Venezia away: Canals, calcio and curva in Venice

Words: Federico Farcomeni

Images: Federico Farcomeni

You admire one of the gems of the existing world – a UNESCO site – , you visit during the Carnival “season” and you get to the stadium by boat. Venice away is possibly the best away trip you can hope for.

The designed wharf where away fans embark is in the industrial area of Porto Marghera. Nobody will apparently tell you (well, technically the Supporters Liaison Officer should) but, with a 3pm kick-off, the last ferry leaves at 1:40pm which means that, if you are to arrive later, you’ve got to make your own arrangements.

But that could even prove to be a better experience. As you hop on the first bus to Piazzale Roma (Central Station), you can then walk to the closest stop of the 5.1 boat (on the way, an electric skyway towers over you) which takes you to the Sant’Elena island where the stadium is located.

©Federico Farcomeni/ Terrace Edition. Venice.

The difference is that this is a stopping boat, hence it will briefly dock at each berth, San Marco square included. Locals are rare but you can easily spot them as they are not taking any picture and they hop on and off ferries like if they were ordinary city buses.

Gondoliers sail by, as the alleys (or “calli” in local lingo) fill up with the typical face masks, mostly the ones worn in Eyes Wide Shut.

Once you disembark at your destination, you’ve still left wondering whether it’s the right boat stop if it wasn’t for an official Venezia merchandise kiosk and another one decked in black, orange and green.

©Federico Farcomeni/ Terrace Edition. Venezia FC.

As you try to guess where the ground is, firecrackers exploding and ultra stickers make you feel like Little Thumbling following breadcrumbs, leaving no doubts whatsoever of the right direction you have to take.

The street is narrow and buildings are residential, yet a lady talking on her phone from a window on the groundfloor and Venezia and Republic of Venice flags hung outside balconies give you a familiar feeling of the place.

In fact, rationalist architecture buildings of the early XX century and bare trees hide the 11,000 capacity Pierluigi Penzo, well embedded into four sides of salted water. Teams and police reach the main stand by motorboats. Oleanders lay next to the small wooden bridges which lead to distinct gates.

©Federico Farcomeni/ Terrace Edition. Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo.

A marina lies just behind the visiting supporters section – masts are empty, sails are down, yet the feeling that an impending adventure is right behind the corner never seems to leave you.

The stadium inside is not intimidating but yet it’s compact and unique. Bar the main stand, the other three are built on scaffolding pipes.

You can perfectly hear people screaming from the stand nearby and enjoy the atmopshere whatever the result. There’s no real room for improvement because it feels the place has already reached its full potential, whatever the team’s performance on the pitch.

©Federico Farcomeni/ Terrace Edition. Venezia FC away tribune and marina.

But this is not the Venezia’s board standpoint. After investing heavily to complete state-of-the-art training (Ca’ Venezia) and Academy facilities, a 315-million euros project (Bosco dello Sport aka Sports Wood) has recently received green light and the club hope to kickstart the 2027-28 campaign on this 285-acre land next to the airport.

After having Drake pumping 40 million euros to save the club from bankruptcy in 2023 (then signing up a contract with Nike’s sub-label Nocta launched by the rapper himself) and bringing in professionals like Jamie Reigle (former Manchester United and Los Angeles Rams), Stadio Penzo is already feeling too small to contain the club’s ambitions.

And if they eventually materialize, it means that only two more seasons will be available to live the authentic Venezia matchday experience. After that, the memory of all this will be confined to history.

After the final whistle, you’ll be held back for a few minutes, and then walk back to the pier as the head of security coordinating operations starts shouting into a megaphone – first ferry will take you to the train station, second ferry will take you back to Porto Marghera.

Yes, you could come across Venezia fans possibly cursing you as they spot you from another boat. But they are heading in the opposite direction, and they are gone in the blink of an eye.

Plus, the alleged belligerence will soon fade away as the beauty of the city at sunset will be ready to be disclosed once more in front of your eyes.

Now, who said Spritz?