The town is located on a small island at the southern entrance to theVenetian Lagoon about 25 kilometres (16 miles) south ofVenice[4] (50 km (31 mi) by road);causeways connect it to the mainland and to itsfrazione, nowadays a quarter, ofSottomarina. The population of thecomune is around 50,000, with the town proper accounting for about half of that and Sottomarina for most of the rest.
Chioggia and Sottomarina were not prominent in antiquity, although they are first mentioned inPliny[5] as thefossa Clodia. Local legend attributes this name to its founding by aClodius, but the origin of this belief is not known.
The name of the town has changed often, being Clodia, Cluza, Clugia, Chiozza, Chiozzo,[6] Chioggio,[6] and Chioggia.[7] The most ancient documents naming Chioggia date from the 6th century AD, when it was part of theByzantine Empire. Chioggia was destroyed by KingPippin of Italy in the 9th century, but rebuilt around a new industry based onsalt pans. In the Middle Ages, Chioggia proper was known asClugia major, whereasClugia minor was asand bar about 600 m further into the Adriatic. A free commune and an episcopal see from 1110, it had later an important role in the so-calledWar of Chioggia between Genoa and Venice, being conquered by Genoa in 1378 and finally by Venice in June 1380. Although the town remained largely autonomous, it was always thereafter subordinate to Venice. On 14 March 1381, Chioggia concluded an alliance withZadar andTrogir against Venice, and finally Chioggia became better protected by Venice in 1412, becauseŠibenik became in 1412 the seat of the maincustoms office and the seat of the salt consumers office with amonopoly on the salt trade in Chioggia and on the wholeAdriatic Sea.
Until the 19th century, women in Chioggia wore an outfit based on anapron which could be raised to serve as aveil. Chioggia is also known forlace-making; likePellestrina, but unlikeBurano, this lace is made usingbobbins.
Chioggia servedCarlo Goldoni as the setting of his playLe baruffe chiozzotte, one of the classics of Italian literature: abaruffa was a loud brawl, andchiozzotto (today more frequentlychioggiotto inItalian, orcioxoto inVenetian) is thedemonym for Chioggia. Goldoni took his setting seriously: the play is replete with lacemaking, fishermen, and other local color.
Chioggia is often called "LittleVenice", with a few canals, chief among them the Canale Vena, and the characteristic narrow streets known ascalli. Chioggia has several medieval churches, much reworked in the period of its greatest prosperity in the 16th and 17th centuries.
St. Andrew's Church (18th century) has a bell tower from the 11th to 12th centuries, the most ancient tower watch in the world. The interior has aCrucifixion byPalma the Elder.
Fishing is historically the livelihood of the port, and remains a significant economic sector. Other important modern industries include textiles, brick-making and steel; and Sottomarina, with 60 hotels and 17 campgrounds, is almost entirely given over to seafront tourism.
Chioggia represents an almost unique demographic case in Italy: the most common surname among the inhabitants of Chioggia is Zennaro, while the most common surnames of Sottomarina are Boscolo and Tiozzo.
Because of the large number of people with the same surname, thecomune officialized what is known as "detto" (popular nicknames used to distinguish the various branches of the same family). These "third names" are inserted in every official document, including the driving license and the identity card.
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