Venice Marathon passes Doge's Palace on 25 October
Published on 10/11/2026 at 01:53 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSKey points in brief
- The Venicemarathon starts on 25 October 2026 and passes near Doge's Palace in Venice.
- The official 42K route begins at Villa Pisani in Stra and finishes at Riva Sette Martiri on 25 October 2026.
- The race reaches St Mark's Square by a temporary pontoon bridge over the Grand Canal before passing near Doge's Palace on 25 October 2026.
- Doge's Palace remains a Gothic, Renaissance and Mannerist complex managed within the Civic Museums of Venice in October 2026.
Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale) will stand beside the route of the 40th Venicemarathon in Venice on 25 October 2026. The race begins at Villa Pisani in Stra and finishes at Riva Sette Martiri after reaching St Mark's Square.
Venicemarathon passes Doge's Palace on 25 October
The organiser's official rulebook sets the race for Sunday 25 October 2026, with the start at Villa Pisani in Stra. The 42K course is 42.195 kilometres and the first start is scheduled for about 9.40am.
From the mainland, the route crosses the Ponte della Liberta into Venice. It then follows the Giudecca Canal to Punta della Dogana, where a temporary pontoon bridge crosses the Grand Canal. The official 25 October route continues through St Mark's Square, near the Campanile and the palace, before reaching the finish on the waterfront.
The event is open to athletes aged 20 and over. The published route is mainly flat, but its final three kilometres include 14 small bridges and stone paving near the finish.
Doge's Palace frames the marathon's St Mark's section
The palace is a Gothic building with Renaissance and Mannerist elements. Its three main wings reflect different phases of Venetian construction: the St Mark's Basin wing was rebuilt from 1340, the square-facing wing took its present form from 1424, and the canal-side Renaissance wing was built between 1483 and 1565.
That layered structure gives the marathon's final city section a specific setting. Runners approach the building after crossing water on a bridge created for the race, then pass through the historic civic centre where the former seat of the Doge once joined government offices, courts and ceremonial rooms.
The origins of the complex reach back to the ninth century. Fires in 1483, 1574 and 1577 led to rebuilding and restoration, while the New Prisons and the Bridge of Sighs were added in the seventeenth century. In 1923, the building became a public museum, and it joined the Civic Museums of Venice network in 1996. The museum's building history records these successive changes.
What the 25 October route means around St Mark's Square
The marathon is a sporting event on the streets around the palace rather than a programme inside its galleries. Its course passes near the building, while the palace remains a museum with its public entrance at Porta del Frumento beneath the fourteenth-century facade.
The course also gives the event a close architectural relationship with the palace. Its last approach links the temporary Grand Canal crossing, St Mark's Square and the waterfront finish, placing the building between two of the race's defining Venetian landmarks.
Visiting Doge's Palace: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The Venicemarathon takes place on 25 October 2026. The 42K starts at Villa Pisani in Stra and finishes at Riva Sette Martiri in Venice.
- The route passes near Doge's Palace after crossing St Mark's Square. The official rulebook does not announce a closure of the museum itself.
- The public entrance is Porta del Frumento, at Piazzetta San Marco. The museum lists waterbus lines 1, 2, 4.1 and 5.1 from Piazzale Roma or Santa Lucia station, with stops at Vallaresso, San Zaccaria or Giardinetti.
- The marathon course has 14 small bridges in its final three kilometres. Wooden ramps are installed over the bridge steps, but stone slabs remain part of the running surface.
- Venice is in Italy, where Italian is the official language and the national currency is the euro.
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Frequently asked questions about Doge's Palace
When does the Venicemarathon take place at Doge's Palace?
The Venicemarathon passes near Doge's Palace on 25 October 2026 as the route crosses St Mark's Square.
Where is Doge's Palace and how do you get there?
The palace is at Piazzetta San Marco in Venice. Waterbus lines 1, 2, 4.1 and 5.1 serve stops near its public entrance.
What is Doge's Palace?
It is a former centre of Venetian government and a public museum combining Gothic, Renaissance and Mannerist architecture.
