The vaporetto is a

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetians might refer to: * Masters of Venetian painting in 15th-16th centuries * ...

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

waterbus A water taxi or a water bus is a boat used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or on dem ...

. There are 19 scheduled lines that serve locals within Venice, and travel between Venice and nearby islands, such as

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. The name, , could be translated as "little steamer", and refers to similarly purposed ships in the past that were run by steam. Venetians call the vaporetto "" or "". The waterbus line is operated by (ACTV), the Venetian public transport system. The vaporetto is necessary in Venice as an underground railway would be impracticable and there is no space for overground trains, leaving the canals as the only viable rapid transport system. Most vaporetti have disability access. Vaporetti Venice Lagoon

It has 24-hour scheduled service, with

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...

varying by the line. Line 1 serves the Grand Canal. Several lines are limited to the summer season, April to October. ACTV sells 24, 36, 48 and 72-hour passes as well as single-journey tickets and 7-day passes. The private express company Alilaguna also operates a limited water bus service, to the airport for example. Its boats include one that is a hybrid electric/diesel) as of 2022 and are not technically considered to be vaporetti. The first vaporetto appeared in 1881, in competition with

gondoliers The gondola (, ; , ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, in a scullin ...

and hotel boatmen. The subsequent debate that arose about the first few vaporettos helped shape their role as "Venetian buses", as well as benefiting the gondoliers who continue into the present day as the only ones with access into the smaller waterways.Davis, Robert C, and Garry R Marvin. Venice, the Tourist Maze: a Cultural Critique of the World's Most Touristed City. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005. pp. 140-42.

Routes

Vaporetto No. 1 is considered the main tourist route in Venice, since its main part passes along the Grand Canal. Boats starts from

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 ...

and ends its way on the island of Lido. Route No. 1 stops at each stop along the way. Therefore, it takes up to 45 minutes to cover the distance from Santa Lucia Station to

Piazza San Marco Piazza San Marco (; ), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal Town Square, public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). The Piazzetta ("little Piazza/Square") is an ext ...

. Note that the vaporetto on this route does not stop at island of

San Giorgio Maggiore San Giorgio Maggiore () 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 has been much painted, ...

. Despite the fact that the

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

located there is one of the main attractions of Venice. Vaporetto route 2 is much faster and therefore more convenient. Boats can move both from P.le Roma along the Grand Canal to San Marco and along the

Giudecca Canal The Giudecca Canal () 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 from Dorsoduro district. ...

. In the first case, the boat does not stop at Salute, near the famous church of

Santa Maria della Salute Santa Maria della Salute (; ), commonly known simply as La Salute (), is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located at the Punta della Dogana in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the city of Venice, Italy. It stands on the narrow finger of Pun ...

. And also at island of San Giorgio Maggiore - in contrast to the number 2 vaporetto coming through the Giudecca Canal. Venezia Unica

Vaporetto number 3 is the only route that directly links Piazzale Roma with the island of Murano. You can get to Burano,

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 ...

by vaporetto No. 12. You can also get to Murano with the help of (indirect) vaporetto No. 4.1, 4.2.

Notes

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External links

Main website for the VaporettoTicket offices for the VaporettoMain tourist lines, tariffs, discounts
Public transport in Italy Water taxis and water buses Water transport in Venice

Routes

See also

Notes

External links