A Guide to Navigating the Streets of Venice

Finding a house in Venice is not made any easier by the city's unique and, it must be said, rather unhelpful system of addresses. A postal address consists of nothing more than a number (numero civico) and the name of the sestiere or district. (For instance, San Marco, 1, is the postal address of the Palazzo Ducale). 

Venice has been divided into sestieri since the 12th century; three on one side of the Grand Canal and three on the other. The two zones are often referred to as de citra (on this side) and de ultra (on that side); de citra includes the sestieri of San Marco, Castello and Cannareggio, while de ultra includes the sestieri of San Polo, Santa Croce and Dorsoduro.   

The numero civico is painted in red letters on a white oval or rectangle, which is edged with black. The numbering in each sestiere starts with 1 and runs up and down all the streets in the district. The last number in each district is also noted on the wall. 
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Venice does name its streets, but such names are not included in the postal addresses! Street-signs, which are known as nizioleti (little sheets), are painted directly onto the walls, black letters on a white rectangle with a black border. The city's canals are identified in the same manner.

Here is a guide to Venetian street names:

• Calle (or Cale) is a long, narrow street.
• Callesella (or Calesela) is an even narrower street.
• Campo is an open space.
• Campiello is a smaller open space.
• Corte is a court and seldom has an exit.
• Fondamenta is a paved walk by a canal.
• Piscina is the site of what was once a lake or pond.
• Ramo is a little branch off a larger street. 
• Rio is a canal.
• Rio Terà is a filled-in canal.
• Riva is a fondamenta.
• Salizzada (or Salizada) is one of the principal streets of a parish. In the 13th century the salizzada was the only street to be paved (in brick not in stone. Stone was only introduced in the 18th century). 
• Sotoportego (or Sottoportico) is an archway under a building.