Lido island

Worldliness and myths of cinema.

The discovery of the Lido dates back to the early 1800s and coincided with the arriving in the lagoon of Lord George Byron, bewitched by the beauty of the island, and later by a great writer, Percy Bisshe Shelley.

In the last part of the 1800s the island became a destination for aristocrats, wealthy bourgeois and countless artists inspired by this strip of elegant land between the Adriatic Sea and the lagoon. It began a period of great splendour for the island, which became a holiday resort for elite tourism. In a short time, the island’s urbanization was transformed: neo-Gothic, neo-Byzantine and then Art Nouveau villas were built. The particular feature of this period was the construction of impressive and sumptuous hotels: Hotel Des Bains and Grand Hotel Excelsior.

The first one will become famous thanks to Thomas Mann’s book “Death in Venice”, which Luchino Visconti will later bring to the screen in 1971. The Excelsior, on the other hand, with its neo-Moorish architecture complete with domes and minarets, became the hotel of important personalities (politicians, finance magnates, intellectuals, artists, writers, directors) attracted by the suggestive beauty, the charm of the furnishings and the enchanting suites. The Palazzo del Cinema, inaugurated in 1936 and the summer headquarters of the Venetian Casino, now transformed into the Palacongressi, was built close to the luxury represented by the hotels. Even today, the Venice Film Festival still echoes the era of the belle-époque of the Lido, where once a year for about a week, it brings the Lido back to the glories of the past, between elegance and important show business characters.

There are lovely lagoon views in Venice and in winter and spring you may be lucky enough, on a clear day, to see the snow-capped peaks of the Dolomites behind the city’s towers and rooftops. As summer approaches, the island’s hotels open for the season, and there are ice cream parlors in every corner. Even if you are not staying at the Lido, you can spend a nice day, relax on the beach or take a walk to admire the Art Nouveau architecture.

For the rest of the year, the Lido is an island to be enjoyed in peace, perhaps by organizing a bicycle route from the picturesque village with Gothic palaces of Malamocco to the Alberoni, one of the rare places in the lagoon where you can play golf and go to horse. In these places you will find secret corners, a nature reserve full of sand dunes and a beautiful free beach.