Lido di Venezia(a beach resort since the 19th century)

The Lido has been famous as a beach resort since the 19th century. Today it is fascinating to see the elegant Art Nouveau and Moorish-style vilals and hotels, the tree-lined avenues and the impressive former premises of the Municipal Casino, the Palazzo del Cinema and the Excelsior Hotel overlooking the beach. At the Hotel Des Bains, Luchino Visconti filmed his celebrated Death in Venice. 

Once fortified and used for military purposes, and theatre of the War of Chioggia between the Genoese and the Venetians /14thC/, the Lido was and still remains the setting for one of the most important of the traditional feasts of the Serenissima; for it is here that the ceremony of the Marriage of the Sea takes place, with a large Venetian crowd in attendance.  The Lido was also where the most illustrious guests were received by the Seigniory. The Church of San Nicolo di Lido is evidence of this past: founded in the 11th century and rebuilt in the 17the century, it has Corinthian columns and capitals. Recently has been opened the Planetarium, one of the most interesting and important of Italy. The Fort of Sant’Andrea is interesting too: built in the 156th C on the plan by Michele Sanmicheli it is perhaps best admired from a vantage point near San Nicolo.