
A broad quay on the water where boats can moor, such as the Riva degli Schiavoni along the Bacino di San Marco.
Rio terà
A street that was once a canal, later filled in. The name comes from rio interrato, "buried canal"; you can often spot its straight course on the map.
Salizada
One of the first streets of Venice to be paved: the name comes from the Venetian word for paving. Salizade are usually wider and more important than ordinary calli.
Ruga
A street lined with houses and shops. The word is related to the French rue.
Ramo
A "branch": a short side street off a calle or campo, sometimes ending at a canal.
Sotoportego
A covered passage that runs underneath a building, from one calle to another. Walking through one is part of the Venetian maze.
Piscina
An area where a pool of water once stood before it was filled in, as in Piscina San Samuele.
Sestieri, nizioleti and addresses
Sestiere
One of the six districts of the historic center: San Marco, Castello, Cannaregio, Dorsoduro, San Polo and Santa Croce. The Giudecca is traditionally counted with Dorsoduro, and the islands have their own names.
Nizioleto
The painted street sign: black letters in a white frame painted directly on the wall. The name means "little sheet", for its shape.
How do addresses work in Venice?
A Venetian address is made of the sestiere and a house number, for example "Cannaregio" followed by a number: the street name is not part of it. Numbers run through the whole sestiere, so two neighboring doors can have very distant numbers. When you book a stay, always ask for the name of the nearest calle or campo too, and read our article on Venice addresses and street names.
On the water
Canals, boats and tides
Venice is also read from the water: these words are on vaporetto maps and in the history of the lagoon.
Rio
A canal. Almost every canal in Venice is a rio; only a few large ones are called canal, such as the Canal Grande, the Giudecca Canal and the Cannaregio Canal.
Vaporetto
The public water bus run by ACTV. The name recalls the steam boats of the nineteenth century, "vapore" in Italian. Read getting around Venice for lines and tickets.
Imbarcadero
A floating vaporetto stop. Each one shows its lines and their direction: check both before boarding.
Traghetto
A gondola ferry that simply crosses the Grand Canal at a few fixed points. It is a short public crossing, not a gondola ride.
Gondola
The traditional Venetian boat: flat-bottomed and slightly asymmetrical, rowed standing by a single gondolier with one oar.
Forcola
The carved wooden oarlock of the gondola. Its curves let the gondolier row, slow down and turn with a single oar.
Squero
A boatyard where gondolas and other traditional boats are built and repaired. The squero of San Trovaso, in Dorsoduro, can be seen from the opposite fondamenta.
Bricola
A group of wooden piles driven into the lagoon to mark the navigable channels.
Acqua alta
An exceptionally high tide that floods the lowest parts of the city, most often between autumn and winter. Since 2020 the MOSE mobile barriers at the lagoon inlets have been raised to hold back the highest tides.
Houses and palaces
Buildings and institutions
Ca'
Short for casa, "house": the name of many palaces of Venetian families, such as Ca' d'Oro and Ca' Rezzonico on the Grand Canal.
Fondaco (fontego)
A warehouse that also housed foreign merchants, such as the Fondaco dei Tedeschi near Rialto, used by German merchants, and the Fondaco dei Turchi.
Scuola Grande
A lay confraternity devoted to charity and mutual help, not a school. The Scuola Grande di San Rocco is famous for its cycle of paintings by Tintoretto.
Vera da pozzo
The carved stone wellhead in the middle of many campi. Underneath was a cistern that collected rainwater and filtered it through sand.
Altana
A wooden terrace built on the roof, typical of Venetian houses, used for drying laundry and enjoying the light.
History and daily life
Serenissima
"The Most Serene": the name of the Republic of Venice, which governed the city, the lagoon and a large state on land and sea until 1797.
Doge
The elected head of the Republic, who lived and governed in the Doge's Palace with the councils of the State. The last doge, Ludovico Manin, abdicated in 1797. See our guide to the Doge's Palace.
Bacaro, cicchetti and ombra
A bacaro is a traditional Venetian wine bar; cicchetti are the small snacks served at the counter; an ombra, "shade", is a small glass of wine. Tradition says the name comes from the wine sellers who moved their stalls with the shadow of the bell tower in Piazza San Marco.
FAQ
Venetian words: your questions
What is the difference between a campo and a piazza in Venice?
In Venice squares are called campi. The only square called a piazza is Piazza San Marco; the Piazzetta beside it and Piazzale Roma are the other exceptions.
What is a calle in Venice?
A calle is an ordinary Venetian street, usually narrow and lined with houses. Wider streets may be called calle larga, salizada or ruga.
What is a fondamenta?
A fondamenta is a walkway along a canal, built on the foundations of the houses beside it. It is often the best place to walk alongside the water.
What does rio terà mean?
A rio terà is a street created by filling in a canal. The name comes from rio interrato, "buried canal".
Why are Venetian addresses hard to find?
Because an address is the name of the sestiere followed by a house number, without the street. Ask for the nearest calle or campo as well, and allow extra time the first time you look for it.
What are the six sestieri of Venice?
San Marco, Castello, Cannaregio, Dorsoduro, San Polo and Santa Croce. The Giudecca is traditionally counted with Dorsoduro.
More planning help: getting around Venice, where to stay in Venice, how many days you need, what to see in Venice and all our private tours, or start from the Venice travel guide.
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