Sottomarina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sottomarina is an Italian town of Roman origin. It is a comune of Chioggia, a neighboring city, which is part of the province of Venezia in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Like Venice, it is an island cut into pieces by canals, and it has bridges to bring the island together.

[edit] History

During the medieval times, Sottomarina, Chioggia, and the rest of what is now the province of Venice, were under the Republic of Serenissima. Legend says that a soldier from the Trojan War, Clodio, founded what is now Chioggia and called it Clodia. Sottomarina was called Clodia minor and Chioggia was called Clodia major. It was here that the defeated Trojans took refuge. In 2000 B.C. the Etruscans settled into Clodia, and threw out the Trojans. The Romans took over northern Italy in the first century A.D., and settled over the Etruscans without a fight. Throughout the centuries, the name of Clodia changed to Cluza, Clugia, Chiozza, and then finally to Chioggia.

From 1100-1200 A.D., The Venetian region was taken over by the Francs and the Goths. In order to defend themselves from people outside of the area, the 12 islands that we now consider part of the province of Venice came together, and for the first time they voted to become a nuclear. Thus, the Republic of Serenissima was born. During this time, it was very unusual to have a republic. The islands held a tribunal, and the first Doge was elected. The Doge was like a president or a prime minister of the republic. He was the head of Venice.

Before Italy was united, the republics were constantly fighting against one another. In 1379, The War of Chioggia broke out. The Republic of Genova attacked and destroyed Sottomarina completely; 3,500 people from Sottomarina died or were wounded. Before they were able to rebuild, bad luck struck all of Europe, especially Chioggia and Sottomarina.

From 1400-1600 the population was destroyed by floods, disease, and the black plague. Pirates in the area also killed the fishermen. The economy and the people of Chioggia were suffering immensely. Christmas night of 1623 a huge fire broke out, and the city was immersed in flames. After this, there was another black plague, and 7,000 people died leaving only 5,000 people in the city.

In 1700, the people of Chioggia could finally start rebuilding and beautifying their city. They restored religious buildings, palazzis along the canal, hospitals, etc. This was the beginning of what we see Chioggia and Sottomarina as today.

In 1797, after the French Revolution, the French took over the city along with all of northern Italy. Napoleon wanted northern Italy to be a democracy and a municipality. He took away from the Aristocracy and he gave the money to the rest of the population. Not even a year later, the Austrians took over northern Italy and threw out the French.

In 1848, the northern part of Italy was united. They elected to have a king, and his name was Victor Emmanuel II, and he was the King of Piedmont. He united Piedmont, Lombardi, and Venice, then threw out the Austrians.

World War I was a difficult time for Chioggia, 370 people died and 60 were lost at war. All the boats that made the livelihood of Chioggia were blocked by the Germans. This was very detrimental to the economy, but the Italians refused to give up. Unemployment rose, and a lot of people became Socialists. In 1920, the Socialists were elected to become the major party.

In 1935, work programs were made to help the Great Depression. The beach of Sottomarina was expanded.

During World War II, the Nazis took over Italy. The Italians were against the Germans, although the government was on the side of the Germans. Some Italians would kill or hide from them to create resistance. Even though the government of Italy changed sides in 1943, the Germans stayed in Italy, oppressing the Italians. They refused to leave until April 27, 1945.

[edit] Now

Now, Sottomarina is a tourist attraction. It has many hotels, camping grounds, and private residences. This area is considered the bread basket of Italy because of the rich soil from the Po River. At one time, Sottomarina had its own laws and government, but now it is part of Chioggia. It is attached to Chioggia by a bridge. The area of Sottomarina is 5 kilometers long and 300 meters wide, but the area changes depending on the river.