"Venice" Top 5 Page for this destination Lido by luca68

Besides being so close to Venice, the island of Lido has always acted as a link with the long chain of islands dividing the Adriatic Sea from the Lagoon: it is a narrow strip of land squeezed between two different water systems, making the island an excellent, healthful place to stay.
During his sojourns in Venice in the 1820, Lord Byron would come to the Lido as often as possible—just as many other poets and writers have done so over the centuries (T. Mann's 1912 novel, "A death in Venice", was set in a famous island hotel). The island is a wonderful break from the crowds in Venice - a bit of serenity to return to after a day of slogging through the sensory overload of Venetian streets. Lido offers open space, fresh air and a relaxing change of scenery.

... August 6th, 1932, on the terrace of Hotel Excelsior, Lido, screening Rouben Mamoulian's "Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde": here was the birth of Venice Film festival. 25 film selected, in the first Mostra, representing 7 countries. The choice was made by Luciano De Feo, director general of the "Istituto Internazionale per la Cinematografia Educativa", by proxy of the Biennale Secretary General Antonio Maraini. Italy was represented by Mario Camerini's Gli uomini che mascalzoni, whereas René Clair's "A nous la liberté" was outstanding among French films. The Mostra didn't award any prize but a participation diploma.

The name of Lido island comes from "Litus" (meaning both shore and entrance, harbor). it always belonged to venice and most times protected the historical city from the fury of sea an the menacing enemies' ships. This is why the island was often used for military purposes, for instance during the Turks invasions. Among the historical events with Lido as protagonist, there are the 4th Crusade in 1202 (all 30,000 French crusaders were hosted at Lido before their departure9 and the bloody War of Chioggia (1378-79), when Genoa menaced Venice, and Venetians built fortresses and castles in Lido.