Caorle

Province of Venezia, Veneto Region, Italy

Situated at the eastern border of the region, near Friuli, over a beautiful cliff gently descending to the sea, with fishermen's houses in lively pastel shades, Venetian-style alleys called calli and small squares called "campielli". The countryside and lagoon, still with the ancient fishermen's cabins called "casoni" made of reeds, are a great environmental attraction. The uninterrupted 15-km long beaches of Caorle, Porto Santa Margherita and Duna Verde offer vacation resorts of all kinds, hotels, boarding houses, camping sites, holiday villages an home rentals. Moreover, there are a myriad of restaurants, pizzerias, discos, shopping centers and traditional shops. Among the celebrated visitors of Caorle was Ernest Hemingway, who was a guest of baron Franchetti and described the place in his short story Beyond the river, among the trees.

Info:

Altitude: 151 m a.s.l -- Population: ca. 11,000 inhabitants -- Zip/postal code: 30021 -- Phone Area Code: 0421 -- Patron Saint: Santo Stefano celebrated on 26 December -- Frazioni & Località: Porto Santa Margherita, Duna Verde, Ca' Corniani, Ca' Cottoni, San Giorgio di Livenza, San Gaetano, Brian, Brussa, Castello di Brussa, Ottava Presa, Marango, Villaviera

History

The human presence in the area goes back to the first millennium BC, when also the first settlements in the Venice lagoon took place. In Roman times Caorle was the port of nearby Julia Concordia. The barbaric invasions of the Huns in Italy drove the people of the hinterland of Veneto and Friuli to take refuge in the lagoons, and Caorle was founded in that period (5th century AD). The origins of this little town are very old and date back to the Bronze Age.

In 876 it became a diocese and in the following centuries provided crafts to the Venetian fleet. The town's decay followed the fall of the Serenissima Republic after the Treaty of Campoformio, which delivered Venice to Austria. Only after the end of the Habsburg domination and the two world wars, Caorle began to revive as a tourist destination.

What to see:

The round bell tower, built in 1070, 48 meters high and the symbol of the town
the Romanesque Cathedral, built in 1038 together with the lagoon cathedrals of Torcello, Equilio, and St. Mark's in Venice; inside, a precious gold altarpiece made of six panels offered, according to the legend, by the queen of Cyprus Caterina Cornaro in 1489.
The Scogliera viva (Living Rocks), a gallery of sculptures in the open air made by artists coming from all over the world every year in June.

Events

The "bragozzi" regattas (bragozzo is a fishing boat with two masts)
The Fraima theater festival, in September, taking its name from the departure of the fishermen for the fishing season, which lasted until just before Christmas.
Vivistoria, a costume re-enactment commemorating the Rape of the Maids of Venice in the 10-th century by Dalmatian pirates, and rescued on the seashore of Caorle thanks to the Venetian fleet led by doge Pietro Candian II.