Giudecca (; vec, Zueca) is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the Venetian Lagoon, in northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is part of the ''

sestiere A (plural: ) is a subdivision of certain Italian towns and cities. The word is from (‘sixth’), so it is thus used only for towns divided into six districts. The best-known example is the ''sestieri'' of Venice, but Ascoli Piceno, Genoa, Mi ...

'' of Dorsoduro and is a locality of the ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

Geography

Giudecca lies immediately south of the central islands of Venice, from which it is separated by the

Giudecca Canal The Giudecca Canal ( vec, Canal de ła Zueca) is a body of water that flows into the San Marco basin in Venice, Italy. It is one of the major canals in the city, it bisects the ''sestieri'' of Dorsoduro, separating Giudecca island and district f ...

San Giorgio Maggiore San Giorgio Maggiore ( vec, San Zorzi Mazor) is one of the islands of Venice, northern Italy, lying east of the Giudecca and south of the main island group. The island, or more specifically its Palladian church, is an important landmark. It ha ...

lies off its eastern tip.

History

Giudecca was known in ancient times as the ''Spinalunga'' (meaning "Long Thorn"). The name ''Giudecca'' may represent a corruption of the Latin "Judaica" ("Judaean") and so may be translated as " the Jewry": a number of towns in Southern Italy and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

have Jewish quarters named Giudecca or Judeca. However, the original

Venetian Ghetto The Venetian Ghetto was the area of Venice in which Jews were forced to live by the government of the Venetian Republic. The English word ''ghetto'' is derived from the Jewish ghetto in Venice. The Venetian Ghetto was instituted on 29 March 151 ...

was in Cannaregio, in the north of the city, and there is no evidence, but for the name, of Jews ever having lived in Giudecca. Furthermore, the term "Giudecca" was not used to denote the Jewish quarters of towns in northern Italy. Giudecca was historically an area of large palaces with gardens, the island became an industrial area in the early 20th century with shipyards and

factories A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

, and a film studio. Much of the industry went into decline after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, but it is now once more regarded as a quiet residential area of largely working-class housing with some chic apartments and exclusive houses. It is known for its long dock and its churches, including the Palladio-designed

Il Redentore The Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore ( en, Church of the Most Holy Redeemer), commonly known as Il Redentore, is a 16th-century Roman Catholic church located on Giudecca (island) in the ''sestiere'' of Dorsoduro, in the city of Venice, Italy. I ...

. The island was the home of a huge flour mill, the

Molino Stucky The Molino Stucky is a Neo-Gothic building in Venice, on the western end of Giudecca island, near the ancient village Fortuny. It was designed by Ernst Wullekopf and built between 1884 and 1895 by the Swiss businessman Giovanni Stucky, whose fath ...

, which has been converted into a luxury hotel and apartment complex. At the other end of Giudecca is the famous five-star Cipriani hotel with large private gardens and salt-water pool.

Resort town

Modern renovations of some antique architecture in Giudecca have bolstered the island's reputation as a vacation locale. In 2011, Venetian developers reopened the lodgings of a prominent 16th-century mansion as long-term rentals under the name "Villa F."

Gallery

Church of the Redentore (7251821740).jpg,

church Festa del Redentore 2009 1.jpeg, The pier that connects Giudecca with

during the

Festa del Redentore The Festa del Redentore is an event held in Venice the third Sunday of July where fireworks play an important role. The Redentore began as a feast – held on the day of the Feast of the Most Holy Redeemer – to give thanks for the end of the te ...

in July Le Zitelle (7257700906).jpg, Le Zitelle church Le quartier Junghans (Giudecca, Venise) (6157086872).jpg, The modern Junghans quarter Teatro junghans giudecca.JPG, Junghans contemporary theater, seat of the Venetian Theatrical Academy Aerial view Venice l 07 2017 4999.jpg, Aerial view of the

(left)

References

External links