Venice also has a unique system of names for the streets, roads and squares in
the historic city centre.
Here is a short glossary:
Bacino: artificial widening between the canals, used for the "parking"
of gondolas.
Borgoloco: probably former hotel sites.
Calle: road, street.
Campiello: small square or widening.
Campo: square.
Corte: small square or widening, usually with only one entrance.
Fondamenta: street running alongside a canal.
Lista: streets in the vicinity of the palace of a foreign ambassador.
Merceria: street flanked with shops. They are subdivided into MII Aprile,
m.S.Salvador, m.S.Zulian and dell'Orologio run from Rialto to S.Marco.
Piscina: an open space or street formerly occupied by water, perhaps used
for fishing or swimming.
Ramo: branch of a street.
Rio: small canal.
Rio terà: street formed by the infilling or covering of a canal.
Very often the traces of the pre-existing canal can still be seen.
Riva: street that faces the lagoon or the Canal Grande.
Ruga: the first streets to be flanked with houses and shops on both sides.
Sacca: street with dead end.
Salizzada: the first streets to be paved.
Sottoportico (sotoportego): part of a street that passes underneath a building.
Note that in Venice the streets often bear the names of the activity that used
to be carried out there or the use of the buildings overlooking the streets.
A few examples:
Calle dei botteri (cask maker), degli avvocati (lawyers), del piovan (vicar),
del remer (oar maker), del pistor (baker), frezzeria (arrow maker), spadaria (spade
maker).
A few more:
Calle delle botteghe (shops), del magazen (warehouse), del forno (oven), dell'abbazia
(abbey), drio la chiesa (behind the church), della sagrestia (the Sacristy), del
traghetto (gondola crossing), del teatro (theatre), del cafettier...(coffee shop)
Who knows if one day there'll be a street called "calle del webmaster"
?!? .....
translated by C.Cawthra
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