Serie A
First home match 23.08 against Lecce
Last season
Serie B champions — direct promotion
Stadium
Penzo — you get there by boat
About the stadium
Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium opened in 1913, which makes it the second-oldest football stadium in Italy still in continuous use. It's named after a Venetian pilot from the First World War, and it sits on the eastern edge of Venice — on Sant'Elena island, right next to the Biennale gardens. It's almost certainly the only stadium in Europe you cannot reach by car in any way: there's no road to the island, so you get there by boat or on foot, full stop. The stadium was originally built of wood, got a concrete main stand in the 1920s, and its attendance record was set in 1966 — 26,000 spectators at a Serie A match against Milan, back when people still stood on the terraces. On 11 September 1970 a tornado hit Venice and destroyed a large part of the structure; it was only partially rebuilt, and capacity dropped to about 5,000. Since then it has grown again in stages, according to the division the club was playing in, and was expanded most recently in summer 2024 to meet Serie A requirements. We won't state a capacity figure here, and for good reason: the club, the City of Venice's facilities registry and information sites all publish three completely different numbers, and a number nobody agrees on doesn't belong on this page. What is certain is the relative size — it's one of the smallest stadiums in Italy's top division, and the closeness to the pitch is exactly what makes a match there a different experience.
FAQ
How do you get tickets for a Venezia match?
Tickets for Venezia are sold in two waves: first to holders of the fan card, and only after that to the general public. The club's sale is run in two waves: a first wave reserved for holders of the club's fan card, and only after it — usually about a week later — does the sale open to the general public. Season tickets were sold the same way: first a renewal window for last season's season-ticket holders, then a free sale that runs until matchday one, but with the club explicitly noting that it closes early if the quota runs out. The club's fan card is a condition for buying a season ticket, and it's valid for two years. Three Italian rules worth knowing before you buy: the ticket is personalised and registered to the actual user; valid ID must be shown at the gate, so the name on the ticket must match your passport; and the seat is allocated and binding — you're not allowed to move seats during the match. One more detail that surprises tourists: away-section tickets are never sold at the stadium box office on matchday under any circumstances, and the club warns away fans not to come to Venice without a ticket in hand. Children under four get in without a ticket. TikTik secures tickets for Venezia's home matches at the Penzo without a fan card and without submission windows.
How do you get to Penzo stadium?
You reach Venezia's Penzo stadium by boat or on foot only — there's no road to it. By boat, and it's not just picturesque — it's simply the way. The stadium sits on Fondamenta Sant'Elena, on Sant'Elena island, and there's no road to it. The vaporetto stop is named exactly after it — S.Elena – Stadio P.L. Penzo — and it has two piers: pier B towards the city, and pier C towards the Lido. A live check of the transport operator's timetable, which we ran for three different dates, shows that pier B receives lines 1, 4.2, 5.2, 6 and the night line N, and pier C receives lines 1, 4.1, 5.1, 6 and the night line. Note that this is more than what's stated on the club's website — it only lists four lines and leaves out both pier C lines and the night line entirely. And here's the trap that saved this page: line 6 stops running early — the last departure from Piazzale Roma is around 20:21, and from Sant'Elena around 20:07. Evening matches in Italy start at 20:45 and end after 22:30, meaning anyone who arrived on line 6 finds there's no way back on it. For a late return: line 5.2 until 00:27, line 1 until 23:13, and night line N until 04:08. And one more thing worth knowing in advance: at high tide above 95 centimetres, lines 5.1 and 4.1 get shortened and don't reach Sant'Elena at all — line 1 is the only one confirmed to keep running as normal, and that's exactly the situation when you'll need it. Tides like that are concentrated between October and December. From the pier to the gates is about 380 metres, about a five-minute walk on the flat. And you can also simply walk: from Piazza San Marco to the stadium is about 2.3 kilometres along Riva degli Schiavoni and through the Biennale gardens — about half an hour, and it's one of the most beautiful ways in the world to walk to a football match.
Is there parking at Penzo stadium?
There's no parking at Penzo stadium — you leave the car at Tronchetto and continue over the water. There isn't, and there can't be — there's no road to the island. Anyone arriving by car leaves it at the western edge of Venice and continues over the water. There are two official options: the Tronchetto car park, open round the clock, at a cost of 29 euros per 24 hours; and the municipal car park at Piazzale Roma, 35 euros per 24 hours, with a discounted evening rate of 15 euros between 17:00 and 05:00 sold on site only. Tronchetto is the right choice on matchday, because the dedicated matchday boat leaves from there straight to Sant'Elena, and it's connected to Piazzale Roma by the automated people mover. If you park at Piazzale Roma — line 5.1 takes about 27 minutes to Sant'Elena, and line 1 about 33 minutes along the Grand Canal, a slower but especially beautiful route. On public transport itself: a single ticket for the integrated network, which includes the vaporetto, costs 9.5 euros for 75 minutes, and a day ticket 25 euros — and in Venice the day ticket is almost always worth it. Note that these tickets don't include the trip to the airport and aren't valid on the Alilaguna lines, and that you must validate again every time you change vessel.
How do you get from Israel to a Venezia match?
There's a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Venice, about three and a half hours, and from the airport to the city it's twenty minutes by bus. There's a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Venice — Tel Aviv appears on the official destination list of Marco Polo Airport itself, and that's the only check worth anything here. We won't name a specific airline or frequency, because these change from season to season and the map of routes to Europe has been moving a lot during 2026 — check with the airline close to your date. The flight takes about three and a half hours, meaning this is one of the closer destinations in Europe, and a morning flight lets you make an evening match on the same day. What does need planning is the last leg, and there's a choice most people get wrong. The airport sits on the mainland, about twelve kilometres from the city, and there are two ways from it: by bus — just twenty minutes to the Piazzale Roma terminal at the edge of Venice, with departures every half hour on the express line or every quarter hour on the local line. Or by boat — an hour and a quarter. The boat is stunningly beautiful and takes you right into the city, but it's also the pricier of the two and much slower, because it stops along the way at Murano and other piers. The simple rule: if you're rushing to the match — bus. If it's your first time in Venice and you have time — boat, and it's worth picking the line that gets closest to your hotel. There's also a fixed-rate mainland taxi to Piazzale Roma. And from the moment you enter Venice there are no vehicles at all any more: every move is on foot or over the water, including to the stadium. Anyone arriving with a large suitcase should check in advance how many bridges and steps separate the pier from their hotel.
Does an Israeli need a visa to fly to the match?
No. Israelis enter Schengen-area countries visa-free for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, and all that's required is a valid passport. Worth knowing what's coming: the European Union is launching the ETIAS authorization system in the last quarter of 2026. Once it takes effect, an online authorization will be required in advance, at a cost of €7, valid for three years or until the passport expires — whichever comes first. As of today the system is not active and no action is required from you. Important warning: the EU warns that many sites impersonate the official site, use the EU logo and charge inflated fees or steal passport and credit card details. There is only one official site — europa.eu/etias — and any address not on the europa.eu domain is not official.
Where's the best place to sit at Penzo stadium?
At Penzo the atmosphere is in Curva Sud, and the relaxed choice for a first visit is the Distinti. The atmosphere lives in Curva Sud, which carries the name "Michele Gruppioli" — home to Venezia's organised fan groups, and it's the loud stand in the stadium. The relaxed, comfortable choice for a first visit is the Distinti, named after Valeria Solesin — the long side opposite the main stand, facing the lagoon, and also the biggest stand in the stadium; the club sells a family package there, and children up to age 14 get in free accompanied by a paying adult, one child per adult. Anyone wanting the best sightlines and maximum quiet should take the Tribuna, the main covered stand, which is also the smallest of them. On the opposite side from Curva Sud is Curva Nord, a quieter home stand, which is also included in the free-entry arrangement for children. The away section sits at the northern end, towards the marina, and the club explicitly states it's not adapted for people with mobility disabilities. A note on transparency: the club itself doesn't publish a seating map — the stand names here come from its official sales pages and from the map published by the transport operator for matchdays.
What's special about Venezia's 2026/27 season?
Venezia returned to Serie A as Serie B champions, and Giovanni Stroppa stays on as manager. Venezia's return to Serie A was a big one: they finished the 2025/26 season as Serie B champions and went up automatically, just one point ahead of second place. Giovanni Stroppa, who led the promotion, stays on the bench — and the club extended his contract in July 2026. The summer was dedicated to strengthening the squad for the top flight, with a string of signings the club officially announced in the last weeks of July and early August, including Swiss midfielder Simon Sohm and Nigerian striker Akor Adams. The full squad for the season hasn't yet been published on the official page, so we're not listing it in detail here. The practical angle for a traveller: the season starts early, and a cup match is played at the stadium as soon as mid-August before matchday one — meaning anyone visiting Venice in the second half of August could catch a match at Penzo even before the league itself has kicked off.
What's the big match for Venezia in the 2026/27 season?
Venezia have no Veneto derby in the top flight this season — the big names at Penzo are Napoli and Juventus. Let's start with what won't happen this season, because it affects planning: Venezia's historic rivalries are against Padova, Vicenza and Verona — and all three are playing in Serie B this season. In other words there's no Veneto derby in the top flight in 2026/27, and we won't sell you one. The big matches at Penzo this season are visits from the giants: Napoli arrive on 17 October 2026, and Juventus on 17 April 2027 — two dates that appear identically across all official sources. Inter, Roma and Milan are also coming, in October 2026, January 2027 and late May 2027 respectively, but there the official fixture list and Italian publications differ by a day, so we're giving just the month. And a general rule for booking a flight: from matchday six onward, kick-off times are still listed as "to be confirmed," because the league sets them later based on broadcast scheduling — so don't lock in a return flight time based on what's written today.
