How Was Chioggia Built

The town's plan is a herringbone. Corso del Popolo runs straight down the island; the Vena canal runs parallel one block east; and dozens of narrow calli cross between them at right angles. It is far more regular than Venice, because it was laid out at once rather than accreted.

The Ponte Vigo of 1685, in white Istrian stone, crosses the Vena at the lagoon end and is the town's set piece, with the winged lion on its column beside it -- known locally as el gato, the cat, because it is so small.

The Duomo was rebuilt by Baldassare Longhena after the fire of 1623, though its detached campanile of 1350 survives from the earlier church.

The domestic architecture is plain brick and stucco with stone dressings -- the lagoon idiom without the palace budget, which is much of the town's character.