Venice > Sightseeing > Street signs

Venice Street Signs in Venetian Dialect

ABOVE: A yellow street sign (upper right corner) points the way to the railroad station and Piazzale Roma.

By Durant Imboden

Venice has plenty of street signs (mostly painted or mounted on the sides of buildings), but they can be confusing if you're looking for a address from a guidebook or a street name on a map. The reason for the confusion is simple:

Most signs are in Venetian dialect, which can be slightly, moderately, or radically different from standard Italian. For example, the campo and church of "Giovanni e Paolo" become "Zanipolo" in Venetian dialect. Other spellings vary by only a letter or two and aren't likely to cause worry.

Our advice:

• Use common sense: If the map suggests that you're in the right place and the street sign looks reasonably accurate, the odds are good that you aren't lost.

• Be prepared for surprises: A saint's name might be given to a campo, a calle larga, and a fondamenta, and each variant could be in a different neighborhood. Have a rough idea of where you're going, and you'll be less likely to encounter confusion.

Examples of Venetian dialect vs. Italian spellings:

	Venetian Dialect: "Marzaria San Zulian" Standard Italian: "Merceria di San Giuliano"
	Venetian Dialect: "Sestier de Santa Crose" Standard Italian: "Sestiere di Santa Croce"
	Venetian Dialect: "Campo de Gheto Novo" Standard Italian: "Campo di Ghetto Nuovo"
	Venetian Dialect: "Campiello de la Madonna" Standard Italian: "Campiello della Madonna"
	Venetian Dialect: "Salizada dei Spechieri" Standard Italian: "Salizzada dei Specchieri"

About the author:

Durant Imboden has written about Venice, Italy since 1996. He covered Venice and European travel at About.com for 4-1/2 years before launching Europe for Visitors (including Venice for Visitors) with Cheryl Imboden in 2001.

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