Head coach Giovanni Stroppa turned to the free agent market after Bartol Franjić suffered a shoulder injury against Milan that could require surgery, leaving the newly-promoted club short at the back.
Venezia FC moved quickly to secure Juan Jesus once it became clear Atalanta would not beat them to his signature. The Brazilian, out of contract after five seasons at Napoli in which he won two Scudetti and a Supercoppa Italiana, agreed terms through to June 2027.
Juan Jesus, who began his career at Internacional in Brazil before winning the Copa Libertadores there in 2010, arrived in Italy with Inter in January 2012 and went on to make 142 appearances for the club.
A five-year spell at Roma followed from 2016, yielding 102 appearances, before he joined Napoli in 2021 and became a fixture of the side that ended the club's long wait for a league title. Across his Italian career he has made 280 Serie A appearances in total, along with 24 in the Champions League and four caps for Brazil.
"I've arrived in a beautiful city and a project with real ambition. I'm really happy to be here and ready to contribute, putting all my experience at the team's disposal," Juan Jesus said in a statement released by the club.
He also pointed to a personal connection with one of his new team-mates: "It will mean a lot to play alongside Filip Stanković, who I've known since he was nine years old, having played with his father."
Venezia moved for a second experienced defensive addition in Pasquale Mazzocchi, agreeing a loan with Napoli that includes both an option and an obligation to buy depending on conditions being met. The move brings the 31-year-old back to a club he already knows well, having spent the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons in Venice — the first ending in promotion to Serie A, the second marking his top-flight debut.
Mazzocchi had fallen out of Massimiliano Allegri's plans at Napoli, left out of the squad entirely for the club's recent match against Como, and returns to Venezia having made 124 Serie A appearances across his career, including 54 for Napoli after a January 2024 move from Salernitana that helped fire the club's most recent title triumph.
"I'm really happy to be back here, because I'd left a piece of my heart in this beautiful city. Rediscovering Venezia is a huge emotion, and also a new responsibility. I can promise our fans one thing: we will always give everything, in every match and every moment," Mazzocchi said.