The Mayor of Venice (Italian: sindaco di Venezia) is an elected politician who, along with the Venice City Council of 36 members, is accountable for the strategic government of the municipality of Venice, Veneto, Italy.

Mayor of Venice
Sindaco di Venezia
since 15 June 2015
SeatCa' Farsetti
AppointerElectorate of Venice
Term length5 years, renewable once
Inaugural holderDaniele Renier
Formation1806
DeputyAndrea Tomaello
Salary€85,000 annually
WebsiteComune di Venezia

The current office holder is Luigi Brugnaro, a centre-right wing independent businessman who has been in charge since 2015. The last election took place in 2020.

Overview

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Ca' Loredan and Ca' Farsetti, Venice City Hall

According to the Italian Constitution, the Mayor of Venice is a member of the City Council, but the six borough presidents are not considered Mayors because they are not the heads of separate municipalities.

The Mayor is elected by the population of Venice. In addition to electing the Mayor, the citizens of Venice also elect the members of the City Council. The City Council has the power to set policy guidelines for the Mayor and to remove him from office through a vote of no confidence.The Mayor is entitled to appoint and release the members of his government.

Since 1993, the Mayor of Venice has been elected directly by the city's voters. In cities with a population over 15,000, the voters can either choose the Mayor directly or vote for a party in the Mayor's coalition. If no candidate receives at least 50% of votes, the top two candidates go to a second round after two weeks. The election of the City Council is based on a direct vote for a candidate with a preferential vote system: the candidate with the most preferences wins. The number of the seats for each party is determined proportionally.

The seat of the City Council is the city hall Ca' Loredan on the Canal Grande.

List of mayors of Venice

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Podestà (1806–1866)

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Podestà of Venice were appointed since 1806 to 1866 by the rulers of the city during the early- to mid-19th century: Napoleon and the Habsburgs.

Kingdom of Italy (1866–1946)

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In 1860, the nascent Kingdom of Italy created the office of the Mayor of Venice (Sindaco di Venezia), chosen by the City council:

  Mayor Term start Term end Party
1   Giambattista Giustinian
(1816–1888)
1866 1868 Right
2   Giuseppe Giovanelli
(1824–1886)
1868 1870 Right
3   Antonio Fornoni
(1825–1897)
1870 1875 Right
(1)   Giambattista Giustinian
(1816–1888)
1875 1878 Right
4   Dante Di Serego Alighieri
(1843–1895)
1878 1888 Right
5   Lorenzo Tiepolo
(1845–1913)
1888 1890 Right
6   Riccardo Selvatico
(1849–1901)
1890 1895 Left
7   Filippo Grimani
(1850–1921)
1895 1919 Right
8   Davide Giordano
(1864–1954)
1919 1924 ANI
Fascist Podestà (1926–1945)
1 Pietro Orsi 1924 1929 PNF
2 Ettore Zorzi 1929 1930 PNF
3 Mario Alverà 1930 1938 PNF
4 Giovanni Marcello 1938 1943 PNF
5 Giovanni Battista Dall'Armi 1943 1945 PFR
Liberation (1945–1946)
9   Giovanni Ponti
(1896–1961)
1945 1946 DC

Republic of Italy (since 1946)

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City Council election (1946–1993)

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From 1946 to 1993, the Mayor of Venice was chosen by the City Council.

  Mayor Term start Term end Party Coalition Election
1   Giovanni Battista Gianquinto
(1905–1987)
25 June 1946 21 January 1951 PCI
PCI  • PSI
1946
2   Angelo Spanio
(1892–1976)
21 January 1951 13 January 1955 DC 1951
3   Roberto Tognazzi
(1899–1974)
13 January 1955 28 May 1960 DC
DC  • PSDI
1956
4   Giovanni Favaretto Fisca
(1902–1986)
28 May 1960 12 May 1970 DC 1960
DC  • PSI  • PSDI
1964
5   Giorgio Longo
(1924–2020)
12 May 1970 21 December 1975 DC 1970
6   Mario Rigo
(1929–2019)
21 December 1975 18 January 1985 PSI
PCI  • PSI
1975
1980
7   Nereo Laroni
(1942–2019)
18 January 1985 11 March 1987 PSI
PCI  • PSI  • PRI
1985
8   Antonio Casellati
(1928–2020)
11 March 1987 25 January 1988 PRI
PCI  • PSI  • PRI  • FdV
9   Costante Degan
(1930–1988)
25 January 1988 12 February 1988 DC
(8)   Antonio Casellati
(1928–2020)
12 February 1988 11 May 1990 PRI
PCI  • PSI  • PSDI  • PRI  • FdV
10   Ugo Bergamo
(b. 1951)
11 May 1990 1 June 1993 DC
DC  • PSI  • PSDI
1990
Giovanni Troiani, Special Prefectural Commissioner (1 June 1993 – 9 December 1993)[a]
Notes
  1. ^ Nominated by the Prefect after the Mayor and the members of the City Council resigned in order to hold a new election under the provision of the new local electoral law.

Direct election (since 1993)

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Since 1993, the Mayor of Venice has been chosen through direct elections every five years, under new local administration laws:


Mayor of Venice Took office Left office Party Coalition Election
11   Massimo Cacciari
(b. 1944)
9 December 1993 17 November 1997 Ind Alliance of Progressives
(PDS-PRC-FdV)
1993
17 November 1997 25 January 2000[a] The Olive Tree
(PDS-PPI-PRC-FdV)
1997
Corrado Scivoletto, Special Prefectural Commissioner (25 January 2000 – 30 April 2000)
12   Paolo Costa
(b. 1943)
30 April 2000 18 April 2005 Dem
DL
The Olive Tree
(DS-PPI-SDI-PdCI)
2000
(11)   Massimo Cacciari
(b. 1944)
18 April 2005 8 April 2010 DL
PD
DL  • UDEUR  • DS 2005
13   Giorgio Orsoni
(b. 1946)
8 April 2010 13 June 2014[b] PD PD  • FdS  • FdV
PSI  • IdV
2010
Vittorio Zappalorto, Special Prefectural Commissioner (13 June 2014 – 15 June 2015)
14   Luigi Brugnaro
(b. 1961)
15 June 2015 26 September 2020 Ind
CI
FI  • UDC
and right-wing independents
2015
26 September 2020[c] Incumbent L  • FdI  • FI
and right-wing independents
2020
Notes
  1. ^ Resigned in order to participate to the regional elections.
  2. ^ Resigned after a corruption scandal. Partly acquitted and partly prescribed in 2017.[1]
  3. ^ Election originally scheduled for June 2020 then postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Timeline

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Luigi BrugnaroGiorgio OrsoniMassimo CacciariPaolo Costa (politician)Massimo Cacciari

By time in office

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Rank Mayor Political Party Total time in office Terms
1 Massimo Cacciari Ind / DL 11 years, 36 days 3
2 Giovanni Favaretto Fisca DC 9 years, 349 days 2
3 Luigi Brugnaro Ind 9 years, 151 days 2
4 Mario Rigo PSI 9 years, 28 days 2
5 Giorgio Longo DC 5 years, 223 days 1
6 Roberto Tognazzi DC 5 years, 136 days 1
7 Paolo Costa Dem / DL 4 years, 353 days 1
8 Giovanni Battista Gianquinto PCI 4 years, 210 days 1
9 Giorgio Orsoni PD 4 years, 66 days 1
10 Angelo Spanio DC 3 years, 357 days 1
11 Antonio Casellati PRI 3 years, 43 days 2
12 Ugo Bergamo DC 3 years, 31 days 1
13 Nereo Laroni PSI 2 years, 52 days 1
14 Costante Degan DC 18 days 1

Elections

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City Council elections, 1946–1990

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Results

Number of votes for each party:

Election DC PCI PSI PLI PRI PSDI MSI Others Total
24 March 1946 55,260
(36.8%)
40,947
(27.3%)
37,069
(24.7%)
2,251
(1.5%)
7,555
(5.0%)
- - 6,967
(4.6%)
150,049
27 May 1951 68,070
(37.8%)
54,752
(30.4%)
16,884
(9.4%)
8,331
(4.6%)
1,637
(0.9%)
10,546
(5.8%)
10,693
(9.4%)
9,194
(5.0%)
180,107
27 May 1956 73,394
(37.8%)
41,022
(21.1%)
41,088
(21.1%)
6,629
(3.4%)
1,574
(0.8%)
13,877
(7.1%)
10,062
(5.2%)
6,724
(3.4%)
194,370
6 November 1960 75,936
(35.7%)
49,920
(23.5%)
45,640
(21.5%)
7,020
(3.3%)
2,531
(1.2%)
13,277
(6.2%)
10,294
(4.8%)
7,544
(3.4%)
212,463
22 November 1964 74,411
(33.9%)
55,364
(25.2%)
31,474
(14.3%)
18,286
(8.3%)
- 13,277
(6.8%)
8,733
(4.0%)
16,529
(7.5%)
219,798
7 June 1970 74,057
(31.7%)
62,263
(26.6%)
27,339
(11.6%)
13,113
(5.6%)
8,101
(3.5%)
18,759
(8.0%)
9,705
(4.1%)
18,765
(7.9%)
232,102
15 June 1975 73,351
(29.5%)
85,203
(34.3%)
40,243
(16.2%)
7,409
(3.0%)
9,036
(3.6%)
15,466
(6.2%)
10,956
(4.4%)
6,619
(2.7%)
248,283
8 June 1980 73,492
(31.0%)
77,223
(32.6%)
40,685
(17.2%)
7,409
(3.0%)
7,000
(2.9%)
10,607
(4.5%)
8,454
(3.6%)
12,820
(5.3%)
237,072
12 May 1985 66,071
(27.3%)
73,652
(30.5%)
41,819
(17.3%)
4,964
(2.1%)
11,889
(4.9%)
10,404
(4.3%)
11,704
(4.8%)
21,159
(8.7%)
241,662
6 May 1990 57,800
(25.9%)
52,575
(23.6%)
39,333
(17.6%)
3,295
(1.5%)
7,452
(3.3%)
7,039
(3.2%)
6,579
(2.9%)
48,855
(21.7%)
222,928

Number of seats in the City Council for each party:

Election DC PCI PSI PLI PRI PSDI MSI Others Total
24 March 1946 23 16 15 - 3 - - 3 60
27 May 1951 31 12 4 4 - 5 2 2 60
27 May 1956 24 13 13 2 - 4 3 1 60
6 November 1960 23 14 13 2 - 4 3 - 60
22 November 1964 21 15 9 5 - 4 2 - 60
7 June 1970 21 17 7 3 2 5 2 3 60
15 June 1975 18 22 10 1 2 4 2 1 60
8 June 1980 20 21 11 1 1 3 2 1 60
12 May 1985 17 19 11 1 3 2 3 4 60
6 May 1990 17 15 11 - 2 2 1 12 60

Mayoral and City Council election, 1993

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The election took place in two rounds: the first on 21 November, the second on 5 December 1993.

Results
Candidate Party Coalition First round Second round
Votes % Votes %
Massimo Cacciari Ind Progressives 89,034 42.29 107,497 55.37
Aldo Mariconda LV LVLN 55,971 26.50 86,643 44.63
Giovanni Castellani DC DC-LAV-PS 49,224 23.38
Bruno Canella MSI-DN 6,048 2.87
Others 10,455 4.96
Eligible voters 270,305 100.00 270,305 100.00
Voted 224,180 82.94 205,517 76.03
Blank or invalid ballots 13,628 11,377
Total valid votes 210,552 194,140
Summary of the 1993 Venice City Council election results
 
Parties and coalitions Votes % Seats
Democratic Party of the Left (Partito Democratico della Sinistra) PDS 33,997 20.59% 16
Communist Refoundation Party (Rifondazione Comunista) PRC 10,738 6.50% 5
Federation of the Greens (Federazione dei Verdi) FdV 9,901 6.00% 4
Socialist Progress (Progresso Socialista) PS 5,824 3.53% 2
Alliance Venice-Mestre (Alleanza Venezia-Mestre) AVM 2,244 1.36% 1
The Network (La Rete) LR 1,996 1.21% 0
Cacciari coalition (Left-wing) 64,700 39.18% 28
Liga VenetaLega Nord LV–LN 49,350 29.88% 10
Christian Democracy (Democrazia Cristiana) DC 20,384 12.34% 5
Lega Autonomia Veneta LAV 8,387 5.08% 1
Venice-Mestre Pact (Patto Venezia-Mestre) PVM 4,891 2.96% 1
Others 2,949 1.79% 0
Castellani coalition (Centre) 36,611 22.17% 7
Italian Social Movement (Movimento Sociale Italiano) MSI-DN 5,580 3.38% 1
Others 8,909 5.39% 0
Total 165,150 100% 46
Votes cast / turnout 224,180 82.94%
Registered voters 270,305
Source: Ministry of the Interior

Mayoral and City Council election, 1997

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The election took place on 16 November 1997.

Results

Mayoral and City Council election, 2000

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The election took place in two rounds: the first on 16 April, the second on 30 April 2000.

Results
Candidate Party Coalition First round Second round
Votes % Votes %
Renato Brunetta FI House of Freedoms 64,956 38.99 53,686 44.04
Paolo Costa PPI The Olive Tree 62,755 37.67 68,229 55.96
Gianfranco Bettin FdV PRC-FdV 27,086 16.26
Others 11,785 7.06
Eligible voters 246,962 100.00 246,962 100.00
Voted 177,510 71.88 124,370 50.36
Blank or invalid ballots 10,928 2,455
Total valid votes 166,582 121,915
Summary of the 2000 Venice City Council election results
 
Parties and coalitions Votes % Seats
Forza Italia FI 34,261 25.30% 13
National Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale) AN 9,489 7.01% 3
Lega Nord LN 5,212 3.85% 1
United Christian Democrats (Cristiani Democratici Uniti) CDU 2,807 2.07% 1
Christian Democratic Centre (Centro Cristiano Democratico) CCD 2,428 1.79% 0
Sgarbi Liberal List (Liberal Sgarbi) LS 1,139 0.84% 0
Brunetta coalition (Centre-right) 55,336 40.86% 18
Democrats of the Left (Democratici di Sinistra) DS 28,984 21.40% 13
Italian People's Party (Partito Popolare Italiano) PPI 10,630 7.85% 4
Italian Democratic Socialists (Socialisti Democratici Italiani) SDI 7,058 5.21% 3
Party of Italian Communists (Partito dei Comunisti Italiani) PdCI 2,604 1.92% 1
Others 976 0.72% 0
Costa coalition (Center-left) 50,252 37.09% [a]21
Communist Refoundation Party (Rifondazione Comunista) PRC 10,440 7.71% 5
Federation of the Greens (Federazione dei Verdi) FdV 4,724 3.49% 1
Others 4,192 3.10% 1
Bettin coalition (Left-wing) 19,356 14.30% [b]7
Others 10,499 7.75% 0
Total 135,433 100% 46
Votes cast / turnout 177,510 71.88%
Registered voters 246,962
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Notes
  1. ^ Even if the coalition didn't receive the majority of votes, no other alliance was able to obtain overall more than 50% of votes. Once its mayoral candidate won the second round, the coalition was awarded the majority bonus granted by the electoral law to the alliance whose candidate is elected mayor.
  2. ^ As a result of the pre-electoral agreement with the center-left coalition for the second round.

Mayoral and City Council election, 2005

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The election took place on two rounds: the first on 3–4 April, the second on 17–18 April 2005.

Results
Candidate Party Coalition First round Second round
Votes % Votes %
Felice Casson DS The Olive Tree 60,837 37.68 62,974 49.47
Massimo Cacciari DL DL-UDEUR 37,488 23.22 64,315 50.53
Cesare Campa FI House of Freedoms 32,726 20.27
Raffaele Speranzon AN 10,021 6.21
Augusto Salvadori PNE 6,905 4.28
Alberto Mazzonetto LN 5,419 3.36
Others 8,069 4.99
Eligible voters 233,316 100.00 233,316 100.00
Voted 168,087 72.04 129,885 55.67
Blank or invalid ballots 6,622 2,596
Total valid votes 161,465 127,289
Summary of the 2005 Venice City Council election results
 
Parties and coalitions Votes % Seats
Democrats of the Left (Democratici di Sinistra) DS 26,531 21.15% 6
Communist Refoundation Party (Rifondazione Comunista) PRC 8,509 6.78% 1
Federation of the Greens (Federazione dei Verdi) FdV 4,882 3.89% 1
Party of Italian Communists (Partito dei Comunisti Italiani) PdCI 2,661 2.12% 0
Italy of Values (Italia dei Valori) IdV 2,544 2.03% 0
Italian Democratic Socialists (Socialisti Democratici Italiani) SDI 1,630 1.30% 0
Others 4,463 3.56% 1
Casson coalition (Left-wing) 51,220 40.84% 10
Forza Italia FI 25,726 20.51% 5
Union of the Centre (Unione di Centro) UdC 3,966 3.16% 0
Campa coalition (Centre-right) 29,692 23.67% 5
The Daisy (La Margherita) DL 16,855 13.44% 26
Union of Democrats for Europe (Unione Democratica per l'Europa) UDEUR 1,784 1.42% 2
Cacciari coalition (Centre-left) 18,639 14.86% [a]28
National Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale) AN 8,490 6.77% 1
Salvadori List–North-East Project (Progetto NordEst) PNE 5,141 4.10% 1
Lega Nord LN 4,955 3.95% 1
Others 7,280 5.80% 0
Total 125,417 100% 46
Votes cast / turnout 168,087 72.04%
Registered voters 233,316
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Notes
  1. ^ Even if the coalition didn't receive the majority of votes, no other alliance was able to obtain overall more than 50% of votes. Once its mayoral candidate won the second round, the coalition was awarded the majority bonus granted by the electoral law to the alliance whose candidate is elected mayor.

Mayoral and City Council election, 2010

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The election took place on 28–29 March 2010.

Results

Mayoral and City Council election, 2015

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These elections were held on two rounds: the first on 31 May, the second on 14 June 2015.

Results
Candidate Party Coalition First round Second round
Votes % Votes %
Felice Casson PD PD-SEL-FdV-PSI-CD 46,298 38.02 47,838 46.79
Luigi Brugnaro Ind FI-AP 34,790 28.57 54,405 53.21
Davide Scano M5S 15,348 12.60
Gian Angelo Bellati LN 14,482 11.89
Francesca Zaccariotto FdI-AN 8,292 6.81
Others 2,567 2.11
Eligible voters 211,720 100.00 211,720 100.00
Voted 126,631 59.81 103,827 49.04
Blank or invalid ballots 4,854 1,584
Total valid votes 121,777 102,243
Summary of the 2015 Venice City Council election results
 
Parties and coalitions Votes % Seats
Casson List (Lista Casson) LC 19,991 17.10% 4
Democratic Party (Partito Democratico) PD 19,667 16.83% 4
Left Ecology Freedom-Greens (Sinistra Ecologia e Libertà - Verdi) SEL-FdV 1,845 1.58% 0
Venice Common Good (Venezia Bene Comune) VBC 1,562 1.34% 0
Italian Socialist Party (Partito Socialista Italiano) PSI 618 0.53% 0
Democratic Centre (Centro Democratico) CD 365 0.31% 0
Casson coalition (Centre-left) 44,058 37.69% 8
Brugnaro List (Lista Brugnaro) LB 24,352 20.83% 17
Forza Italia FI 4,405 3.77% 3
Popular Area (Area Popolare) AP 1,870 1.60% 1
Others 2,818 2.41% 1
Brugnaro coalition (Centre-right) 33,445 28.61% [a]22
Five Star Movement (Movimento Cinque Stelle) M5S 15,009 12.84% 3
Lega Nord LN 13,997 11.97% 2
Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d'Italia) FdI 7,847 6.71% 1
Others 2,530 2.16% 0
Total 116,886 100% 36
Votes cast / turnout 126,631 59.81%
Registered voters 211,720
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Notes
  1. ^ Even if the coalition didn't receive the majority of votes, no other alliance was able to obtain overall more than 50% of votes. Once its mayoral candidate won the second round, the coalition was awarded the majority bonus granted by the electoral law to the alliance whose candidate is elected mayor.

Mayoral and City Council election, 2020

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These elections were scheduled to take place in June 2020 but then were postponed to 20–21 September 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Results

Deputy Mayor

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The office of the Deputy Mayor of Venice was officially created in 1993 with the adoption of the new local administration law. The Deputy Mayor is nominated and eventually dismissed by the Mayor.

  Deputy Term start Term end Party Mayor
1 Emilio Rosini 13 December 1993 17 November 1997 PDS Cacciari
2 Michele Vianello 25 November 1997 25 January 2000 PDS
DS
12 May 2000 10 July 2001[a] Costa
3 Michele Mognato 10 July 2001 18 April 2005 DS
(2) Michele Vianello 6 May 2005 8 April 2010 DS
PD
Cacciari
4 Sandro Simionato 16 April 2010 13 June 2014 PD Orsoni
5 Luciana Colle 29 June 2015 26 September 2020 Ind Brugnaro
6 Andrea Tomaello 6 October 2020 Incumbent Lega
Notes
  1. ^ Resigned.

References

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  • "Elenco Podestà/Sindaci del Comune di Venezia". City of Venice. Retrieved 22 June 2021.