TOURIST INFORMATION
About San Servolo
The Conference Venue is in San Servolo Island www.sanservolo.provincia.venezia.it/Home.aspx?lingua=en-US.
The Island of San Servolo is inhabited since the early 600s, when a monastery was built by a group of Benedictine monks and for more than one thousand years, the island was home to a number of different monastic orders. San Servolo takes its name from the church dedicated to Saint Servulus and the annexed chapel, built by the Calbana family between 764 and 804. From the year 1109 the island hosted the Benedictine sisters of Saints Leo and Basso, who had been forced to abandon their convent at Malamocco due to the marine erosion of the coastal area. The nuns remained there for five centuries during which time improvements were made to the factories and in 1465 the bell tower was erected.
San Servolo became a wheat deposit and a fever hospital during the 1630 plague. From the 1715 the island was practically uninhabited, and the Republic of Venices Senate decided to put the former convent to use as a new military hospital since the war against the Turks. In 1797, Venice surrendered to the Napoleonic armies: tHe new government ruled that the insane, and the paupers scattered around the city, should all be admitted to San Servolo, which became a mental asylum and military hospital at the same time. In 1978 the approval of Law 180 and the subsequent Regulation 833/78 caused the closure of all psychiatric hospitals in Italy: for this reason the islands future looked uncertain. However, the Provincial Authority, which still owns the island, has always guaranteed its safekeeping and in the 1990s started a recovery plan to transform this place of past suffering into a space for multicultural promotion.
Nowadays San Servolo hosts the Fondazione I.R.S.E.S.C. which offers a historical memory of the city of Venice and, since 1995 the Venice International University, an international consortium of higher education and research which welcomes students, researchers and teachers from all over the world.
To know more about the history of the island visit:
San Servolo
Fondazione San Servolo
Venice International University
How to reach the Island
- From Venice International Airport "Marco Polo"
- From Treviso International Airport "San Giuseppe"
- By train
- By car
- From the historic centre of Venice
From Venice International Airport "Marco Polo"
There are several services that run from the airport to Venice.
Alilaguna waterbus service
This company offers a service that goes from the airport to Murano, the Lido, the Arsenale with a final stop at San Marco. Tickets cost 10.00 and can be purchased in the arrival hall of the airport or directly on board. Boats leave hourly. Take shuttle bus from terminal to dock.
For timetables and further information visit Alilaguna.
ATVO buses
These blue buses run hourly from the airport to Piazzale Roma and they leave from in front of the entrance of the departure hall. Tickets cost 2.70 and can be purchased at the ATVO stand in the arrival hall or directly on board. The service runs from 9.00 to 24.00 and takes about 20 minutes to reach Venice.
For timetables and further information visit ATVO.
ACTV Public bus n°5
These orange buses run every half an hour. The last stop is "Piazzale Roma". Tickets cost 1.00 and can be purchased at the ACTV stand in the arrival hall. The service takes about 25 minutes to reach "Piazzale Roma".
For timetables and further information visit ACTV
Water and land Taxis
You can take a private water taxi directly to your final destination (which is an expensive choice, from the airport to San Servolo it costs about 75). Take shuttle bus from terminal to dock. Alternatively you can take a land taxi to Piazzale Roma, and from there catch a public boat, called a "vaporetto", to the stop closest to your final destination.
From Treviso International Airport "San Giuseppe"
Treviso Airport is used by several European low-cost airlines.
The easiest ways to reach Venice from Treviso is:
By bus: Ryanair and Transavia have dedicated buses for each flight, that connect the airport to Venice-Piazzale Roma. To check prices and timetable visit:
ATVO lines For Transavia flights
ATVO lines For Ryanair flights
For the timetable visit the website of public transports company of Treviso.
By train
Venice has rail connections with every major city in Italy and the rest of Europe.
The main train station, Stazione F.S. Venezia S. Lucia, is on the Grand Canal in the northwest corner of the city. Some through trains do not terminate at Santa Lucia, stopping only at the Venezia-Mestre Station on the mainland.
All trains traveling to and from Santa Lucia stop at Mestre, so to get from Venezia-Mestre to Santa Lucia, or vice versa (a 10-minute trip), take the first available train, remembering there is a supplemento (extra charge) for traveling on Intercity and Eurocity trains, and that if you do not pay it before boarding, you are liable for a fine.
You can also check the European train schedule in case you are arriving by train from Europe or the Italian train schedule if you are getting to Venice from another Italian city.
For train information go to the website of Ferrovie dello Stato.
By car
If you bring a car to Venice, you will have to pay for a garage or parking space during your stay.
The last stops in Venice where you can leave your car are called "Piazzale Roma" and "Tronchetto".
Parking at "Piazzale Roma" in the Municipal Garage costs between 7.7 and 12.90, and at the private Garage San Marco (next door) it costs between 20.00 and 24.00 for 24 hours, depending on the size of the car.
To reach the privately run "Tronchetto" parking area, as you come into Venice, follow the signs and turn right before "Piazzale Roma".
Warning: Do not be waylaid by illegal touts - often wearing fake uniforms - who may try to flag you down and offer to arrange parking and hotels. Instead, continue on until you reach the automatic ticket machines. Parking here costs around 18.00 for 24 hours. (Do not leave valuables in the car. There is a luggage deposit office, open daily 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., next to the Pullman Bar on the ground floor of the Municipal Garage at "Piazzale Roma").
Another solution is to park your car in front of the train station in Mestre. Parking here costs much less (around 4.15 per day), and there are frequent trains and buses (see ACTV web site for Bus n° 2) between Mestre and Venice Piazzale Roma.
From the historic centre of Venice
Once you are in the historic center of Venice, the island of San Servolo can be reached either by public transportation or by private taxi.
Taxis can cost from 30 to 75 one way.
The public boats n° 20 (there are hourly boats running to and from the island, click here to view the timetable) to San Servolo leave from San Marco in front of the Londra Palace Hotel, Riva degli Schiavoni.
Tickets from S. Zaccaria to San Servolo cost 1.80. Other routes (excluding Grand Canal) cost 3.50 one way, or 6.00 return. The most economic option is to buy a daily, 3-day or monthly pass.
Prices are: Daily 10.50 - 3/days 22.00 - Monthly 17.00 for students or 20 for adults (photo required).