Eraclea () is a small city and ''
comune
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' in the
Metropolitan City of Venice
The Metropolitan City of Venice () is a metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in the Veneto region of Italy, one of ten metropolitan cities in Italy. Its capital is the city of Venice. It replaced the province of Venice in 2015 and incl ...
,
Veneto
Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...
,
northern Italy
Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...
. It is located on the
Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
coast between the towns of
Caorle and
Jesolo.
History
From its founding until 742 AD, the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
had its capital based in Eraclea. It was replaced by
Malamocco. According to Greek mythology, it was founded by the hero and
demi-god Heracles
Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...
.
Tourism
Eraclea Mare is, together with
Jesolo and
Caorle, one of the main seaside resorts on the Venetian coast facing the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
. A steady growth of foreign tourists, especially from Germany, has been recently recorded.
Environment
In 2009, Eraclea Mare was awarded the "3 Sails" by the environmental
NGO Legambiente
Legambiente is an Italian environmentalist association with roots in the anti-nuclear movement that developed in Italy and throughout the Western world in the second half of the 1970s. Founded in 1980 as part of the ARCI, it later became a stand- ...
. The city has been awarded the "
Blue Flag" from the Foundation for Environmental Education every year from 2007 to 2017 for the cleanliness of its beaches and seawater.
Main sights
Eraclea Mare is known for its pinewood and the
Laguna del Mort 'Lagoon of the Dead'. The Lagoon, an unusual natural formation, was caused by the overflowing of the Piave river in 1935, whose bed was modified in its last stretch after a large flood. The Lagoon stretches between the Eraclea's Lido and the mouth of the Piave river and it is a sea-lagoon, being supplied with water only by the flood-tides. Still uncontaminated, the Mort is characterized by shallow and calm waters with a sandy and muddy seabed, rich in
phytoplankton
Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater Aquatic ecosystem, ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), mea ...
.
Economy
The city's economy is mostly based on agriculture and tourism, because of its 6 km-long beach (Eracleamare).
Transportation
The town is served by
Trenitalia
Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...
services to
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
and
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
from
San Donà di Piave, and by
Venice Marco Polo Airport and
Treviso Airport to the west and south, respectively.
By road, Eraclea is accessible from Venice via the
A4 through
San Donà di Piave to the north.
People
*
Paolo Lucio Anafesto, first
Doge of Venice
The Doge of Venice ( ) – in Italian, was the doge or highest role of authority within the Republic of Venice (697–1797). The word derives from the Latin , meaning 'leader', and Venetian Italian dialect for 'duke', highest official of the ...
(697–717)
*
Marcello Tegalliano, second Doge of Venice (717–726)
*
Orso Ipato, third Doge of Venice (726–737)
*
Angelo Participazio, (811–827), 10th Doge of Venice
*Saint Floriano bishop of Oderzo with sede in Eraclea (?–620?)
*
Saint Tiziano bishop of Oderzo with sede in Eraclea (620?–16 January 632?)
*Saint Magno, first bishop of Eraclea (632?–638?)
*
Angelo Correr, bishop of Eraclea (1406–1410) (Pope Gregorio XII)
*Giovanni Contarini, bishop of Eraclea (1427)
*
Nello Santin, footballer (1946)
References
External links
EracleaTravel InfoTouristInformation about Eracleamare.
Eracleamare's PortalNon-profit portal with some information and utilities about Eraclea Mare.
(Google Maps)Eracleamare in FlickrEracleamare's BlogBlog with some Touristic information and utilities.
Map
Eraclea on Wikimapia
Webcams
Webcam live service on Eraclea's beachFree provided by Eracleamare.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eraclea
Capitals of former nations
Cities and towns in Veneto
Catholic titular sees in Europe
Articles containing video clips