Venice took centre stage again this summer. From Jeff Bezos’ outlandish wedding and the controversies surrounding it to renewed calls to limit the influx of tourists, not a day went by without La Serenissima dominating the headlines for one reason or another.

The dynamic is replicated when looking through the football lens. Venezia released yet another stunning kit and appointed Giovanni Stroppa to replace Eusebio di Francesco, who left the Lagoon after just one season in charge.

Stroppa’s appointment is a major coup for a club that slid back into Serie B only on the final day of last season and holds not-so-secret hopes of returning to the Italian top flight at the first time of asking.

Like Filippo Inzaghi, who restored Pisa back in Serie A for the first time in 34 years, Stroppa won promotion last term, leading Cremonese back to the top flight.

And he too has opted to remain in Serie B, swapping Cremona for Venice while 2006 World Cup winner Inzaghi travelled down from Pisa to Palermo.

And while Inzaghi is targeting a third promotion to Serie A after steering Benevento and Pisa into calcio’s upper echelon in the last five years, Stroppa is aiming for a fourth promotion in six years after working his magic with Crotone, Monza and Cremonese.

The teams may have changed, but Stroppa’s footballing ethos has not. The former AC Milan midfielder has remained committed to his preferred 3-5-2 formation throughout his managerial career, a decision vindicated by the results.

“I was selected for my footballing philosophy, and I hope to repay that trust,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “That means delivering results and building a clear team identity, and I know the journey will be challenging.”

Delivering results will be aided by the arrivals of Andrea Adorante, Fali Cande and Seid Korac, who have joined for a combined €5.8million (£5m) from Juve Stabia, Metz and Vojvodina respectively.

If the arrivals of Cande and Korac are expected to bolster Venezia’s options at centre-back, the signing of Adorante is most intriguing.

Only Armand Lauriente, Francesco Pio Esposito and Pietro Iemmello scored more than Adorante’s 15 regular-season goals in Serie B last term.

In his debut campaign with Juve Stabia, the 25-year-old added two in three play-off matches as the Stabians were knocked out by Stroppa’s Cremonese in the semi-finals.

Adorante described Venezia as “another significant step in my development”, while the Neroverdi hope he can deliver the goals they have sorely missed since Joel Pohjanpalo was sold to Palermo for €4m in the January transfer window.

The Finn was a cult hero in the Lagoon, firing Venezia to promotion with 22 goals in 2023-24 after netting 19 in his debut campaign.

More to the point, Pohjanpalo’s six Serie A goals accounted for almost a third of the 20 Venezia had scored by the time he was allowed to leave.

For now, Venezia have managed to hold onto centre-back Jay Idzes and attacking midfielder Gaetano Oristanio, while Hans Nicolussi Caviglia and Filip Stankovic have made their loan moves to the Lagoon permanent.

The former could still leave, but Stroppa remains confident he has a talented enough team to bring the Lagunari back to Serie A at the first time of asking.

“There’s certainly some pressure,” he said. “I feel a great sense of responsibility to be coaching such a talented team.”

Aside from Venezia, Empoli and Monza are also targeting a return to calcio’s upper echelon after falling through Serie A’s trapdoor last season, while Palermo are hoping Inzaghi’s appointment can end a nine-year spell in Serie B.

Denied promotion by Stroppa’s Cremonese in June, Spezia are gearing up for another tilt at the top flight, while Bari are determined to improve after missing out on the play-offs last term.

“I see many good teams out there; I’ve managed a lot in Serie B and I know how unpredictable it is,” Stroppa added. “I’m looking at the newly promoted teams, those disappointed from last season, the relegated ones: we need to be careful, keep our feet on the ground.”

Were Stroppa to lead Venezia back to Serie A, love really will be in the air in the Lagoon come next summer.