This book rethinks the urban night through an interdisciplinary exploration of Venice’s nighttime economies, social practices and cultural narratives. Interpreting nightscapes as lived, contested and imaginative spaces, the book introduces the ‘genius noctis’ – a critical lens for engaging with the identity of the nocturnal city. Bridging Southern European perspectives with international night studies scholarship, local nightscapes emerge as complex geographical phenomena, resulting from the dynamic interplay of historical and contemporary experiences. This inquiry considers the multiple interdependencies among dominant narratives and alternative understandings while emphasising the roles of darkness in shaping local nightlife ecosystems and urban identities. Aiming at providing hybrid and creative methodologies for the study of urban nights, the analysis interweaves cultural geography, urban studies and literary theory. This book resonates with researchers and students across cultural geography, urban studies, mobility studies, anthropology and environmental humanities – particularly those investigating nightscapes, Mediterranean urban cultures or interdisciplinary place-based inquiry.