Mestre () is a borough of the

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 ...

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 ...

on the mainland opposite the historical island city in the region of

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 ...

, Italy. Administratively, Mestre forms (together with the nearby Carpenedo) the Municipalità di Mestre-Carpenedo, one of the six boroughs or districts of the comune. Sometimes it is considered as a

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') 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 consolidat ...

. With 88,552 (2019) inhabitants, Mestre is the most populated urban centre of the comune. The population of the borough of Mestre-Carpenedo is 89,373 (2010).

Overview

The mainland of Venice is the territory on the coast of the

Lagoon of Venice The Venetian Lagoon (; ) is an enclosed bay of the Adriatic Sea, in northern Italy, in which the city of Venice is situated. Its name in the Italian and Venetian languages, ' (cognate of Latin ' ), has provided the English name for an enclosed, ...

, off 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 ...

in northeastern Italy. It is connected to Venice proper by a 3,850 m (2.39 miles) long railway and road bridge over the lagoon called

Ponte della Libertà The Ponte della Libertà (Liberty Bridge) is a road bridge connecting the islands that form the historical centre of the city of Venice to the mainland part of the city. Designed in 1932 by engineer Eugenio Miozzi, it was opened by Benito Muss ...

(Freedom Bridge). After World War II, Mestre had a fast and disorganized period of urban growth and became a large metropolitan area together with the other urban centers on the Venetian mainland (Carpenedo, Marghera, Favaro Veneto, Chirignago, Zelarino, Tessera). Because Mestre is the hub and the most populated area of the mainland shore, in common parlance, its

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

is often misused to designate the whole Venetian mainland. Mestre became a comune in 1806 and remained so until 1926 when it was incorporated into the comune of Venice with adjacent portions of the mainland and islands in the lagoon.

Population

Mestre has around 88,552 inhabitants, while the Municipalità di Mestre-Carpenedo (one of the six boroughs of the city of Venice) has 89,373 inhabitants. The Venetian mainland (the boroughs of Mestre-Carpenedo, Marghera, Chirignago-Zelarino, and Favaro Veneto) has around 181,000 inhabitants. In contrast, there are just around 53,000 inhabitants in Venice city (San Marco, Castello, Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro, Santa Croce) and just approximately 27,700 in the other major islands of Venice city borough (

Murano Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was o ...

Burano Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy, near Torcello at the northern end of the lagoon, known for its lace work and brightly coloured homes. The primary economy is tourism. Geography Burano is from Venice, a 45-minute tr ...

Mazzorbo Mazzorbo is one of various islands in the northern part of the Lagoon of Venice. Like the other islands in this part of the lagoon, it was the site of one of the earliest settlements in the lagoon which predated the development of Venice. Howeve ...

and

Torcello Torcello (; ) is a sparsely populated island at the northern end of the Venetian Lagoon, in north-eastern Italy. It was first settled in 452 AD and has been referred to as the parent island from which Venice was populated. It was a town with ...

). Adjacent multi island borough of

Lido Lido may refer to: Geography * Lido (Belgrade), a river beach on the Danube in Belgrade, Serbia * Venice Lido, an 11-kilometre-long barrier island in the Venetian Lagoon, Venice, Italy * Ruislip Lido, a reservoir and artificial beach in Ruisl ...

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 di Venezia, Lido. The island is long and has since the eighteenth century been bounded to its ...

, which makes a total of around 80,700 inhabitants based on the islands of the municipality, thus making Mestre Venice municipality's largest population centre with approximately one-third of the total.

Public transport

Public transport is managed by

Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano Actv S.p.A. (Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano) is a public company responsible for public transportation in Venice and Chioggia municipalities and for interurban bus services in province of Venice. ACTV is not responsible for Venice ...

. There are several bus routes and two tram lines. Several bus routes link the mainland with

piazzale Roma Piazzale Roma () is a square in Venice, Italy, at the entrance of the city, at the end of the Ponte della Libertà. Piazzale Roma and nearby Tronchetto island are the only places in Venice's insular urban core accessible to ground motor vehicle ...

, the main bus station in Venice, via

, the bridge that connects Venice to the mainland. File:IRISBUS ACTV.JPG, Bus in Mestre File:Tramvia.sandonà.JPG, Tram in Mestre

History

According to legend, Mestre was founded by Mesthles, a companion of the hero

Antenor __NOTOC__ Antenor (, ''Antḗnōr''; BC) was an Athenian sculptor. He is recorded as the creator of the joint statues of the tyrannicides Harmodius and Aristogeiton funded by the Athenians on the expulsion of Hippias. These statues were ...

, a fugitive from

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

, who founded

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

. The true origins of the town are uncertain. However, it is known that a Roman oppidum (fortress) existed here.

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

destroyed the settlement, probably rebuilt in the 10th century. The first historical attestation of Mestre is in the charter of the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was the Holy Roman emperor and King of Italy from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was c ...

, in which Rambald, the count of Treviso, received land in an area named Mestre. In 1152, a papal bull by

Pope Eugene III Pope Eugene III (; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He was the first Cist ...

recognized the

bishop of Treviso The Diocese of Treviso () is Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Veneto, Italy. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Patriarchate of Venice. History Treviso pr ...

as lord of Mestre. He mentioned the existence of the church of St. Lawrence, a castle (Castelvecchio, Old Castle), and a port. In 1257 the bishop granted Mestre to

Alberico da Romano Alberico da Romano (1196 – 26 August 1260), called Alberico II, was an Italian condottiero, troubadour, and an alternatingly Guelph and Ghibelline statesman. He was also a patron of Occitan literature. Biography Alberico was born in the cas ...

, the

podestà (), also potestate or podesta in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a c ...

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

. In 1274, a fire destroyed the castle, and Mestre's inhabitants fortified the town with a

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

, which became Castelnuovo (Newcastle). No traces of this castle remain today. In 1323, the

Scaligeri The House of Della Scala, whose members were known as Scaligeri () or Scaligers (; from the Latinized ''de Scalis''), was the ruling family of Verona and mainland Veneto (except for Venice) from 1262 to 1387, for a total of 125 years. History ...

family from

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

conquered Treviso and thus acquired Mestre. The Venetians, fearing Verona's excessive power in the mainland, conquered Mestre on 29 September 1337. They replaced the old fortification with a brick wall, eight towers, and a moat. The port of Mestre benefited from the economic power of 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 ...

, forming Venice's primary connection with the mainland. A canal (the Canal Salso) was built to facilitate the transport of goods. The Venetian domination of Mestre ended on 16 July 1797 with

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's occupation of the Republic of Venice. In 1806, Mestre, following the French model, became a free municipality. It remained so under the subsequent period of Austrian rule (it also incorporated Carpenedo e Marocco) and under the Kingdom of Italy. In 1923, it was given the status of a town. Three years later, a Royal Decree incorporated Mestre and some other neighbouring townships (Chirignago, Zelarino, and Favaro Veneto) into the comune of Venice. Since then, attempts have been made to regain autonomy in four

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

s in 1979, 1989, 1994, and 2003, but in each instance, the proposal for separating Mestre from Venice was rejected. Another referendum, proposed by the president of the

region, took place on 1 December 2019. Even though 66% of the voters voted for the separation, only 21% of the population voted, thus making the referendum not valid. In the 1960s and 1970s, Mestre experienced a population boom, fuelled mainly by constructing a large industrial zone in nearby

Marghera Marghera is a ''municipalità'' (borough) of the ''comune'' of Venice, Italy, Venice, Italy. It includes the industrial area known as Porto Marghera (English: Marghera Port) or Venezia Porto Marghera. Etymology The name Marghera is said in popula ...

Tourism

Mestre is now a favourite starting point for tourists visiting Venice on a budget due to its convenient location, its cheap and frequent connections to Venice by train and by bus (which also runs at night), and the more reasonable prices of its bars, discos, car parking, hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets compared to the costs of the same tourist services in Venice. In 1979, Mestre provided one of the venues for the European basketball championship EuroBasket 1979. This drew many tourists to the town. The other venues were in

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...

and

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

Main sights

* Duomo of St. Lawrence (17th century) * Palazzo da Re * Palazzo podestarile * Provvedaria * Torre dell'Orologio (Watchtower, 1108)

Museums

* M9 Museum, inaugurated in 2018.

Points of interest

* Orto Botanico Locatelli, a small

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

In popular culture

Donna Leon Donna Leon (; born September 28, 1942) is the American author of a series of crime novels set in Venice, Italy, featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunetti. The novels are written in English and have been translated into many forei ...

's third Commissario (inspector) Guido Brunetti mystery novel ''The Anonymous Venetian'' (1994), aka ''Dressed for Death'', starts with a battered body found behind a slaughterhouse near

— just inside the border of Mestre. The staff of the local inspector is considered inadequate, so Brunetti is assigned to lead the investigation of the Mestre police. In 2019, Italian-German singer Marco di Colonia released an album dedicated to Mestre's life and the people.

References

External links

*
Bacaro Tour Mestre - History of mestre

Municipality of Mestre-Carpenedo

Mestre in the 1900s

English team to tour in Mestre
{{Authority control Geography of Venice Former municipalities of Veneto Frazioni of the Metropolitan City of Venice