Picture the scene A tranquil village unfolds before you. This is Malamocco a place steeped in history. It’s nestled on the Lido island in the Venetian Lagoon. Malamocco wasn’t always a quiet village.
Once upon a time Malamocco was Metamaucum a bustling Roman port. It served Padua connected by the River Medoacus Maior today’s Brenta. Ships arrived from Ravenna. The via Popilia linked it to mainland towns. Metamaucum even became the second ducal seat of Venice. Teodato Ipato the second doge moved the seat there from Heraclea. This was only temporary. Agnello Participazio moved it again to Rivoalto in 811. Pepin briefly occupied Metamaucum during an attempted invasion in 810. Doge Giovanni I Participazio destroyed Metamaucum in 836 crushing a rebellion. The settlement survived but declined. Its priory moved to Murano. The S S Leone e Basso nuns went to San Servolo. The diocese transferred to Chioggia. A devastating storm surge in 1116 submerged much of the settlement. Local rumour persists that ruins are visible when the sea is calm. The exact location remains unknown.
A new Malamocco rose near the old Metamaucum. Its existence is first recorded in 1107. It kept some privileges from its days as a ducal town. Malamocco however became increasingly peripheral. It was administered alongside Poveglia. A podestà represented the doge. He was elected for a sixteen month term. From 1339 he headed a council of families nominating local officials. Malamocco played a role in Venice’s defense during the War of Chioggia between 1379 and 1381. It became a municipality in 1816 encompassing the whole Lido island. In 1933 it was incorporated into the municipality of Venice. The northern Lido’s development for tourism overshadowed Malamocco. Today Malamocco is a village with a population of around 1554 inhabitants.
Malamocco’s parish church is dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta. It was originally dedicated to Madonna della Marina Our Lady of the Sea. The church dates back to the 12th century and is built in Veneto-Byzantine style. It has undergone modifications in 1339 and 1557. The church boasts a painting of the Assumption by Giulia Lama. There is a 17th century Miracle in the Sea by Gerolamo Foscari. The sacristy contains a rare 15th century altar front. A crucifix from northern Europe might be from the 12th or 13th century. The bell tower resembles St Mark’s. It houses four bells cast in 1803.
Outside the church in Campo della chiesa are Venetian wells. They feature high reliefs of St Mark’s lions. A 15th century building once housed the Residenza della Deputazione Comunale. It too has a lion relief. A hexagonal monument displays the Pisani family’s coat of arms. The Pisani governed Malamocco around 1537.
The village’s main street rio Terà is a filled-in canal. Further along is Piazza delle Erbe ending in an arch before a brick bridge. Near a wooden bridge are remains of a moated fortress. This might be the fortress from the Madonna of Marina story. This story involves a Malamocco man finding a log mysteriously disappearing and reappearing three times before a vision of the Virgin. A chapel was built. A statue of the Virgin was made. Celebrations take place on the second Sunday of July. The Austrians built a fortress on the site in 1814. Villagers moved the statue to the church continuing the tradition. The disastrous 1996 flood also affected Malamocco. Flood defenses were constructed between 1988 and 1993 and again between 2003 and 2009.
Malamocco’s name also refers to a lagoon inlet to the Adriatic Sea. It lies between Lido and Pellestrina. It’s the second widest inlet. It’s also the deepest. Cargo ships use it to reach the Marghera port. The MOSE project protects the inlet with mobile gates. Nineteen gates are housed in seven structures. A lock lets ships pass. A breakwater slows sea currents. The structures were built on an artificial island and lowered into the sea.
So here you stand in Malamocco a place where the whispers of Roman times mingle with Venetian history. A place where ancient stories and modern engineering coexist. A place to remember and explore.