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Venice > Sightseeing > Canals > Smaller canals

Venice's smaller canals

Page 5 of 6
From: Canals of Venice

Venetian work boat in Venice side canal.

ABOVE: A Venetian rows his traditional work boat in a side canal.


Most of Venice's 150 canals are neighborhood canals or "side canals." Some of these are wide enough for water taxis, while others are limited to gondolas and other private boats.

In Venice, the typical small to medium-size canal is called a "rio" (plural: "rii"). As you cross footbridges on Venice, look for markers on buildings with canal names such as "Rio Marin" or "Rio del Palazzo."


BELOW: A tourist enjoys a gelato cone on a bridge over a canal used by gondole.

Like many rii in Venice, this canal--or at least this section of it--runs between the backs of buildings and has no fondamenta or pavement alongside (except for a small connector sidewalk just beyond the bridge).

Venice canal with gondolas


BELOW: In our opinion, neighborhood canals are better than the Grand Canal for gondola rides--at least if you're looking for a romantic experience away from constant barge, speedboat, and waterbus traffic.

Gondolas on a Venice canal


BELOW: Many of Venice's gondolas are built and maintained at the Squero di San Trovaso in Dorsoduro, next door to the San Trovaso Church.

Gondola at Squero di San Trovaso, Venice


BELOW: At the Squero Vecchio, another of Venice's many boatyards, two private gondolas undergo maintenance.

Squero Vecchio, Venice


BELOW: An ambulance travels through a neighborhood canal in Venice. (You can see the canal's name on the building wall at top right.)

  • Tip: If you have a medical emergency, call 112 to request an ambulance from the city's large and well-equipped hospital.

Ambulance in Venice canal


BELOW: Venice's Vigili del Fuoco, or fire department, operates out of a firehouse near Ca' Foscari University.

Vigili del Fuoco, Venezia


BELOW: Venetian firefighters visit a campo, or square, during a fire call or training exercise.

In addition to putting out fires, Venice's firefighters perform miscellaneous duties such as running flags up flagpoles on national holidays and fishing dead bodies out of canals.

Venice fire boat with firefighters

Venice firefighters and fire boat


BELOW: Spazzini, or sanitation workers, haul away garbage and recyclables in Venice. Their carts are emptied into self-propelled barges at strategic points along the canals.

Spazzini with garbage cart and boat in Venice


BELOW: In Venice, barges are used to deliver everything from small packages to furniture, restaurant supplies, hotel laundry, and construction materials.

Barge unloading lumber in Venice


BELOW: Venice has several produce barges or floating greengrocers where you can buy vegetables or fruit. One is in the San Pietro neighborhood of Castello; another--shown here--is next to the Ponte dei Pugni or "Bridge of Fists" (on right), where bareknuckle tag teams competed in group boxing matches during the 17th Century.

Venice produce barge by the Ponte dei Pugni.


BELOW: Some canals are extremely narrow. This rio in Cannaregio is barely wide enough to accommodate a construction worker's boat.

Narrow canal in Venice


BELOW: The owner of this boat failed to check the tidal forecast when tying up his boat.

Boat in tiny Venice canal


BELOW: If your boat doesn't have GPS (a.k.a. satnav), let your dog sniff out the route for you.

Dog on boat in Venice canal

Dog on boat in Venice canal


BELOW: Traditional Venetian-style oarsmanship is a popular pastime among locals, expats, and the occasional tourist. (In Venice, real men--and real women--stand while rowing.)

Rowers in Venice canal


BELOW: Kayak tours have become a staple of the Venice tourism scene. Whether that's desirable is a good topic for debate.

Kayak in Venice canal


BELOW: When winter arrives in Venice and kayakers go home, local boat owners have other annoyances to occupy their time. (Venice's canals seldom freeze, but snow isn't uncommon.)

Venice boat with snow in winter


BELOW: A boy watches canal fish in Venice's Ghetto.

Fish in Venice Ghetto canal

Fish in Venice canal (Ghetto Vecchio)


BELOW: We don't know if fish nibble on moss, but if they do, there's plenty for them to eat on the steps leading into Venice's canals. (When the tide is out, as it is here, more steps--and more moss--are exposed.)

Mossy canal steps in Venice


Next page: Water quality, sanitation, maintenance


In this article:
Canals of Venice (introduction)
Grand Canal
Giudecca Canal
Cannaregio Canal
Smaller canals
Water quality, sanitation, maintenance

Also see:
Hotels on the Grand Canal
Maintaining Venice's canals
Bridges of Venice

About the author:

Durant Imboden photo.Durant Imboden has written about Venice, Italy since 1996. He covered Venice and European travel at About.com for 4-1/2 years before launching Europe for Visitors (including Venice for Visitors) with Cheryl Imboden in 2001.

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