Did you know that, after the one in Venice, the largest wholesale fish market in the Venetian Lagoon (and, according to many, from the whole region), is located in Chioggia? Perhaps it is also for this reason that Chioggia is considered the “little sister” of the Serenissima. Moreover, if you have been in the Venetian capital, Chioggia will seem to you a miniature Venice for the similarity of the streets, the fields and the canals.
In Chioggia the fish market is a tradition, or rather an ancient institution, since fishing has always been one of the main commercial activities. However, the fish market currently held between Corso del Popolo and Canal Vena, behind Palazzo Granaio, was inaugurated in 1960. It covers about 11,000 square meters, 5,000 of which are covered by a large central pavilion, and uses two large open side yards, where the fishing boats dock directly from the little ports of the canal. Moreover, in front of the Market, there are three recently built two-storey buildings that house the management offices and some bars. To access the fish market, one usually passes through the picturesque Portale a Prisca, sculpted by the Paduan Amleto Sartori.
There are about thirty locations where fishmongers, called “mògnoli”, sell fish of all kinds. Fresh fish is unloaded from fishing boats in the wholesale market at four in the morning, then it is negotiated and distributed for the city or for other Italian and European markets. The fish specialties of Chioggia are sole, sea bass, sea bream, scallops, anchovies and sardines, but also cuttlefish, squid, shrimp, prawns, crabs, octopuses, peoci, bevarasse and caparossoli. The market of Chioggia, for its colors and its liveliness, represents a real tourist attraction. In fact, visitors can breathe the dynamic atmosphere of the daily life of the people of Chioggia (or Clodius).
But if, as we said above, the one in Chioggia is one of the most important wholesale fish markets in the whole of Veneto, it is also highly regarded nationally, as the “floating village” is located in the southern part of the Lagoon, where every day the major Italian and foreign fleets arrive. For this reason, over the years Chioggia has become a reference point for the international fish trade. And perhaps to the people of Chioggia, the appellative of “little sister” of Venice always assigned to their city, begins to be a bit tight.
