Venice > Mestre-Marghera > Photos > Marghera

Marghera

From: Introducing Mestre-Marghera

Marghera is on the other side of the railroad tracks from Mestre. Like Mestre, it belongs to the Comune di Venezia. 

Note: Marghera shouldn't be confused with Porto Marghera (inset photo) an industrial zone on reclaimed land in the Venetian Lagoon.

You can reach Marghera by tram from downtown Mestre or via a pedestrian and bicycle tunnel at the southeastern end of the Mestre Railroad Station. As you exit the tunnel, keep going straight ahead on the Via Rizzardi.

As you walk or bike through Marghera, you'll encounter two landmarks at the Piazzale Giovannacci: a fountain in a traffic roundabout, and a statue of the Madonna across the street. (A local man saw us taking pictures and explained that the Madonna was moved from its former location, now occupied by the fountain, when the road was rebuilt to accommodate the new tram line.)

Another landmark is the Chiesa di San Antonio, a modern church facing a park and the Piazza del Municipio.

It's hard to miss the Marghera water tower, which is visible from many parts of town. (Note the tricolor decoration, which must be annoying to Northern League separatists.)

If you're a fan of urban planning, you'll be impressed by Marghera's multimodal transportation infrastructure--which is a fancy way of saying that some of the district's major streets have dedicated two-way bicycle paths in addition to the usual pedestrian sidewalks and traffic lanes.

The Fiat cinquecento may be more appealing to Italophiles (especially in its original incarnation), but it was hard for us not to be delighted by the sight of a beautifully-maintained Citro�n 2CV on a Marghera street.

Public transportation is readily available in Marghera, with several ACTV bus lines running to Mestre and/or Venice. Still, we still think most out-of-towners will be happier staying in Mestre, which has more to offer visitors.

Back to: Introducing Mestre-Marghera - Page 1

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.

PC Magazine has called this "the premier visitors' site for Venice, Italy." Over the years, it has helped more than 30 million travelers. For more information, see About our site, our Europe for Visitors press clippings, and our reader testimonials.