“This morning I went to the Lido with my guide, that tongue of land which closes the lagoon, dividing it from the sea. I got off the gondola, we crossed diagonally that strip of land. I heard a loud noise:it was the sea and I didn’t take long to see it crash against the bank it was the time when tide receded”.
Goethe, Memories of a trip to Italy in 1786/87
It was right here that Goethe saw for the first time the sea, in this “strip of land” which divides Venice from the sea. The Lido is a narrow island, it is considered the beach of the Venetians, and its history is linked to that of Venice, but it shone with its own light too. The great luxury hotels, the liberty villas and the marine ospice with his world famous thalassotherapy have ensured that since the end of 19th century the Lido became the most popular Italian seaside destination, frequented by the international jet set. It increased its prestige with he birth of the international Venice Film Festival, that takes place here punctually every year. For all these reasons, the Lido was called “the gold island”.
The island can still be considered a true and charming holiday destination: a wide choice of facilities, long sandy beaches, an ancient and varied cooking tradition that you can taste in all the “osterie” and restaurants around it, a wide choice of open air activities.
A destination that is a source of emotions too.
To experience all this, all that remains is to contact us.
“…there is relaxation, there is friendliness, we know each other.. here is the importance, on the cultural and social level, that of meeting people who make cinema from all over the world. And then there is not only the cinema in Venice…”
Alberto Sordi, Interview at International Venice Film Festival, 1979.
In 1932, as part of the XVIII Biennale di Venezia, there was the first International Venice Film Festival. It was the first exhibition like this in the world and it took place on the terrace of the Excelsior hotel.. From 1935 the Festival became an annual event. The construction of the Palazzo del Cinema increased the success of the event until the estabilishment of the famous Leone D’Oro and the red carpet became a succession of italian and American stars.
Today we arrived at the 78th International Venice Film Festival, surely the most important time of the year for the Lido, where journalists, movie critics, more or less famous people arrive and there are a lot of events such as cultural festivals, glamourous parties, dinners on the beach or happy hours on the lagoon at the sunset, where you can taste the famous “cicheti”.
On the first Sunday of September, the glamour and the lights of the Venice Film Festival are accompanied by the historical and much awaited appointment with the Regata Storica, where the most important names of the Voga alla Veneta compete.
