Campo Marconi 1 - 30015 Chioggia (VE)
Tel. 041 5500911 - Fax 041 5509581
Web site http://www.chioggiatourism.it
Summary
The Civic Museum of the Southern Lagoon is located in the former fourteenth century monastery outside the city walls, it is organized on three floor and hosts the finds discovered in Chioggia. On the ground floor, there is the pre-roman and roman archaeological collection, the first floor displays the finds dating back to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Modern age, whereas the second floor is related to the topics of marine, fishing and shipbuilding from the 18th century to nowadays.
Collection history
The archaeological collection that can be seen in the museum has been accomplished almost exclusively thanks to the underwater discoveries accomplished by the San Marco Diving Club of Venice in the southern area of the Venetian Lagoon over the last twenty years. The Civic Museum was inaugurated and opened to the general public in 1997.
Ground floor – Hydraulic technology and trade in the Roman age
On the ground floor of the museum, there is an interesting collection of archaeological finds providing information on the various techniques of hydraulic defence adopted in the early stages of human settlements in the southern Venetian Lagoon since the Roman age. The visit to the exhibition starts with a set of panels, hanging on the right wall of the room, which explain the environmental evolution of the Adriatic seashore (and the changes in the coastal line) between the late Bronze Age (10th cent. B.C.) and 1740. The other topics addressed are the settlements, the trade, the process of land division and the road system in the area of the upper Adriatic in the pre-roman and roman Age. On the left side of the room, in the first section, there are some reconstructions of the first systems of water control adopted in the early stages of settlement in the area (pre-roman age), which allowed the integration between human beings and the environmental context: water catchment system with floating trap, a slipway and different ways of piling. At the centre of the same section, it is also possible to see the scale model of a device used to lift buildings blocks from the Roman age, a Corinthian capital of the 6th cent. A.D. and a trachyte slab with frieze representing dancers from the site Cà Bianca (late-imperial age). Next to the reconstructions, there is a display case containing lamps, vases (a bottom of a bowl made of north-italic sigillata, a thin walled cup and a pan handle of utilitarian pottery), loom weights (either truncated-conical or circular), stamped tiles, fragments of mosaics and of amphoras of the Roman Age coming from private collections and underwater discoveries. The second section of the room focuses on the trade in the Roman age. On the left it is possible to see the reproduction of the stratigraphy of the Southern Lagoon and a scale model of the section of a Roman road. The large panel displaying the Tabula Peutingeriana also refers to the issue of the road system; it shows the road network in the Roman Empire and the places in the Upper Adriatic area where travellers could rest. Below the poster, there are five Roman lead anchor stocks of different sizes. Two display cases in the middle of the room contain a bronze double-beam steelyard (1st cent. A.D.) discovered in the sea, probably making part of the equipment of a ship, and a numismatic collection of Roman coins (from the late Republican age to the late Imperial age). The last section is the small area at the bottom, which displays the ancient commercial vessel par excellence, that is amphoras, which can be seen in the large display case. The exhibition is accompanied by panels explaining the shapes of this vessel, the ways in which it was produced, the important information it can provide and the different types. The large display case contains a broad range of amphoras, discovered in the sea stretch between Sottomarina and the Lido, which cover a long time span (from the Republican age to the 6th cent. A.D.): Greek - Italic amphoras, amphoras of the “Lamboglia 2” type, amphoras of the “Dressel 2/4” type, amphoras with high funnel-shaped rim, amphoras of Aegean production, amphoras of northern-italic origin, amphoras of the “Mid Roman 8” type, a spatheion from Tunisia and amphoras of the “Late Roman 1” type. The last part of the room hosts a wonderful real scale model of the cutaway of a Roman cargo ship of the 1st cent. A.D. Inside the ship, it is possible to see all the objects found in the sea and in the lagoon by the Venetian Divers’ Club, which were probably part of the cargo of the vessel: trachyte grain querns, transport amphoras, lead rings, an earthen mortar and anchor stocks. The amazing model is accompanied by a panel explaining the sailing systems adopted at the time, three stone weights of the Roman age and the reconstruction of a Roman anchor with some of its original components, such as the anchor stocks.
Visiting
Admission: Negli orari di apertura; Ticket: Si; Price: Full fare: 3.50 €; reduced fare (groups of more than 20 people): 1.75 €; Free admission (children and students);
School access
Disabled access
TipologyWhenSpecs
SummerTuesday09.00 – 13.00
SummerWednesday09.00 – 13.00
SummerThursday09.00 – 13.00 e 19.30 – 23.30
SummerFriday09.00 – 13.00 e 19.30 – 23.30
SummerSaturday09.00 – 13.00 e 19.30 – 23.30
SummerSunday19.30 – 23.30
WinterTuesday09.00 – 13.00
WinterWednesday09.00 – 13.00
WinterThursday09.00 – 13.00 e 15.00 – 18.00
WinterFriday09.00 – 13.00 e 15.00 – 18.00
WinterSaturday09.00 – 13.00 e 15.00 – 18.00
WinterSunday15.00 – 18.00
Summer opening (12/06-31/08); winter opening (01/09-15/06).

Recommended tour time (minutes): 40
Services for visitors
Toilet
Bookshop
Rest points
Educational Services
Guide a stampa Brochure
Brochures available in Italian, English, German and French.
Information boards
Italian
Captions under exhibits
Italian
Multilingual ads: Francese Tedesco Inglese
Brochures
Guided Tours
Educational activities
Educational workshops
Library and documentation centre
Other activities
Cloister (summer activities and shows) Hall (temporary exhibitions and small conferences)
Bibliography
Il percorso museale 1998, a cura di Toniolo A., Silvestri D., Chioggia.
Musei e raccolte archeologiche del Veneto 2004, a cura di Di Mauro A., Dosson di Casier, pp. 102-103.
Bonetto J. 2009, Veneto (Archeologia delle Regioni d'Italia), Roma, pp. 436.