The Sottoporteghi of Venice.

The Sottoporteghi of Venice. These narrow passageways beneath buildings, create navigable routes through a compact and irregular urban layout.

More than mere shortcuts – Sottoporteghi (Venetian) or Sotoporteghi (italian), are living artifacts of Venetian history, culture, and resilience. They reveal how a city built on water found creative ways to remain connected, both physically and culturally. Running underneath buildings, their height is typically the same as the ground floor.

One of the most striking and fascinating aspects of many sottoporteghi, is their spiritual dimension. It’s quite common to find sacred images – bas-reliefs, small shrines, or votive paintings, embedded in their walls. These devotional artworks, often depicting the Madonna or local saints, historically offered spiritual protection to passers-by navigating these dimly-lit, enclosed spaces.

Strolling through them is to see Venice at its most personal, where each turn sparks curiosity and hints that just around the corner, another story is waiting to be discovered.

This comprehensive post offers all the information you need, along with a visual feast of “Sottoporteghi” images.

Types of Sottoporteghi

1. Historical Aspects. 2. Economic Activities. 3. Cosmopolitan in nature. 4. Legends, symbolism and folk tradition.

The Sotoportego di Corte Nova – A Small Votive Chapel.

A Poem entitled “The Sottoporteghi of Venice”

A small collection of my images of Sottoporteghi, reproduced in sepia tone for an “aged” effect.

Links (internal–external)

Please note: Sottoportego (Venetian singular) – Sottoporteghi (pleural). You can also find the spelling “Sotoportego/Sotoporteghi. (Italian).

Types of Sottoporteghi of Venice

Sottoporteghi (Sotoporteghi) vary in form and purpose, but generally fall into three categories:he Sottoporteghi of Venice

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Sottoportego that goes along a canal and provides a landing place for boats. This type represents a way to create covered banks for the loading and unloading of goods and passengers sheltered from the weather and is also relatively widespread in the city.
Sottoportego that leads to a canal. This less widespread type creates a section of covered foundation.
Sottoportego that connects a street (calle) or a square (campo) with another street. Some lead to secluded courtyards, creating a sense of discovery for those who venture through them. These intimate spaces often reveal wells, gardens, or traces of ancient domestic life. This type is by far the most widespread in the city, since in many cases these are absolutely necessary urban elements to ensure an access otherwise prevented by construction.

1. Historical Aspects – The Sottoporteghi of Venice

Sottoporteghi emerged from the city’s need to create navigable routes through an exceptionally compact and irregular urban layout. Venice’s medieval growth was organic and crowded, with homes and palaces built tightly together. Land available for building was limited and closely packed buildings offered more structural stability, for an aquatic city built on piles.

To maintain public access, the Venetian State required private property owners to leave passageways open beneath their buildings, ensuring that pedestrians could move freely through the labyrinthine city. They also offered locals, a degree of shelter from rain and the sun. These underpasses typically match the height of a building’s ground floor and often serve as the only access to a courtyard (corte) or small square (campo).

Over time, however, these passages also took on an identity value: each name reflected a function, a trade, a foreign community, or an episode that had marked that place.

Traversing through sotoporteghi is like crossing the collective memory of the city – they are living artifacts of Venetian history, culture, and resilience.The Sottoporteghi of Venice The Sottoporteghi of Venice The Sottoporteghi of Venice The Sottoporteghi of Venice The Sottoporteghi of Venice The Sottoporteghi of Venice

2. Economic Activities. The Sottoporteghi of Venice

Many sotoporteghi take their names from the economic activities that once took place nearby, offering memories of the trades that flourished there. These names appear in Venetian historical narratives where sotoporteghi are associated with trade routes, artisan zones, or commercial movement.

Here’s a range of Examples:

Sotoportego dei Nizioleti. Translated as “little sheets”, in Venice it refers to one near or associated with, the production of traditional white wall signs.
Sotoportego del Traghetto “Traghetto” areas were linked to gondola ferry crossings, which were part of Venice’s transport economy. Many traghetti had adjacent sotoporteghi used by workers and merchants.
Sotoportego del Forno “Forno” (oven/bakery) indicates proximity to bread production and sale, a regulated economic activity in Venice.
Sotoportego dei Fabbri. Near the blacksmiths’ (fabbri) district, historically tied to metalworking and tool production.
Sotoportego dei Oresi. “Oresi” refers to goldsmiths; this sotoportego is associated with artisan jewellery production and trade.
Sotoportego della Pescaria. Located near the Rialto fish market, one of Venice’s major commercial hubs.
Sotoportego del Magazen. “Magazen” refers to storage or warehouse spaces, indicating historical commercial logistics.
Sotoportego del Banco Giro / Rialto Area Sotoporteghi. The Rialto district was the financial and mercantile centre of Venice. ‘Giro’ payments, were money transfers recorded on accounts without the exchange of physical coins – an early form banking system for giving loans or credit to those involved in trading overseas.
Sotoportego della Malvasia Linked to taverns and wine shop commerce . Malvasia was a wine brought in through merchant trade routes from the eastern Mediterranean.
Sotoportego dei Squeri. Near boatyards (“squeri”), tied to Venice’s shipbuilding and maritime economy.
Sotoportego del Capéller (San Marco): named after the “capéller” or hatter, it recalls a trade once common in Venetian workshops.
Sotoportego del BancoGiro (San Polo, Rialto): once the hub of Venetian finance, linked to the public bank for ‘giro’ payments – money transfers recorded in accounts without exchanging physical coins, a kind of early banking system that foreshadowed modern transfers.
Sotoportego de le Cariole (San Marco, San Zulian area): honours the carpenter who crafted wheelbarrows, vital for daily life in Venice and essential for moving goods and materials across the city’s many bridges. This small detail reveals much about the logistics and unseen labour that sustained the Serenissima.
Sotoportego dei Oresi (San Polo, Rialto area): once the bustling hub where goldsmiths worked and traded, it remains today a symbol of refined craftsmanship.

3. Cosmopolitan in nature

Venice has always been a cosmopolitan city, a meeting point of routes and cultures between East and West. These sotoporteghi are treasured reminders of this blend of influences – passages that recall foreign merchants, renowned travelers, and communities that have shaped the city’s everyday life.

These passageways often situated near: Foreign merchant quarters, Embassies or consular buildings, Ethnic confraternities (scuole) and Trade warehouses (fondachi)

Sotoportego dei Armeni. Reflects the presence of the Armenian community in Venice, who were active in printing, trade, and scholarship.
Sotoportego degli Ebrei. Connected to the Jewish Ghetto area, it symbolizes Venice’s role as a crossroads of cultures and religions.
Sotoportego dei Greci. Near the Greek Orthodox quarter and the Scuola dei Greci. Represents the long-standing Greek merchant and sailor presence.
Sotoportego dei Tedeschi. Linked to the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, the headquarters of German merchants. A reminder of Venice’s commercial ties with Northern Europe.
Sotoportego dei Schiavoni. “Schiavoni” refers to Slavs from Dalmatia, whose community was deeply integrated into Venetian maritime life.
Sotoportego dei Turchi. Associated with the Fondaco dei Turchi, home to Ottoman merchants. A testament to Venice’s intense trade with the Eastern Mediterranean.
Sotoportego dei Francesi. Indicates the presence of French traders and diplomats.
Sotoportego del Milión (Cannaregio, Corte del Milion) recalls Marco Polo and his famous book *Il Milione*, a memoir of his journeys in the East.
Sotoportego della Stua (Cannaregio, San Zanipolo) owes its name to the ‘stua’, or Turkish baths, which in Venice were not just places for bathing, but lively hubs of pleasure and socializing. Here, wellness and indulgence mingled, as merchants and courtesans crossed paths and business deals took shape in the steamy air. This passageway remains a vivid reminder of the Eastern influences and love of pleasure that characterized the Serenissima.
Sotoportego del Casin dei Nobili (Dorsoduro, Campo San Barnaba) takes its name from a noblemen’s casino once located in the palace above. Venetian casinos were intimate apartments or rooms where people gathered, often at night, for dinners, music, and especially gambling. This one attracted the Barnabotti, fallen nobles of the neighborhood, who sought to turn their fortunes around at the gaming tables.

he Sottoporteghi of Venice The Sottoporteghi of Venice The Sottoporteghi of Venice

4. Legends, symbolism and folk tradition

Among Venice’s many sotoporteghi (covered passageways), some still carry an air of mystery and everyday life in their names. These dim corridors are tied to superstitions and symbols that have inspired real legends and long-held popular beliefs.

Venetian toponymy is full of: Symbolic animals (lions, wolves, serpents) – Supernatural beings (witches, devils, mermaids) – Mythic or legendary events – Folk beliefs tied to protection, danger, or luck.

Sotoportego del Lovo (Wolf) – San Marco. “Lovo” means wolf, an animal that never lived in Venice. The name reflects symbolic medieval imagery rather than literal presence. Often interpreted as tied to heraldry or apotropaic (protective) symbolism.
Sotoportego della Strega (Witch) – Cannaregio. Connected to Venetian folk tales about witches gathering near the Ghetto. The name preserves the memory of local superstition and nocturnal legends.
Sotoportego del Serpente (Serpent) – Castello. Serpents appear frequently in Venetian heraldry and myth. The name may refer to a symbolic carving or a local legend about a “guardian serpent.”
Sotoportego dei Morti (Of the Dead) – Santa Croce. Linked to ancient burial grounds and ghost stories. The name reflects Venice’s long tradition of spiritual folklore.
Sotoportego del Leon Bianco (White Lion) – San Polo. The lion is Venice’s most powerful symbol. A “white lion” is a legendary variant associated with purity and divine protection.
Sotoportego del Gallo (Rooster) – San Marco. The rooster is a traditional symbol of vigilance and dawn. Venetian folklore often used the rooster as a protective emblem.
Sotoportego della Luna (Moon) – Dorsoduro. The moon is a recurring motif in Venetian superstition and poetry. Names like this often marked places associated with night-time gatherings or rituals.
Sotoportego della Pescaria (Fish Market) – Rialto. While primarily economic, the fish market is tied to numerous folk tales, including miraculous catches and superstitions about sea creatures.
Sotoportego delle Sirene (Mermaids) – Castello. Venice’s maritime identity made mermaid legends extremely popular. This name reflects the city’s fascination with sea mythology.
Sotoportego del Diavolo (Devil) – San Polo. A classic Venetian legend tells of a devil haunting a narrow passageway. The name survives in local storytelling traditions.

The Sottoporteghi of Venice The Sottoporteghi of Venice The Sottoporteghi of Venice

The Sotoportego di Corte Nova – A Small Votive Chapel

Apart from offering navigable routes and a degree of shelter from the sun and inclement weather; one of the most striking aspects of many sottoporteghi, is their spiritual dimension. It’s therefore common to find sacred images – stone or plaster bas-reliefs, small shrines, or votive paintings; embedded in their walls. These devotional artworks, often depicting the Madonna or local saints, historically offered protection to passers-by navigating the dark, enclosed spaces.

Roadside shrines and votive niches are a familiar sight in many Italian cities. In ancient times, an aedicula was a small temple or chapel that housed a statue of a pagan god. With the arrival of the Christian Era, these statues were replaced by images of saints, often accompanied by paintings, and the designs of the shrines became more varied. In Venice’s compact streets, these modest structures stand out and usually reflect local religious traditions. Built in all sorts of spots with inexpensive local materials, they are rarely considered significant examples of historic architecture.

The Sotoportego di Corte Nova. A particularly notable example – it is located between the Corte Nova and Calle Zorzi; in the Castello district; which once functioned not only as a passageway, but also as a small votive chapel.

It served as a votive chapel during the 1630 plague outbreak, with a red slab of marble marking the spot where the spread of terrible plague mysteriously halted. The legend of Giovanna and the Virgin Mary’s image, is central to the Sotoportego di Corte Nova’s history; with the red stone symbolizing the defeat of the plague.

The Legend. Giovanna, a Venetian woman who lived in that area, dreamt one night of the Holy Mary who told her to paint a little image of the Virgin Mary herself together with St. Roch and St. Sebastian (the two Saints that protected the faithful from the epidemics). The image had then to be hung on a wall of the sotoportego.

Giovanna, helped by the other inhabitants of the place, fulfilled the Holy Mary’s demands and everybody started to pray so that the plague would end.

And there happened a miracle: the plague stopped as it reached the holy image, exactly on the spot where today we can see the red stone. All the people who lived in that courtyard were spared from contagion.

Its 17th‑century paintings were carefully restored in 2016, funded by “Save Venice” in collaboration with the “Istituto Veneto per i Beni Culturali” School of Restoration. It is a symbol of Venetian culture and history, still attracting both visitors and locals.

The Sottoporteghi of Venice The Sottoporteghi of Venice The Sottoporteghi of Venice

A Poem entitled “The Sottoporteghi of Venice”

Beneath the arches worn by time’s embrace,
the city murmurs secrets in this place.
Each footstep echoes softly in the gloom,
where shadows weave a quiet, ancient room.

These narrow ribs where Venice folds her maze,
hold whispers gathered from forgotten days.
A ribbon of light slips in, slender and shy,
like distant song drifting beneath the sky.

Walk slowly here, where walls lean close to share,
their salt stained tales suspended in the air.
Of merchants, lovers, wanderers who passed,
their fleeting moments etched in stone to last.

Then suddenly, the darkness breathes you free,
a courtyard blooms, a canal gleams with glee.
Such is her rhythm: hush, release, surprise,
as Venice dreams beneath her changing skies.