Building

How Venice Classifies, Regulates, and Uses Its Buildings

Venice contains 15,485 buildings within its historic center, each shaped by centuries of architectural tradition, planning policies, and contemporary pressures from tourism, depopulation, and heritage protection. Understanding how the city classifies, manages, and uses its buildings is essential for interpreting urban patterns, zoning decisions, and the residential decline documented in recent decades.

This page summarizes the building classification system used by the City of Venice, explains the planning and cadastre (Catasto) frameworks behind it, and presents quantitative insights into building types and uses—supported by building-level data gathered and verified by the Venice Project Center B25 team.

How Venice Classifies Buildings

Venice relies on an integrated system of architectural typology, functional-use categories, and urban-planning classifications. These come from municipal datasets, national cadastre records (Catasto), and the Variante per la Città Antica zoning plan.

Architectural Typology (Tipologia)

Architectural typology describes when and how a building was constructed. Venice’s typology codes classify each building by century and major use group:

Code	Italian Description	English Meaning
R_PREOTTO	unità edilizie residenziali preottocentesche	Residential buildings pre-19th century
R_OTTO	unità edilizie residenziali ottocentesche	Residential buildings 19th century
R_NOVE	unità edilizie residenziali novecentesche	Residential buildings 20th century
NR_PREOTTO	non-residential pre-19th century	Non-residential, pre-19th century
NR_OTTO	non-residential 19th century	Non-residential, 19th century
NR_NOVE	non-residential 20th century	Non-residential, 20th century
SP_PREOTTO / SP_OTTO / SP_NOVE	special-use buildings	Special use (religious, institutional, civic)
ALTRO	other or unclassified	Other / not classifiable

Floor Use / Functional Category (Destinazione Piano)

These codes describe the use assigned to floors of a building. They are essential in Venice because zoning and flood-risk rules tightly regulate ground-floor use.

Code	Italian Description	English Meaning
A	spazi per la mobilità meccanizzata terrestre	spaces for mechanized land mobility
B	spazi per la mobilità ferroviaria	railway mobility spaces
D	impianti scoperti per pratica sportiva e lo spettacolo sportivo	open-air sports and sports-event facilities
E	strutture per l’istruzione obbligatoria	compulsory education facilities
F	attrezzature tecnologiche	technological installations
G	altre strutture pubbliche e/o per attività collettive – attrezzature militari	public/collective facilities – military facilities
H	abitazioni ordinarie e/o specialistiche – attrezzature cimiteriali	ordinary and/or specialized housing – cemetery facilities
L	attività ricettive	accommodation/hospitality activities
M	strutture culturali private	private cultural facilities
N	edifici non utilizzati	unused buildings
O	magazzini e depositi	warehouses and storage
XX	non definito	undefined

Functional Type (Tipo Funzione)

Functional codes describe specific intended uses, frequently for public, cultural, or utility buildings.

Code	Italian Description	English Meaning
SP3	caserme	barracks
SP4	sedi carcerarie	prisons/detention facilities
SP7	distribuzione energia elettrica	electricity distribution
SP8	distribuzione gas	gas distribution
SP9	distribuzione acqua	water distribution
SP11	mense	cafeterias/mess halls
SP15	istituti di credito	banks/credit institutions
SP16	uffici giudiziari	judicial offices
SP17	altri uffici aperti al pubblico	other public offices
SP18	centri di calcolo	data centers
SP21	centri di ricerca	research centers
SP22	sedi espositive	exhibition halls
SP23	biblioteche	libraries
SP24	archivi	archives
SP25	centri congressi polivalenti	multipurpose conference centers
SP26	teatri	theaters
SP27	cinematografi	cinemas
SP28	locali per lo spettacolo	performance venues
SP29	sala da ritrovo e da gioco	meeting & gaming halls
SP30	strutture religiose	religious facilities
SP31	ospedali, cliniche	hospitals/clinics
SP32	ospedali diurni	day hospitals
SP33	poliambulatori	outpatient clinics
AV	scuola materna	preschool/kindergarten
BV	scuola elementare	elementary school
C	scuola media	middle school
D	scuola secondaria	high school
E	università	university
IS	impianti coperti e scoperti per la pratica sportiva	indoor/outdoor sports facilities
MA1	cantieristica minore	small-scale shipyards
MA2	cantieristica maggiore	large shipyards
MA3	artigianato, industria di produzione di beni vari	craft/industry for goods production
MA4	artigianato di servizio	service-oriented craft industries
MA5	rimessaggio e noleggio piccole barche	storage & rental of small boats
GI	giardini aperti al pubblico	public gardens
FA	attrezzature ferroviarie	railway equipment
AU	autorimesse	garages
IT	impianti tecnologici	technological plants
AM	attrezzature militari	military facilities
NU	edifici non utilizzati	unused buildings
0	non definito	undefined

Architectural Configuration & Frontage Typologies (Tipi di Configurazione Architettonica)

Venice uses a highly detailed architectural classification system to describe the structural layout, frontage composition, and construction era of its buildings.
These codes identify whether a structure is single-cell, bi-cellular, tri-cellular, shed-type, modular, or unified—while also indicating how later additions, renovations, or contextual integration affect its architectural character.
This typology is essential for understanding how historic Venetian buildings were originally organized, how they evolved through centuries of modification, and how they relate to the surrounding urban fabric.

Code	Italian Description	English Description
A	Preottocentesche originarie a fronte monocellulare	Pre-19th century original buildings with a single-cell frontage
A1	Preottocentesche originarie a fronte monocellulare con elemento distributivo aggiunto	Pre-19th century original single-cell buildings with an added circulation element
B	Preottocentesche originarie a fronte bicellulare	Pre-19th century original buildings with a two-cell frontage
B/SU	Preottocentesche originarie a fronte bicellulare con struttura unitaria	Pre-19th century two-cell frontage buildings with unified structure
B1	Preottocentesche originarie a fronte bicellulare con elemento distributivo interposto	Pre-19th century two-cell frontage with interposed circulation element
Bg	Preottocentesche originarie a fronte bicellulare gerarchizzato	Pre-19th century hierarchical two-cell frontage
C	Preottocentesche originarie a fronte tricellulare	Pre-19th century three-cell frontage
C/knt	Preottocentesche tricellulare / Novecentesche a capannone	Pre-19th century tricellular / 20th century shed-type buildings
C/Nd	Preottocentesche tricellulare / Novecentesche non integrate	Pre-19th century tricellular / 20th century or earlier non-integrated buildings
D	Preottocentesche originarie a blocco	Pre-19th century block-type buildings
fa	Preottocentesche oggetto di fusione od addizione	Pre-19th century buildings altered through fusion/addition
Ka	Preottocentesche a capannone a fronte acqueo	Pre-19th century warehouse-type buildings facing the water
Ka/A	Capannone fronte acqueo / monocellulare	Waterfront warehouse / pre-19th century single-cell
Ka/A1	Capannone fronte acqueo / monocellulare con aggiunta	Waterfront warehouse / pre-19th century single-cell w/ added element
Ka/B	Capannone fronte acqueo / bicellulare	Waterfront warehouse / pre-19th century two-cell
Ka/D	Capannone fronte acqueo / blocco	Waterfront warehouse / pre-19th century block-type
Ka/Ne	Capannone fronte acqueo / novecentesche di pregio esterno limitato	Waterfront warehouse / 20th century limited-value exterior
Ka/Or	Capannone fronte acqueo / originarie	Waterfront warehouse / original buildings
Ka/pt	Capannone fronte acqueo	Waterfront warehouse
Kn	Novecentesche a capannone	20th century shed-type buildings
Kna	Novecentesche a capannone a fronte acqueo	20th century shed-type waterfront buildings
Kna/Ne	Capannone fronte acqueo / novecentesche di pregio esterno limitato	Shed waterfront / 20th century limited-value exterior
Knt	Novecentesche a capannone senza fronte acqueo	20th century shed-type buildings without a waterfront
Knt/A1	Capannone senza fronte acqueo / monocellulare con aggiunta	Non-waterfront shed / pre-19th century single-cell w/ added element
Knt/Ne	Capannone senza fronte acqueo / pregio esterno limitato	Non-waterfront shed / 20th century limited-value exterior
Koa	Ottocentesche a capannone a fronte acqueo	19th century shed-type waterfront buildings
Koa/B	Capannone ottocentesco / bicellulare preottocentesco	19th century shed waterfront / pre-19th century two-cell
Koa/O	Capannone ottocentesco / originarie	19th century shed waterfront / original buildings
Koa/Or	Capannone ottocentesco / ristrutturazione	19th century shed waterfront / renovated buildings
Kot	Ottocentesche a capannone senza fronte acqueo	19th century shed-type buildings without waterfront
Kot/O	Capannone ottocentesco / originarie	19th century shed / original buildings
Kot/Or	Capannone ottocentesco / ristrutturazione	19th century shed / renovated buildings
Kt	Preottocentesche a capannone senza fronte acqueo	Pre-19th century shed without waterfront
Kt/B	Capannone senza fronte acqueo / bicellulare	Pre-19th century shed / two-cell frontage
Kt/Ne	Capannone senza fronte acqueo / novecentesche di pregio esterno limitato	Pre-19th shed / 20th century limited-value exterior
Kt/Or	Capannone senza fronte acqueo / ottocentesche ristrutturate	Pre-19th shed / 19th century renovated
Kt/pt	Capannone senza fronte acqueo / parzialmente trasformate	Pre-19th shed / partially transformed
N	Novecentesche originarie di complessivo pregio architettonico	20th century buildings of architectural value
Na	—	— (Italian not provided in sheet)
Nd	Novecentesche o anteriori non integrate nel contesto	20th century or earlier, not integrated into the urban context
Ne	Novecentesche di pregio esterno limitato	20th century w/ limited-value exterior
Nr	Novecentesche integrate nel contesto	20th century buildings integrated into context
O	Ottocentesche originarie	19th century original buildings
Or	Ottocentesche di ristrutturazione	19th century renovated buildings
P	Preottocentesche di impianto non ripetuto	Pre-19th century non-repetitive layout
Po	Ottocentesche di impianto non ripetuto	19th century non-repetitive layout
pt	Preottocentesche parzialmente trasformate	Pre-19th century partially transformed
SM	Preottocentesche a struttura modulare	Pre-19th century modular-structure buildings
SMo	Preottocentesche originarie o ristrutturate a struttura modulare	Pre-19th original or renovated modular buildings
SP	Preottocentesche a struttura modulare complessa	Pre-19th century complex modular structure
SU	Preottocentesche a struttura unitaria	Pre-19th century unified structure
SU/fa	Preottocentesche a struttura unitaria	Pre-19th unified structure (variant)
SU/Or	Unitaria / ottocentesche ristrutturate	Pre-19th unified / 19th century renovated
SUn	Preottocentesche a struttura unitaria	Pre-19th unified structure (variant)
SUo	Preottocentesche originarie o ristrutturate a struttura unitaria	Pre-19th original or renovated unified structure

Catasto (Cadastral Registry of Venice)

The Catasto is Italy’s official cadastral registry, maintained by the Agenzia delle Entrate, which documents every property through unique identifiers, map sheets (fogli), parcels (mappali), and official building records. In Venice, the Catasto plays a vital role because of the city’s dense, irregular urban fabric and centuries of incremental construction, subdivision, and reconstruction. Each building footprint is legally tied to a cadastral parcel, which establishes ownership boundaries, the number of units within a structure, and the authoritative geometry used for taxation and administrative purposes.

For our project, the Catasto is essential because it provides the legal and structural foundation for all other building information. While city planning datasets describe land use, zoning restrictions, and functional classifications, the Catasto ensures that each building is correctly identified, referenced, and spatially matched. It allows us to confirm whether buildings have been merged, subdivided, or altered, and to connect each structure to its official parcel through fields such as Comune (L736 for Venice), Foglio, Mappale, and the unique building key (CXF). These data serve as a baseline for validating building counts, confirming unit boundaries, and linking our alias system to the city's authoritative records.

In practice, the Catasto allows our team to accurately track building units and ensure that our classification, occupancy estimation, and field-verification efforts rest on a precise, legally recognized foundation. Without integrating cadastral data, it would be impossible to reliably merge addresses, water meters, census information, and tourist accommodation records at the building scale—making the Catasto a cornerstone for any rigorous analysis of Venice’s built environment.

Visual Fieldwork: Examples of Building Typologies

As part of our project, we documented on site how the main architectural typology classes (A, A1, B, Bg, C, Fa, Nd, Nr, Pt, SU, SUo) appear in the historic centre. The images below show representative façades for each class, illustrating differences in frontage width, window rhythm, structural unity, and visible transformations over time.

• 
  A (Class A) – pre-19th-century monocellular building with a narrow, vertically organised façade.
• 
  A (Class A) – single-cell frontage with simple window rhythm typical of early residential fabric.
• 
  A1 (Class A1) – monocellular structure with an added circulation element, visible in the irregular volume.
• 
  B (Class B) – bicellular frontage with two principal vertical bays and balanced openings.
• 
  B (Class B) – wider two-cell façade facing the campo, showing paired window groups.
• 
  B (Class B) – historic bicellular palazzetto with symmetrical composition.
• 
  Bg (Class Bg) – hierarchical bicellular building where one bay is emphasised over the other.
• 
  C (Class C) – tricellular palazzo with three main vertical axes and rich stone detailing.
• 
  C (Class C) – large three-bay structure overlooking a campo, typical of higher-status housing.
• 
  Fa (Class Fa) – pre-19th building showing fusion/addition, visible in the mixed materials and altered ground floor.
• 
  Fa (Class Fa) – accreted façade with later infill and irregular window spacing.
• 
  Fa (Class Fa) – original volume expanded with new structural elements at the base.
• 
  Fa (Class Fa) – combined volumes and patchwork masonry indicating multiple building phases.
• 
  Pt (Class Pt) – pre-19th structure partially transformed, with raised ground floor and altered openings.
• 
  Nd (Class Nd) – non-integrated building whose proportions and façade treatment differ from surrounding fabric.
• 
  Nr (Class Nr) – 20th-century infill that is visually well integrated through similar materials and window rhythm.
• 
  SU (Class SU) – unified pre-19th structure with coherent façade and continuous cornice line.
• 
  SUo (Class SUo) – original unitary building that has been renovated while maintaining structural unity.
• 
  SUo (Class SUo) – renovated unitary block with consistent window pattern and detailing.