Unsurprisingly, rowing and sailing are popular sporting
pastimes in Venice with the indigenous population, both
as a recreational activity and also of course as part of
the many regattas which populate the annual events calendar.
In a city where the streets are made of water though, it
may come as some surprise to learn that Venice also hosts
an annual marathon race through the city each October and
also boasts an 18 hole golf course on Lido island which
is open all year round.
The official site for the Venice marathon, which can be
viewed in English, is at www.venicemarathon.it
Swimming pools and some small gyms also occupy places in
Venice for those that seek to maintain their fitness or
work that ice-cream off during their visit. A guide to hotels
in Venice which contain gyms can be found at www.hotels.co.uk/hotel-italy/hotel-venice/gym-hotel-venice
.
Venice also has its own official handball association and
volleyball society but in Italy football is king, much like
almost everywhere else on the continent. Venice football
club (nowadays known as SSC Venezia after its rebirth
from bankruptcy in 2005) currently (2007/8) ply their trade
in Serie C1, or the 3rd tier of Italian football effectively,
and celebrated their centenary season in 2007.
The club’s stadium on the eastern tip of Venice island
gives it probably a somewhat unique status location wise
and also has the unusual situation of fans travelling to
the matches by boat. The team has a loyal core support like
most Italian teams although tickets are generally easy to
come by on match days if you happen to be in the city on
match day and have the urge.
Despite Venice’ lowly status currently, the team
has flirted with the big boys in Serie A as recently
as 2002 although their sole major success came in the Italian
Cup in 1941. Some reasonably well known players, perhaps
to British fans mainly, have graced the shirt of Venice
over the years although their most prominent former player
is probably Italian international striker Christian Vieri
who led the line early in his career for a season prior
to international fame gained elsewhere.
The clubs official website can be found at www.veneziacalcio.it
Did you Know?!?
Venice Football clubs most productive period in the top
flight of Italian football was the 1940/41 season in which
they won the cup, and the following season where they finished
third in the league – their highest ever placing.