Sottomarina is a small town on a peninsula which has the same name. It is a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' 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 ...

Chioggia Chioggia (; vec, Cióxa , locally ; la, Clodia) is a coastal town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Geography The town is situated on a small island at the southern entrance to the L ...

, which is part of the Metropolitan City of Venice in the

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

region in north-eastern Italy.

Geography

Sottomarina is a peninsula which protrudes into the Lagoon of Venice, forming its southern coastal tract. The other parts of the coastline of this lagoon are the

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from ...

s of

Pellestrina Pellestrina is an island in northern Italy, forming a barrier between the southern Venetian Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea, lying south west of the Lido. The island is long and has since the eighteenth century been bounded to its seaward side b ...

and

Lido Lido may refer to: Geography Africa * Lido, a district in the city of Fez, Morocco Asia * Lido, an area in Chaoyang District, Beijing * Lido, a cinema theater in Siam Square shopping area in Bangkok * Lido City, a resort in West Java owned by MN ...

, in the middle, and the peninsula of Cavallino in the north. Sottomarina is separated form Pellestrina by the Chioggia inlet. The lagoon side of its coast is by the islands which form the town of Chioggia and on the eastern side of the Val di Brenta, southernmost basin of the lagoon. It southern end is cut through by the mouth of the River Brenta. The peninsula is narrow at the northern end as it widens and it progress southwards. The town is close to Chioggia and it is connected with it by a 700 m bridge.

History

The main settlement in Sottomarina was known as ''Clodia Minor'' in the 7th century AD. This distinguished it form ''Clodia Major'', which is now the town of Chioggia. These Latin names then morphed into Chioggia Minore and Chioggia Maggiore. The settlement was governed by its own tribune and issued its own laws. It was connected to Chioggia by a stone bridge. It had the churches of San Martino, Sant'Antonio Abate, San Matteo, a hospital and a castle with a tower on an islet named after it (Buoncastello), just off the northeastern corner of the peninsula.Portale ufficiale di Chioggia, Sottomarina e Isola Verde
/ref> The town was destroyed in 1379, during the

War of Chioggia The War of Chioggia ( it, Guerra di Chioggia) was a conflict between Genoa and Venice which lasted from 1378 to 1381, from which Venice emerged triumphant. It was a part of the Venetian-Genoese Wars. The war had mixed results. Venice and her alli ...

between the Republics of Genoa and

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 ...

. The senate of the Republic of Venice forbade its rebuilding until the second half 17th century. During that period it was uninhabited and subject to floods. In the 18th century, the ''murazzi'', the imposing Istrian stone bank was built to protect Sottomarina from storm surges. At the southern end of Sottomarina there is the hamlet of Brondolo. The doge

Teodato Ipato Teodato Ipato (also Diodato or Deusdedit; la, Theodatus Hypatus) was Doge of Venice from 742 to 755. With his election came the restoration of the dogato, which had been defunct since the assassination of his father, Orso Ipato. Before his ele ...

(742-55) had a fort built at Brondolo to protect the southern end of the

Duchy of Venice The Dogado, or Duchy of Venice, was the homeland of the Republic of Venice, headed by the Doge. It comprised the city of Venice and the narrow coastal strip from Loreo to Grado, though these borders later extended from Goro to the south, Polesine ...

. There used to be a small lagoon, the lagoon of Brondolo, south of the Lagoon of Venice and close to Brondolo, to its southeast. The two lagoons were connected by the Brondolo inlet. The Republic of Venice carried out a number of southwards diversions of the river Brenta, which was causing

silting Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary or ...

in the central area of the Lagoon of Venice. In one of these it was taken to flow into another part of the lagoon, in the Val di Brenta basin, on its shore opposite Chioggia, with the creation of a canal called Brenta Nova, which was completed in 1507. Then the Venetians built the Parador di Brondolo, an embankment, to cut this river off the Lagoon of Venice and to separate this lagoon form the Lagoon of Brondolo. It was taken to the Brondolo inlet and made to flow into the latter lagoon. This was completed in 1577. Since this lagoon was closed off from the sea, it was turned into a freshwater coastal lake in a couple of centuries due to the river bringing in freshwater. Later this lagoon silted as the river brought in its

sediments Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundame ...

. The last diversion of the Brenta occurred in the 1930s with the construction of an embankment to take this river to the sea. This was done to prevent further silting, to safeguard the local flora and fauna, which were being compromised, and to prevent

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. Since then, the southern side of the coast of Sottomarina has been widening at an average rate of three metres a year due to the sediments brought to the shore by the river.

Economy

Traditionally the inhabitants of this peninsula were farmers, while those of Chioggia were fishermen. Today Sottomarina is primarily a busy seaside resort, thanks to its proximity to

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

and

Rovigo Rovigo (, ; egl, Ruig) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Venice and south-southwest of P ...

. The first beach resorts, together with an over 2 km long

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...

, were built in 1900-1903. The sandy beach is 5 1/2 km long and reaches a width of 300 metres in some places.

Gallery

File:Sottomarina Chioggia.jpg, View of ''Lungomare Adriatico'' at the intersection with ''Viale

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

'' File:Sottomarina_R01.jpg, Lagoon side of Sottomarina, seen from Chioggia File:San Martino (3) (Sottomarina, Chioggia).jpg, The church of St. Martin

References

External links