45.206° N, 12.302° E
Complete guide
Sottomarina beach: a guide to the beach
What the beach is like
Sottomarina beach lies in the municipality of Chioggia, in Veneto, and faces the Adriatic Sea. The centre of Sottomarina is 1.2 km as the crow flies north-west of the beach. Sottomarina is a seaside resort on the Adriatic Sea, a frazione and now a district of the municipality of Chioggia. It is a peninsula that forms the southern coastal stretch of the Lagoon of Venice (Venezia).
According to Wikipedia, the beach stretches for about five kilometres, from the San Felice breakwater by the Chioggia harbour inlet, to the north, to the breakwater at the mouths of the Brenta and Bacchiglione rivers, to the south. The English-language Wikipedia instead gives a sandy beach 5½ km long, up to 300 metres wide in places. The shore has very fine sand, with a high content of augite, quartz, silicates and micaceous elements. In the late nineteenth century the Brenta-Bacchiglione was diverted, and in the nineteen-thirties the southern breakwater of the port of Chioggia, known as San Felice, was built. Detrital deposits widened the shore by many metres. Since the last diversion of the Brenta, in the nineteen-thirties, the southern part of the Sottomarina coast has been widening by an average of three metres a year because of the sediment the river brings ashore.
The settlement has ancient origins: at the end of the seventh century it was called Clodia minor. It was destroyed in 1379 during the war between the Genoese and the Venetians, and it was only rebuilt in the second half of the seventeenth century. In the eighteenth century the murazzi were built, a massive embankment of Istrian stone to protect Sottomarina from storm surges. The first bathing establishments, together with a seafront promenade over 2 km long, were built between 1900 and 1903.
Getting there
Chioggia is 2.3 km as the crow flies north-west of the beach, Venice (Venezia) 25.9 km as the crow flies to the north. Sottomarina is linked to Chioggia by a 700 m bridge. Together with Chioggia, Sottomarina forms a single urban area thanks to the Isola dell'Unione and the bridge of the same name that crosses the Lusenzo lagoon. The beach is reached from the Lungomare Adriatico, a long road that leads from Viale Mediterraneo towards the bathing establishments and the streets inland.
Urban and intercity transport in Sottomarina is provided by Actv, Arriva Veneto, Busitalia and SVT bus services. In March 2021 the connections mentioned included the ACTV ferries from the Lido of Venice to Chioggia and Chioggia railway station, with a limited number of trains per day from Rovigo.
When to go
The beach faces east. With this orientation the grecale (north-east wind), the levante (east wind) and the scirocco (south-east wind) blow in from the sea and can bring waves. The libeccio (south-west wind), the ponente (west wind) and the maestrale (north-west wind), by contrast, blow from the land: the beach is more sheltered and the sea close to shore tends to be calmer. The tramontana (north wind) and the ostro (south wind) blow across the beach. This is an indication based on orientation, not a forecast.
In Chioggia the coldest month is January, with an average temperature of 2.9 °C, and the warmest is July, with 23.8 °C. Sottomarina's main squares, Piazza Europa, Piazza Italia and Piazza Todaro, are very busy especially in summer, when the centre fills with tourists and young people. In June Chioggia hosts the medieval-style historical re-enactment of the Marciliana and in July the Sagra del Pesce fish festival.
Seabed and sea
This stretch is a sandy beach. In the 2025 season the European Environment Agency rated the bathing water quality of this stretch as excellent. For the municipality of Chioggia, the FEE Blue Flag (Bandiera Blu) 2026 list includes Sottomarina and Le Dune.
Facilities and free beach
The beach is lined with numerous bathing establishments, as well as snack bars, restaurants, pizzerias, water parks, amusement parks and dance halls. Since the beach is state-owned land, access is free through dedicated passages running alongside the bathing establishments. There are also stretches of beach not run by the establishments, which the public may use freely within the limits of the regulations in force.
Sottomarina is traditionally divided into an old part, to the north, and a new part, to the south. In the new part, accommodation is concentrated mainly along the Lungomare Adriatico, where there are also numerous bars and clubs. The bathing establishments along the whole beach are an economic resource for the town. On the beach it is worth bringing water and sun protection.
Nearby
Beyond the mouth of the Brenta the Isolaverde beach continues as far as the mouth of the Adige. Isola Verde beach is 4 km as the crow flies to the south-east. At the southern end of Sottomarina lies the hamlet of Brondolo, where the doge Teodato Ipato had a fort built. The ancient Clodia minor also had a tower castle, now called Forte San Felice.
The historic centre of Chioggia stands at the southern end of the lagoon, on a group of small islands divided by canals and linked by bridges. The sights include the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the first major work of Baldassare Longhena, and the tower of Sant'Andrea, with a tower clock that still works. The breakwater, which can be walked along its entire length, is a destination for many visitors who walk it early in the morning. By bicycle you can reach Pellestrina, 7.4 km as the crow flies to the north, or the Bosco Nordio nature reserve, which lies between the frazioni of Sant'Anna and Cavanella d'Adige.