Venezia FC (Italy)

Venezia FC

Ground: Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo

Capacity: 12,048

Club Founded: 1907

League: Serie A (current level)

Venezia FC are one of Italy’s most unique clubs, playing home matches at the historic Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo on the edge of Venice’s famous lagoon, while their distinctive orange, black and green colours have become recognised worldwide 

Club History

Venezia FC has endured several name changes, bankruptcies and new companies to keep the name going. The original club was founded when two sporting clubs, Palestra Marziale and Costantino Reyer, joined forces at Campo San Bartolomeo. The team began life as members of Terza Categoria Veneta, the third level of local football. 

Two promotions were soon won as the club reached Prima Categoria Veneto-Emiliana, one of several top-level Italian divisions. After being crowned champions in 1911-12, Venezia lost in the national championship final to Pro Vercelli. Stadio Campo di Sant'Elena was opened, becoming the only ground in Italy that players, officials, and spectators had to reach by boat.  

Promotion to Serie A

In 1919, another local outfit, Aurora FC, joined forces with the club, before Venezia were placed in the new Seconda Divisione Nord, once the national league was formed. The title was lifted to join the new second tier. Promotion was awarded two years later before becoming a founder member of Serie B in 1929-30 under coach Rudolf Stanzel.

By 1934, their official name was Associazione Fascista Calcio Venezia, as the team dropped down a level to the newly formed Serie C Girone A. Venezia won the title, returning to the second tier under József Bánás at the renamed Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo. Luigi Barbesino and then Giuseppe Girani were in charge of the side that won promotion to the top-flight Serie A. 

Coppa Italia Winners

In 1940-41, Venezia lifted the Coppa Italia, beating AS Roma 4-3 on aggregate, with the goals coming from Valentino Mazzola, Alfredo Diotallevi, Juán Alberti and Ezio Loik under head coach Giovanni Battista Rebuffo. János Vanicsek then led the side that was defeated 4-0 by Torino in the final of the Coppa Italia at San Siro. 

At the end of Mussolini’s fascist rule in 1945, the club changed their name to Associazione Calcio Venezia as coach Girani returned for a second spell. The team was relegated before Mario Villini coached the side to promotion to Serie A for a solitary season. It got worse in 1951-52 when the team was relegated to Serie C with Fulvio Bernardini as coach.

Down to the Third-Tier

The Serie C title was clinched before promotion to Serie A was enjoyed at the start of the 1960's. Again, Venezia's spell in the top-flight was a short one. The club regained its previous status under coach Armando Segato when Silvano Mencacci and Marcello Neri starred. By the end of the decade, they were a Serie C club.

The team continued playing third-tier football before being relegated to Serie D in 1976-77. The competition, renamed Campionato Interregionale after the Italian league system was restructured, saw Venezia win Girone C in 1982-83 to be promoted to Serie C2.

Financial Issues

However, off the pitch, financial issues led to the original club's dissolution. Their license was taken over by the newly formed Calcio Venezia S.r.l. before they merged with l'Associazione Calcio Mestre S.p. In the summer of 1987, they changed their name to Calcio Venezia-Mestre S.r.l.

Mestre’s license was sold to the reborn Palermo club while Venezia-Mestre played their matches at Stadio Francesco Baracca in Mestre. The newly named side went up to Serie C1 under coach Ferruccio Mazzola. A further name change, to Associazione Calcio Venezia 1907 S.r.l. followed in 1989. 

My drawing of Stadio Pierluigi Penzo from the time of my visit
Click on the image to enlarge it

Back to Serie A

Alberto Zaccheroni led the side to promotion. A Serie B runners-up place in 1997-98 after a return to Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo took Venezia back to Serie A in a side containing Giancarlo Filippini and coached by Walter Novellino for the first time in thirty years.

Álvaro Recoba and Filippo Maniero starred going forward on their return, along with goalkeeper Massimo Taibi. Luciano Spalletti and then Francesco Oddo had spells as coach before the team was relegated in 1999-00. Cesare Prandelli was appointed as team boss as Venezia went straight back up at the first attempt, aided by the goals of Arturo Di Napoli. 

Further Restructuring

Back in Serie B after relegation, the club was declared bankrupt at the end of the 2004-05 season. A new organisation was formed to play in Serie C2. Andrea Manzo and later Nello Di Costanzo took the team to promotion in their first season in charge. Venezia lost in the play-off semi-finals the following season. 

Another restructuring took place in 2009 after the previous incarnation was relegated due to serious budget irregularities. The team lost the Serie D playoff final before winning the Girone C title in 2011-12 after Giancarlo Favarin was appointed as coach. Victory in the playoffs the following season saw Venezia go up to the third-tier Lega Pro Prima Divisione. 

Further Financial Woes

Yet more financial troubles at the end of the 2014-15 campaign required another reboot. Venezia Football Club Società Sportiva Dilettantistica were placed in Girone C of Serie D. The team won the championship, going up to Lega Pro. The official club name was changed to Venezia Football Club. The Liga Pro title was won in 2016-17 under coach Filippo Inzaghi.  

On their Serie B return, Palermo ended dreams of promotion in the playoffs as Alexandre Geijo and Stefano Moreo scored regularly. Stefano Vecchi replaced Inzaghi in the summer of 2018, before being quickly succeeded by Walter Zenga. The former national team goalkeeper didn't see out the season, with Serse Cosmi arriving in his place.

Back to Serie A

Salernitana were defeated in the relegation playoff, before Alessio Dionisi was appointed as manager, who was replaced ahead of the 2020-21 campaign by Paolo Zanetti. His side defeated Cittadella in the playoff final to reach Serie A, with goalscorers Francesco Forte and Riccardo Meggiorini playing a large part in a successful season.

Venezia went straight back down after one season at the elite level. Ivan Javorčić started the 2022-23 Serie B season as manager before being replaced by Paolo Vanoli. Cagliari defeated I Leoni Alati in the playoffs. There would be no mistake the following season as victory over Cremonese in the playoff final sealed promotion to Serie A.

The proposed new stadium at Tessera

Recent Years

The success was largely attributed to the goals of Joel Pohjanpalo and Christian Gytkjær, along with the goalkeeping of  Jesse Joronen. Eusebio Di Francesco was appointed as manager in July 2024, as Venezia were again relegated twelve months later. 

News, meanwhile, broke that a new stadium for the club as part of the Bosco dello Sport complex in Tessera was proposed. Giovanni Stroppa became Venezia head coach in July 2025.

My visit 

Stadium Visit - Sunday 14th October 2000

I was travelling around Europe by train for three weeks on an InterRail ticket, taking in as many major cities and sightseeing as possible, which of course included visiting football clubs and stadiums. I arrived in Venice on a night train at 6am, which I'd boarded in Nice. 

I relaxed and found somewhere for refreshments and to freshen up and leave my backpack, so I could go and discover the city. This was before my days of using computers or maps on them, so I had to go by the free maps at each destination, which didn’t always have football stadiums marked on them. 

I bought a pass to use the boats on the canals for the day and set out walking and riding. On the north side of the city, I saw what looked like the Venezia stadium on the archipelago of Murano. I got on board the boat and then set out when reaching dry land, only to find a basic community sports ground. 

Thwarted, I got on with seeing the usual sights: Rialto Bridge and St Paul’s Square, etc. My failure was nagging away at me. On my basic map, I saw another sports ground marked off. 
Now, while I found parts of Venice pretty, it was pretty apparent I’d be struggling to fill eighteen hours in the city, especially on my tight budget. 

I had nothing to lose, with my unlimited pass already purchased. I set off for Isola di Sant Elena by boat and then walked towards the site. It was immediately obvious that I’d struck gold. Stadio Pierluigi Penzo was ageing, even back then. The Main Stand was on the west side with a canal running behind it. 

It was a single-tiered stand with a TV camera box on the roof. I gained entry in the north-east corner. The three remaining stands were all huge portable structures of the sort seen around tennis courts and golf courses for major events without roofs. The one to me left had the yacht club behind it and also had a detached couple of blocks for away fans. 

All had green tip-up seats bolted onto the structures, with the corners between the stands consisting of flat open land. I went back to my sightseeing. I found a local paper which seemed to indicate that the club from Mestre, just across the bridge on the mainland, was playing at home in a regional league that afternoon. 

I went on a train, but soon gave it up as a bad job, as I had no real detail and even fewer Italian language skills. I went back for yet another walk and a meal by one of the many canals.

The pictures on this page have been taken from the internet. I took photos during my visit and then left my bag when visiting a bar in Rome the following evening, losing my camera.