Living in Venice

Public transportation tickets and passes
Public transportation in Venice is managed by Actv company. The Actv headquarters is located in Piazzale Roma (Venice bus station). There are several offices located at the main boat stops in the City.
Single tickets are quite expensive €9,50, but you get lower fares or you can buy a monthly pass if you have a VeneziaUnica card.
You can apply for the VeneziaUnica card at the main Actv office in Piazzale Roma or at Rialto line 2 boat stop.
In order to apply for the VeneziaUnica card you need to fill out a form provided by Actv. The personnel will check your ID and take a picture for the card with a webcam.
The issue of the card is immediate and costs € 100 (non-Veneto region resident fare). Once you have the card you can choose whether to buy single tickets at the price of € 1,50, 10-ticket carnet at the price of € 14 or a monthly pass valid on all route including buses on the Lido Island, buses and tram to Mestre and Marghera (mainland), and bus to the airport (Actv line 5) at the price of € 37.
There are no reduced fares for people living in Venice for short periods.
ACTV website – lines and timetable https://avm.avmspa.it/en/content/orari-servizio-di-navigazione-0
Services in the event of Fog  https://avm.avmspa.it/en/node/4784
Services in the event of  High tide https://avm.avmspa.it/en/node/4775
Useful app (boat lines and timetables) CheBateo? on Google Play and Apple Store

Codice fiscale – Fiscal Code
In Italy every citizen is assigned at birth a “codice fiscale” – fiscal code, a code made of letters and numbers that allows the Italian tax office to identify each single person. If you live in Italy even for short periods, you’ll need a “codice fiscale”. The codice fiscale is necessary to open a bank account, to sign a rental contract, to get an Italian phone number, etc….. Once it has been assigned, the code remains the same for the whole life of the person, therefore if you were in Italy before and if you rented an apartment or received a payment from a University you should already have your “codice fiscale”.
The codice fiscale is issued by the Agenzia delle Entrate di Venezia and it is quite easy to get it.
You simply need to go to the office with your ID and apply for it. The office is located in Campo Sant’Angelo, San Marco 3538, 30124 Venezia. Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8.30am-12.30 pm by appointment only
https://prenotazioneweb.agenziaentrate.gov.it/PrenotazioneWeb/prenotazione.action

If you rent an apartment through VIU contacts, the real estate agents who take care of the rental contract can apply for your codice fiscale.
If you are a non-EU citizen, VIU will apply for your “codice fiscale” therefore ask VIU staff about it.
More information at: https://www.agenziaentrate.gov.it/portale/web/english/nse/individuals/tax-identification-number-for-foreign-citizens

Phone companies
Here are the main telephone companies in Italy to choose from.
SIM cards can be bought at the following specific shops.
Most of them are very close to Rialto Bridge.
TIM
VODAFONE
WIND – 3
All the three have shops at the foot of Rialto’s bridge (market side).
POSTEMOBILE (Ask for it at the Post office, Posteitaliane)

N.B. All non-EU professors must activate an Italian mobile number (even if you do not plan to use it), within 8 working days from arrival, to complete the procedures for the residency permit.

Bank Account
If you think it would be more convenient for you to open an Italian bank account while in Venice, VIU can suggest local or online banking alternatives.
Please, refer to Alessandro Spezzamonte, Director of Administration: administration@univiu.org for all matters pertaining to payments, taxation and banking.

High tide in Venice
Centro Previsioni e segnalazioni Maree comune di Venezia – Italian only
You can sign up for regular updates and alert via Telegram https://t.me/CentroMareeAvvisa

San Servolo Island

VIU Front Office
The VIU Front Office can be found along the main corridor (turn left after the main entrance). You should reach the office for issues related to the Globalization Program, like class lists, registration to co-curricular activities, keys to your office, stationery for classes and offices, paper, post, etc.…
Opening hours of the front office: Monday to Friday, 9 am-4.45 pm (closed for lunch 1.30 pm-2.30 pm).
The staff at the Front Office are mainly interns.

Professors’ Offices
You will be assigned an office in the main building on the island of San Servolo where VIU offices and classrooms are located.
If you need stationery for your office or classroom, please refer to the VIU Front Office.
The Professors’ offices are equipped with PC, and telephone. Please note that telephone expenses are not covered by VIU. Printing is also available through copy/printing machines located in the corridors outside the Professors’ offices. There’s Wi-Fi connection in all VIU spaces.
For any issue concerning IT, you can contact VIU IT technical assistant Marcello Masiero marcello.masiero@univiu.org

VIU Network account
You’ll receive your personal account (login and password) to access the VIU network at your arrival.
Please request it either at the Front Office or Globalization Program office.
The account can be used to access any PC (PC room, office, and classrooms) and Wi-Fi connection.

VIU Card
The VIU Card is a multifunctional magnetic card that provides access to photocopying/scanning facilities, to the Mac Lab and to library loans.
VIU card is issued with 1500 copies accredited for free.
Once the credit is over, please refer to the VIU Front Office for recharge. The cost of a one-page photocopy/print is € 0.05 for black and white and € 0.12 for color.
For environmental reasons, VIU discourages excessive printing in favour of electronic resources.
VIU copying and printing machines also work as scanners. Scanning is free but, to access the scanning function, you must have a credit of a minimum of 10 cents on your VIU card.
VIU has a highly advanced Apple Mac Computer Lab for integrating digital technologies in the academic courses. The programs available include 3D modeling using Google SketchUp, 3D acquisition using Photogrammetry, interactive mapping with Google Earth, Scalar, and the basics of ARCgis related to Google Earth. Access is granted 24h to VIU Student Card holders only.
On the ground floor (in zone 7) there is another PC Room open to all VIU professors and students, 24 hours a day.
Course MOODLE are available through elearning.univiu.org where professors upload materials, resources and assignments for their courses. Access is restricted to registered students. Students and Professors can access the Moodle platform using their VIU account (the same account used to access Wi-Fi, PCs and Macs.

VIU Library
The VIU Library is located on the first floor in the main building.
The scope of the VIU library is to provide all the necessary and useful materials that may be required by the students and the professors who come to VIU for courses, seminars and to participate in VIU conferences.
The library collection has been gradually increasing over the last 15 years of activity and nowadays it offers around 4000 items, including books, periodicals, DVDs and music CDs.
All the materials are first classified according to the Dewey Decimal System and then divided and arranged according to some macro-themes: e.g. History (in particular the history of Venice), Art History, Social Sciences and Economics.
There are also dedicated shelves for each course in the Globalization Program.

The library is open to the public, however only VIU card holders can borrow books. The VIU card is available to students and Professors of VIU programs (issued by the VIU Front Office).
Books are available for 1-day or 7-day loans depending on the indications given by the professors in the courses. Compulsory texts can be borrowed for one day. Complimentary texts can be borrowed for 7 days.
DVDs are available for 7-day loans. Films in the VIU Movie Series will not be available until they have already been screened.
Loans may be authorized to students of other member universities subject to request and verification.

The VIU catalog is accessible through VIU website:
www.univiu.org > Campus and Services > Library
http://library.univiu.org/

For any issue, please refer to the librarian, Elena Bovolenta: elena.bovolenta@univiu.org

Access to other university libraries
Please refer to the Library staff for further information.

San Servolo Café
There is a Cafè on the island. It is open every day for breakfast and lunch.
The café serves hot and cold drinks, croissants, sandwiches, salads and cold dishes.
Opening hours: 8.00am -6.00pm

Receiving mail and packages
You can have post sent to you at VIU. Mail and packages are distributed at the VIU Front Office.
Your mail/packages should be sent to:
Your name
c/o
Venice International University
Isola di San Servolo, 1
30133 Venezia
Tel. +39 041 2719511
Fax +39 041 2719510

If anyone is sending you a package from outside the European Union you can avoid paying custom fees to receive your personal items. Please contact the Globalization Office for advice.

In any case it is not a good idea to send packages with any kind of electronics, whether used or not, and medicine.