Celebrations in the canals as Venezia set sail for Serie A

VENICE, Italy, May 9 : Venezia turned the city’s historic canals into a floating amphitheatre on Saturday as the club celebrated their promotion to Serie A with a traditional gondola parade awash in green, black and orange.

The Serie B champions secured promotion to Italy’s top flight with a game to spare after a 2-2 draw at Spezia on May 1, before sealing the title on Friday with a 2-0 home win over Palermo. The result confirmed an immediate return to Serie A after a one-season absence.

Players and staff travelled through the canals aboard a lead gondola, flanked by a flotilla of supporters crowding rowing boats and private vessels, waving flags and setting off smoke flares.

Against the backdrop of the copper-domed Church of San Simeon Piccolo, the water was barely visible beneath the mass of boats, as fans draped in the club’s tricolour packed the canals and residents looked on from balconies of the surrounding palazzi.

The celebrations culminated at Piazza San Marco, where the squad presented the Serie B trophy to a capacity crowd in front of the Doge’s Palace, with festivities expected to continue late into the night.

Venezia finished the campaign one point ahead of Frosinone, who also secured promotion to Serie A.

(Writing by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Pritha Sarkar)