Canals, bridges, campi and calli, the strange topography of Venice

Venice doesn’t have streets or roads. Not in the usual sense. There are no boulevards, no traffic lights, no intersections buzzing with cars. Instead, Venice is built on a vocabulary—and a geography—of its own. Here, the city unfolds in Calli, Campi, Campielli, and Ponti.

Calli are the narrow lanes and passageways that form the pedestrian fabric of the city. Campi and Campielli—literally “fields”—are the Venetian equivalent of squares, though most are now paved rather than green. And while Venice has made its own rules for naming just about everything, bridges (Ponti) are simply called by their Italian name. There are over 340 bridges in Venice—more than in any other city in the world of comparable size.

A Network Unlike Any Other

Venice’s urban structure hides even more surprises. You’ll find:

• Fondamenta – walkways that run alongside canals. Think of them as “roads”—but don’t call them that in front of a Venetian.
• Piscine – these aren’t swimming pools. In Venetian terms, Piscina refers to filled-in basins or marshy areas converted into streets.
• Riva – waterfront landings or docks, often used for boarding boats or unloading goods.
• Sotopòrteghi – low passageways under buildings that link calli, campi, or lead to a Corte, a small enclosed courtyard often hidden from view.

This unique system evolved to meet the needs of a city built on 118 small islands, separated by over 150 canals and connected by hundreds of bridges. Water is not just a scenic backdrop—it’s the foundation of everyday life and movement.

Rios vs. Canals: Not All Waterways Are Equal

One of the most common misconceptions among visitors is assuming every waterway is a canal. But in Venice, that’s not quite true.

There are only a handful of true Canals—the rest are Rios.

What Defines a Canal?

Venice’s official Canali include:

• The Grand Canal (Canal Grande) – the city’s main aquatic thoroughfare, S-shaped and stretching 3.8 km through the heart of Venice.
• The Cannaregio Canal – connecting the Grand Canal with Venice’s northern lagoon.
• The Giudecca Canal – separating the main island from Giudecca.

These major canals are wide, deep, and fully navigable, used by vaporetti (water buses), taxis, and cargo boats.

And the Rios?

Rios (sometimes spelled Riò in local dialect) are smaller waterways that wind through the city’s neighborhoods. There are dozens of them, forming a web between buildings and under footbridges. A Riello is an even smaller, narrow rio.

• Natural rios tend to curve gently.
• Artificial rios are straight, often a result of man-made excavation or reclamation projects.

Unlike canals, not all rios are easily navigable—some are too shallow or narrow for motorboats and are primarily used by gondolas or private rowboats.

A City with Water Traffic Rules

Though Venice may appear fluid and free from above, the movement of boats follows strict rules. Maritime signage indicates one-way passages, speed limits, and no-entry zones—much like on land.

• Motorboats must keep to the right—except on Rio Novo, in Dorsoduro, where the rule flips to the left.
• Rowing boats, like gondolas, always keep to the left. This is to give gondoliers room to row, as they operate from the right side of the stern.

At one time, Rio Novo had Venice’s only functioning traffic light, controlling one of the busiest intersections on the water. It has since been deactivated, but the choreography of Venice’s floating traffic continues—regulated, subtle, and mesmerizing.

Calli, Campi, Campielli: The True Streets and Squares of Venice

In Venice, nothing is quite like elsewhere in Italy—not even the streets. While other cities have strade and piazze, Venice has its own vocabulary for its pedestrian routes and public spaces. To truly understand the city, you must learn to walk through it the Venetian way.

What Is a Calle?

Calli (singular: Calle) are the true streets of Venice—some wide and grand, others narrow and winding. They range in width from over 5 meters to just 53 centimeters, like Calletta Varisco, the city’s narrowest passageway, which opens onto Campiello del Pestrin. In the past, the word Prestin referred to small dairies or cow-powered mills—revealing how practical and localized street naming used to be.

There are around 3,000 Calli in the city. And like everything in Venice, they’re categorized with nuance:

• Callesèlle or Callètte are the narrowest alleys.
• Calli Larghe are the wider thoroughfares.
• Ruga refers to commercial streets, like Ruga Rialto or Ruga Giuffa, historically lined with shops and market stalls.
• Salizada designates the first paved streets—typically important routes laid with stone during the Republic.
• Ramo describes a side passage, often a dead end or a residential offshoot of a main calle.

Perhaps the most famous Calle in Venice is the Mercerie, a bustling stretch of shops and boutiques that links St. Mark’s Square to the Rialto Bridge—a ten-minute walk through centuries of trade and tradition.

Names That Tell Stories

Venice’s Calli are named not just for navigation, but for memory. Many reflect professions once concentrated in the area—Calle dei Fabbri (blacksmiths), Calle del Forner (bakers). Others commemorate nearby churches, former convents, local legends, or even the everyday lives of residents. Callesella della Fruttarola, in San Polo, is named after a greengrocer who once worked there. This blend of geography and storytelling is what makes getting lost in Venice such a joy.

Campi and Campielli – Venice’s “Squares” (But Don’t Call Them That)

Aside from Piazza San Marco, Venice has no piazzas. Instead, it has Campi—the historic “fields” of the city—and their smaller counterparts, Campielli. These are the open spaces around which daily life once revolved.

Originally, Campi were grassy communal areas, often used for grazing animals or local agriculture. Over time, they were paved, but many kept their pastoral names. In the center of each stood a well, topped by a vera da pozzo—a carved stone cover where residents drew water by pulley.

As the aqueduct system developed and open-air events were restricted, the communal function of the Campi faded. But today, they remain gathering spaces, filled with cafés, markets, and children playing football.

The Most Famous Campi in Venice

• Campo San Polo – the largest in Venice, once used for festivals and bullfights.
• Campo Santa Margherita – the lively heart of Dorsoduro, home to the Scuola Grande dei Carmini.
• Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo – a majestic square with the Zanipòlo church and Scuola Grande di San Marco.
• Campo San Bartolomeo – bustling with shoppers near the Rialto Bridge.
• Campo San Trovaso – located near a traditional gondola shipyard, or squero, still in use today.
• Campo della Salute – next to the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, it becomes a site of pilgrimage every November 21 during the Festa della Salute.

A City of Fields

Even though the name Campo now refers to stone-paved spaces, the term connects modern Venice to its agrarian past. Each one holds layers of history and local pride.

Interesting fact: the San Polo district has the most Campi—eleven in total. Cannaregio follows with nine. Castello has two, while Dorsoduro, San Marco, and Santa Croce each have only one. That distribution says a lot about how each neighborhood developed over time—and how public space shaped community life.

The Bridges of Venice – 340 Ways to Cross a Dream

In a city built on water, bridges are more than crossings—they are portals into the stories, legends, and layered history of Venice. With over 340 bridges, Venice boasts a variety of stone, wood, and iron structures, each with its own character, purpose, and name. And as always, Venetians have infused their bridges with humor, irony, and a strong sense of local identity.

Not Just Rialto and Sighs

Of course, everyone knows the Rialto Bridge and the Bridge of Sighs, but Venice’s most famous bridges are only a small part of the picture.

Take the Ponte delle Tette, for example. Tucked away in Santa Croce, its name literally means “Bridge of the Breasts”. It crosses a canal in Carampane, the city’s former red-light district. According to legend, women working in the brothels on either side of the bridge would lure men by baring their chests, giving the bridge its unforgettable name.

Venice’s Most Curious Bridges

Some bridges are named after local trades or families, others after remarkable events or simply their peculiar shape:

• Ponte dei Pugni (Bridge of Fists) in Dorsoduro was the scene of ritual brawls between rival clans from opposite sides of the canal.
• Ponte Storto (Crooked Bridge), near San Marco, is tilted at an angle—nothing more dramatic than that, but the name has stuck for centuries.
• Ponte Beretèri was located in an area once filled with hatmakers (berets = beretèri).
• Ponte della Donna Onesta (“Bridge of the Honest Lady”) remains a mystery: some say Onesta was a virtuous local woman; others believe she was a courtesan mocking the term itself.

This blend of myth, history, and irony is what makes Venetian place names so special.

Venice Bridges

There are around 340 bridges in Venice, including those on the larger surrounding islands. And while most visitors immediately think of the Rialto Bridge or the Bridge of Sighs, the truth is that every bridge in Venice has its own story—and many of them are far more curious than famous.

For example, Ponte delle Tette in Santa Croce is always a favorite among school groups, simply because its name translates to “Bridge of Breasts.” Located in the former red-light district of Carampane, the bridge earned its name from a local tradition: the women working in the nearby brothels were said to attract customers by displaying their bare chests from the windows above.

But this is just one of hundreds of bridges in Venice—each with a name, and often with a curious or forgotten tale.

Venice Bridges: The Most Original

Some bridges in Venice stand out not for their size or beauty, but for their names and stories:

• Ponte dei Pugni (Bridge of Fists), in Dorsoduro, was once the site of public fistfights between rival factions from opposite sides of Rio San Barnaba.
• Ponte dei Beretèri takes its name from the presence of hat-making workshops in the area (beretèri meaning hatters).
• Ponte Saponella, in Cannaregio, was named after the Saponello family, who lived nearby.
• Ponte Storto (Crooked Bridge) in San Marco is not broken or badly built—it simply crosses Rio della Verona at an angle.
• Ponte della Donna Onesta (Bridge of the Honest Lady) in Dorsoduro has an uncertain origin: some say it was named after a woman named Onesta; others say it honors a tragic figure—a dishonored woman who took her own life—or possibly a prostitute with a sense of irony, who adopted the name to tease the authorities.

Venice Bridges: The Most Famous

Among the most important bridges in Venice are the four that cross the Grand Canal:

1. Ponte degli Scalzi, connecting Santa Croce with Cannaregio, also known as the Station Bridge, was built in 1934.
2. Ponte dell’Accademia, linking San Marco and Dorsoduro, was originally built in 1933. It’s a wooden bridge, still awaiting its promised replacement in stone.
3. Ponte della Costituzione, the most recent addition, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, was opened in 2008, connecting Cannaregio to the Tronchetto area.
4. Ponte di Rialto, the oldest and most iconic, connects San Marco and San Polo. The original bridge was built in 1175, but the current version was completed in 1591 after several reconstructions. A fun fact: its smooth balustrade, polished by millions of hands over centuries, is made of Istrian stone—a brilliant white, highly durable limestone that resists erosion from the weather.

Perhaps the most poetic and emotional of all is the Bridge of Sighs, located near St. Mark’s Square. This enclosed bridge links the Doge’s Palace to the New Prisons, passing over Rio di Palazzo. During the Serenissima era, convicted prisoners were led through this bridge, and from its small windows they would gaze upon the sky and water one last time, letting out a sigh—hence the name.

The Most Important Bridge (But Not in the City Center)

Perhaps the most essential bridge of all is the Ponte della Libertà (Bridge of Liberty), the 3.8 km structure connecting Venice to the mainland. Built in 1846 as a rail bridge, it was later adapted for road and pedestrian traffic in 1933. This is the route that cars from Mestre use to enter the city, arriving at Piazzale Roma or Tronchetto. Trains cross the bridge to reach Venice Santa Lucia Station.

Tidbits: How Many Bridges Per District?

Here’s how Venice’s bridges are distributed across its districts:

• Castello – 88 bridges
• Cannaregio – 75
• Dorsoduro – 67
• San Marco – 44
• Santa Croce – 42
• San Polo – 16
• Giudecca Island – 12