VENEZIA 0 v BOLOGNA 1 - STADIO PIER LUIGI PENZO - SERIE A - 29th MARCH 2025

Getting there

Staying in Verona, it’s a 1  hour 28 min regional train ride to Venice costing 20 Euro return. There is a faster service via the Frecciarossa trains but for 3 times the regional price, you only save 12 mins. With those prices in mind, it was no surprise to see it filling up quite quickly to the point it was standing room only for many. Luckily we got on early enough to get seats which saved our legs for the street shuffle around the narrow streets and bridges of Venice. Shuffling because it was surprisingly to me, mobbed for this late March rainy Saturday afternoon. We arrived 4 hours before kick off and meandered our way the 3 miles towards the stadium at the far end of the Island, stopping off in the odd bar and shop.

Getting in

This was our main game of the weekend and we were keen to ensure we got in. Frustratingly, the tickets via Vivaticket were not available to non club supporters card holders until the day before, in fact, even an email to the club and response suggested they would not be available on line and we should go to the club shop before kick off, located in the middle of Venice.  By chance, I checked on the Friday morning and the supporters card restriction had been lifted. Having subsequently looked again at other Venezia games  on returning home, that requirement for club cards wasn’t evident so maybe that was a one off for the Bologna game. The lack of away fans also alluded to the situation being special with 121 (I counted) populating the away end. Some of our searches suggested a previous encounter between the two had seen Bologna Ultras marauding through the narrow streets. Ultimately, we bought tickets in the Distinti stand for 48 Euro.

What its like

Its certainly a unique place to watch a match and to get a boat home after the game. The ground sits unsurprisingly  between a canal   and a boat yard. The canal side stand is the only permanent and covered structure with the remainder consisting of semi permanent scaffold type open stands. The current 12,000 capacity rarely gets filled other than for  the big teams and for this game, apart from two frustrated arm waving  Venezia fans next to us complaining at any failed attack,  just under 10,000 enjoyed a fairly even game in which Bologna showed that little bit of extra quality you might expect a Champions League team to afford. Italian international Riccardo Orsolini settled it just after half time with a very sweet volley to send the 121 wild. Venezia huffed and puffed and I was willing them to score to reward their excellent and noisy ultras behind the goal but they lacked a cutting edge despite having a couple of very good opportunities. After the game, and to avoid more shuffling through Venice on the way back,  we queued up with all  home fans at the boat stop a few hundred yards from  the ground  where they had lined boats up of various sizes to take people back into the city. We didn't really know exactly  where it was going but jumped on anyway and neither did we show a ticket but luckily for us it dropped us a 30 min cruise  later around the corner from the train station. An enjoyable game,  a  decent view of Venice and a novel way of getting home from the match.