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Currently there are three harbour entrances that give access to the beautiful lagoon of Venice:
1. the inlet of Lido allows access from the north
2. the inlet of Malamocco, located at the centre of the lagoon
3. the inlet of Chioggia allows access from the south
The harbour inlets of Lido and Malamocco represent the starting point of a dense network of interior channels that extend over 96 km and whose depths vary from 14.5 m to 10 meters under sea level (the lagoon of Venice).
These smaller channels allow boats entrance to the harbour in the historic centre of Venice and the mainland.
- Regulations for water circulation in the city of Venice
- Emergency in sea - Number: 1530
Inlet of Lido
This is the main water access to the harbour area of the historic centre and the preferred route for passenger ships.
The canal floor lies 12 metres below the average level of the sea, it is 150 metres wide and is marked off in the seaward part by two breakwater dams oriented in a NW direction; the north lying dam is 3,635 metres long and the southward one is 3,155 metres long.
The inlet of Lido is kept open to navigation by a cunette currently kept at 10.60 meters under the average sea level; it is 150 meters wide and extends into the sea from the end of the jetties for more than two kilometres.
Inlet of Malamocco
The inlet of Malamocco is the main water access to the Port of San Leonardo (reserved exclusively to traffic fuelled with crude hydrocarbons) and the harbour areas of the mainland to Marghera (commercial traffic areas): most of the commercial traffic and nearly all of the industrial traffic passes through this inlet.
The canal bottom lies 15.50 metres under the average sea level up to the port of San Leonardo, which is reserved exclusively for hydrocarbon fuelled vehicles, and 12 meters under the average sea level up to Marghera, for a width that varies from 200 to 60 meters. It is marked off in the seaward part by two breakwater dams oriented in a NW direction; the north lying dam is 2,122 metres long and the southward one is 956 metres long.
Regulations for water circulation in the city of Venice
You cannot circulate freely in the canals in Venice due to the restrictions imposed by their inherent structure (some of the smaller canals are quite narrow) and by city regulations.
The only recreational boats that can navigate in the inner canals are those owned by residents in the Venice historic centre or lagoon islands or holders of special licenses for water space in the historic centre or the Giudecca and in craft whose tonnage does not exceed 5 tons.
Emergency in sea - Number: 1530
Throughout the entire national territory an emergency phone number called "Emergency in sea - 153" (in italian: Emergenza in mare - 1530) can be contacted; a totally free service for the citizen, which confirms the commitment of the Capitanerie di Porto to the safeguarding of human life in sea, guaranteeing the safety and the smooth running of bathing and tourist activities on all parts of our 8000 Km long coast.
Dialing 1530 from a cell-phone one enters in direct contact with the Operations' Center of the General Command of the Capitanerie di Porto - Coast Guard, which will activate the rescue operations. Dialing 1530 from a telephone one is in direct contact with the appropriate Capitaneria di Porto