Venice is located in an enclosed bay.
The Venetian Lagoon ( Laguna di Venezia Łaguna de Venesia ) is an enclosed bay of the Adriatic Sea , in northern Italy , in which the city of Venice is situated . Its name in the Italian and Venetian languages , Laguna Veneta -- cognate of Latin lacus , `` lake '' -- has provided the international name for an enclosed , shallow embayment of salt water , a lagoon . Venice ( [ langˈvɛnɪs ] ; Venezia [ veˈnɛtsja ] ; Venesia [ - vecveˈnɛsja ] ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region . These are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon , an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers .