In the week between 7 and 14 October, from Friday to Friday, the port will open its gates to the city for the “Port Days” event, organised by the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority to let citizens and students learn about the ports of Venice and Chioggia from first-hand experience.
There will be many new proposals for primary and secondary school students planned with the help of port training institutes, which are among the organizers of the event. For the first time, initiatives will involve also the port and the community of Chioggia, with a view to show how the Veneto’s port system as a whole can be a driving force for the economy capable of offering high quality jobs while enabling exchanges – not only of goods but also of industrial and logistic cultural know-how.
The 2022 edition sees more partners actively contributing to the success of the event: in addition to the Coast Guard – Harbour Master’s Offices of Venice and Chioggia, the Venice Port Community and The International Propeller Club – Port of Venice, partners include the Municipality of Venice, the Municipality of Chioggia, Confindustria Area Metropolitana Venezia-Rovigo, Ca’ Foscari University, IUAV University, the Italian Navy, Venice Heritage Tower, the Logistics and Intermodal Training Centre – CFLI, ITS Academy Marco Polo, Compagnia della Marineria Tradizionale – “Il Nuovo Trionfo”, Darsena (Dock) Le Saline, Kayak Club Chioggia, and the Association Lido Oro Benon.
“This year we have raised the bar,” said North Adriatic Sea Port Authority President Fulvio Lino Di Blasio, “by doubling the number of initiatives and including Chioggia, whose port and community are integral parts of the Veneto port system. This is one of the commitments we made to the stakeholders when we prepared our Operational Plan and resolved that fostering dialogue with local communities should be one of our five strategic lines of action. In keeping with the national Port Days’ focus on the younger generations, we have designed many initiatives targeted at young visitors to help them discover the values and culture of sea-related professions and understand that the port is an import asset in the region and a mine of qualified job opportunities. I wish to thank all the companies, institutions, and associations that have accepted to join our team, adding quality to this event while contributing their time and resources to the community”.
The programme
— > VENICE
Friday 7 October.
Port Days 2022 kicks off at 15:00 with the conference “#Port-City. A new chapter in the regeneration of the waterfronts in Venice and Chioggia” on board the Italian Navy training ship “Amerigo Vespucci”. Conceived as a debate on the port-city interaction and related topics and moderated by Anna Carnielli, President of The International Propeller Club – Port of Venice, the event will involve Alberto Cappato, Secretary of the Association Internationale Villes et Ports; Benno Albrecht, Rector of the IUAV University of Venice; Luigi Romagnoli, Commander of the Italian Navy training ship “Amerigo Vespucci”; Andrea Romani, Commander of the Institute of Maritime Military Studies in Venice; Mauro Armelao, Mayor of Chioggia; Luigi Brugnaro, Mayor of Venice; Fulvio Lino Di Blasio, President of AdSPMAS; and Elisa De Berti, Vice-President of the Veneto Region.
On the same day, during an initiative co-organised with Ca’ Foscari, the three university bands that won the ‘Pop-Up @ Port Days’ music contest will entertain visitors at the San Basilio and Santa Marta waterfront from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm.
Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 October.
It’s time to look at the port… from above! Citizens can sign up for a guided tour of the ‘Venice Heritage Tower’, the historic water cooling tower located near the access gate to the commercial port terminals in Porto Marghera.
Moreover, thanks to the collaboration with the Compagnia della Marineria Tradizionale “Il Nuovo Trionfo”, visitors will have a chance to explore the Trabaccolo, a traditional boat of the Venice Lagoon that will be moored at Punta della Dogana in Venice on Saturday 8 October during daytime.
Sunday 9 October.
Fancy a guided boat tour? Citizens will get the chance to discover the infrastructure and operations of terminals in Marghera and Fusina, a unique opportunity to understand how the port and its quays work.
Monday 10 October.
At 4.00 pm at the headquarters of Confindustria Area Metropolitana Venezia Rovigo, a conference will be held entitled “ZLS (simplified logistic zone), an opportunity for the Veneto port system”. Speakers include Roberto Marcato, Veneto’s regional Councillor for Economic Development – Energy – Special Law for Venice; Luigi Brugnaro, Mayor of Venice; Massimo Zanon, President of the Venice-Rovigo Chamber of Commerce; Alessandro Panaro, SRM – Intesa Sanpaolo Group; Silvia Moretto, Chief Executive Officer D. B. Group and Past President Fedespedi; Vincenzo Marinese, President of Confindustria Area Metropolitana Venezia Rovigo; and Fulvio Lino Di Blasio, President of AdSPMAS.
Wednesday 12, Thursday 13 and Friday 14 October.
It is the turn of primary and secondary school students to take part in a guided boat tour to discover the port areas of Marghera and Fusina.
— > CHIOGGIA
Monday 10 and Tuesday 11 October.
Over 200 primary school pupils from Chioggia will be involved in educational activities and learn also through play how a port works. Secondary school students will be involved in water sports activities, with kayaking lessons in the lagoon that will end in the water spaces in front of the port areas.
Thursday 13 October. At 4:00 p.m. a conference will be held on the topic ‘#Port-City. Chioggia, a new destination for tourism from the sea featuring culture, nature, and infrastructural assets” (speakers will include: Mauro Armelao, Mayor of Chioggia; Dario Riccobene, Commander of the Harbour Master’s office of Chioggia; Fulvio Lino Di Blasio, President of AdSPMAS; Emmanuele Curti, Cultural Manager expert in the promotion of tourist destinations; Alessandro Da Re, President of ASCOM – Confcommercio Chioggia; Emiliano Biraku, Vice-President of Confesercenti – Metropolitan City of Venice and Rovigo; Giuliano Boscolo Cegion, President of Asa Federalberghi; Giorgio Bellemo, President of Ascot; Gianni Boscolo Moretto, President of GEBIS; Roberto Perocchio, President of Assomarinas.)
Facts and figures
The Port of Venice has been involved in the national Port Days initiative since in 2019, the year in which the event was launched by Assoporti. Locally, the Venetian port authority has been organizing open days to let the local community experience the port since 1999. Over the past 22 years, these initiatives have seen about 25,000 people participating in guided tours by land and sea, conferences on specific topics, play-based learning activities and educational workshops. For Port Days 2022 Venice has an extremely rich and well structured programme, like no other in the past: 8 consecutive open days, 77 hours of dialogue with the territory, 11 different initiatives, 3 port areas involved (Marghera, Fusina and Chioggia), 3 extraordinary locations (Training ship “Amerigo Vespucci”, VHT Tower, Trabaccolo Il Nuovo Trionfo), 16 partners, 3 thematic seminars, 25 speakers. Involvement of 9 primary schools in the Municipality of Venice, 1 primary school in Chioggia, 11 secondary schools and 3 ITS classes. Thanks also to the 6 boat tours in the port areas and the 6 guided tours to the VHT tower, organisers expect to welcome a total of 2000 visitors including 600 students.