Venice Open Water

Venice Open Water gathers swimmers on the outer sea coast of Lido di Venezia in the Veneto region of Italy. The entire competition is anchored directly on the sand, with the race village, start line, and finish arches set up inside the Blue Moon beach establishment. Stepping across the fine sand toward the breaking surf, swimmers enter the open sea for a day of racing that tracks parallel to the island's famous shoreline. The competition opens with the fast-paced 800-metre Nuota Sprint, laid out along a marked rectangular course directly in front of the Blue Moon beach. This shorter dash attracts a high proportion of young swimmers eager to test their speed in open water.

For those stepping up to middle distance, the Nuota il Miglio covers a classic nautical mile of 1,852 metres. Swum along a rectangular layout off the Blue Moon and Zona A beaches, this course stretches down the coast with its turning buoys anchored near the historic jetty of the Des Bains beach club. The premier test is the 3.5-kilometre Nuota 3.5k, which requires swimmers to complete two laps of the extended rectangular circuit between Blue Moon, Zona A, and the Des Bains jetty. With double passes around the outer marks, it offers a technical and selective challenge where maintaining a steady rhythm against coastal currents makes all the difference. Younger athletes can take on the Nuada del Passarin, an energetic swim-and-run event featuring a 50-metre dash across the sand, a 200-metre sea swim, and a final 50-metre sprint to the line.

To ensure clean navigation and ample room at the buoys, organizers can release swimmers in successive waves divided by category across every distance. Those desiring added visibility and peace of mind can tow an optional inflatable swim buoy throughout their heat. Water temperature determines thermal gear, making wetsuits mandatory in colder conditions, optional in moderate water, and forbidden when the sea warms up. In past editions, athletes have experienced calm waters under skies that cleared to welcome the sun as the packs moved along the buoys. Beyond the overall podiums, the event celebrates specific masters excellence with the Lucia Monti prize, presented to the fastest woman in the M1 category of the nautical mile. A welcoming sporting ethos runs throughout the morning, reinforced by the active support of Special Olympics, whose athletes are welcomed to the starting line.

Porto di Lido and San Nicolò: naval bastions and the Doge's golden ring

As far back as the year 600, a lookout tower was built at San Nicolò to spot approaching pirate ships and sound the alarm across the shallows. By 1335, Venice fortified the Lido channel with the Gagiandra, an ingenious floating artillery platform shaped like a giant turtle that commanded the fairway. These defenses guarded the very waters where the Republic displayed its ceremonial mastery over the sea. In the symbolic ceremony known as the Wedding with the Sea, the water between the Lido and the fortress of Sant'Andrea played a central role. Standing sentinel on the other side of the Porto di Lido-San Nicolò channel, about three kilometres from the swimming beach, the island of Sant'Andrea was fortified in the sixteenth century with a formidable stronghold to protect the lagoon gateway. On the Lido shore itself, the late-sixteenth-century Saraglio barracks housed the elite Fanti da Mar, recognized as the world's first amphibious infantry corps.

From Metamaucum to Malamocco: a submerged shore and deep shipping canals

The sea stretching out in front of the swimmers conceals long-lost chapters of the coastline's shifting geography. Centuries before the current resort shore took shape, the ancient settlement of Metamaucum thrived along the barrier island until a cataclysmic storm surge submerged it entirely in 1116. Today, the Malamocco inlet to the south stands as the deepest navigable channel into the lagoon, regularly handling heavy marine traffic, including container ships and oil tankers. These maritime channels have long served as the grand gateway for Venice's naval power. Roughly two kilometres across the water, the Venetian Arsenal began operations as early as 1104, transforming naval architecture into a massive industrial enterprise.

San Lazzaro and Lazzaretto Vecchio: lagoon sanctuaries sheltered by the Lido

Resting near the Lido's western edge, the island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni originally served as a Benedictine refuge back in the ninth century. Later inhabited by Armenian monks, it still displays an authentic thirteenth-century khachkar stone cross and tends fragrant rose gardens to harvest petals for traditional vartanush jam. About one kilometre from the race area, the 2.53-hectare island of Lazzaretto Vecchio rests in the calm lagoon shallows off the western coast. In 1564, the island's isolation hospital was expanded by systematically reclaiming land from the surrounding lagoon floor.

The Lido seafront: Blue Moon gatherings, fruit stands, and crowded ferries

Back on the open Adriatic side, the energy of the event centers on the vibrant sports village that fills the Blue Moon beachfront from morning until evening. After pushing through the surf and crossing the timing mat on the sand, athletes are greeted with mounds of fresh fruit waiting to replenish tired muscles. The sandy expanse fills with clubs, families, and supporters soaking up the summer warmth after the morning's efforts in the sea. Outside the race village, the Lido slips into its classic holiday rhythm as the surrounding beach clubs fill with sunbathers. Across the lagoon, Actv waterbuses run back and forth without pause, ferrying crowds of swimmers and visitors between the historic alleys of Venice and the wide shores of the island. It is an ideal setting to spend the afternoon unwinding along the water.