Discover what to do in Chioggia in the province of Venice: the witches’ court and the haunted house, the thousand-year-old wooden crucifix shrouded in mystery, the traditional fish market, the spectacular Aprisca portal, and the soaring clock tower.
But first…
Where is Chioggia?
The municipality of Chioggia borders to the north with Venice, to the northwest with Campagna Lupia, to the southeast with Rosolina, to the southwest with Loreo, to the east with Venice and the Adriatic Sea, to the west with Campagna Lupia, Codevigo, Correzzola, Cona and Cavarzere.
The witches’ court
Pleasantly framed between Calle Don Bosco and Calle Nordio Squero, a few steps from the Museo Civico della Laguna Sud, Corte Taccheo is the narrow square that in ancient times, according to legend, hosted secret meetings of witches and sorceresses.
Past Ponte Cuccagna, leaving Porta Garibaldi behind, you reach Fondamenta Canal Vena and turn right. After passing the white colonnaded portico in “CALLE DON BOSCO, già Chiereghin” you proceed to the left and crossing a small underpass you finally reach the witches’ den.
The most remote stories tell that during their esoteric meetings, the enchantresses transformed into cats.
One night, the senior witch, having taken on feline form, was attacked by a passerby who struck her paw, leaving her permanently lame.
The true identity of the attacker and the possible retaliation of the dangerous enchantress remain a mystery.
The haunted house
Located opposite Ponte Scarpa on Fondamenta Canal Vena and set in the historic heart of the town of Chioggia, the phantom house is pervaded by an atmosphere of charm that at the same time inspires awe and arouses curiosity to explore its interior, which has been inaccessible for years.
The occult charm of the house is the result of superstitions and folkloric myths that, solidifying over time, have become part of the cultural fabric of the town.
Popular tradition recounts that the atrocious sorceress would snatch children to secretly drag them to her lair.
In order to put a stop to the witch’s misdeeds and to exorcise the evil charge with which her home was imbued, the dangerous sorceress was captured and a sacred aedicule bearing the image of the Madonna and Child was set into the facade of the house, still visible today and in good condition.
The legendary crucifix from the sea
The church of San Domenico houses a true treasure of sacred art, a majestic crucifix, almost five meters high and 3.50 meters wide, discovered at the beginning of the 19th century and displayed in all its majesty on the main altar.
Christ’s expression is immortalized in a moment of lacerating drama that seems to reconcile at once the peak of unbearable agony and the moment of liberation from the mortal remains.
The centuries-old wooden sculpture depicting the tormented body of Christ follows the knotted forms of an imposing poplar tree trunk.
Jesus’ expression of anguish is accentuated by the disproportionate shape of the reclined head, the arched neck, and the knees thrust forward, unable to bear the weight of the exhausted and tormented limbs.
According to one of the various legends about the work’s origin, the massive cross would have been made in Germany and, following the shipwreck of the ship that was transporting it to the Holy Land, the crucifix would have landed in Chioggia carried by the current.
The fish market
Overlooking Canal Vena and adjacent to Palazzo Granaio, the Chioggia retail fish market offers a very fresh variety of fish and seafood, available every morning from 4:00 am and ready to be sold from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm every day except Monday.
The approximately thirty stalls inside the market offer a rich selection of delicacies including: sole, sea bass, sea bream, scallops, cuttlefish, squid, shrimp, mantis shrimp, octopus and crabs, caparossoli, peoci and bevarasse.
Caparossoli: true clams and mussels with typical dark coloring
Bevarasse: a quality of clam smaller in size than caparossoli and with a lighter shade
Both varieties of mollusks are excellent for preparing risottos and spaghetti and reveal an unmistakable and delicious flavor even when sautéed in garlic and oil.
Peoci: a quality of mussels, particularly tasty when prepared in cassopipa, a term indicating slow cooking in an earthenware pot.
Both caparossoli and peoci (a quality of mussels) are particularly tasty when prepared in cassopipa, i.e., cooked in a terracotta container.
Portale a Prisca
The access point to the fish market is the spectacular stone portal created to commemorate the premature death of a young girl. The panels that make up the portal celebrate the vitality of the Chioggia population by immortalizing scenes of everyday life, whose formidable expressiveness is testified by the plasticity of the intertwining bodies and accentuated by the vibrant dynamism of the chiaroscuro contrasts, the fruit of the talent and skilful ability of Amleto Sartori.
Campanile of Sant’Andrea and Clock Museum
A mighty structure built in Romanesque style in the 14th century, the majestic bell tower features a spectacular clock, bearing in the center of the dial a representation of the sun from whose golden rays emerges the hand that indicates one of the twenty-four hours, in Roman numerals.
The original mechanism of the clock, still working, is still preserved and displayed inside the tower.
With a height of over thirty meters, the bell tower offers a spectacular panoramic view of the historic town of Chioggia and houses a museum that illustrates the history of the construction of the bell tower, the church, and the mechanism that drives the centenary clock.
