Lido 228761 224952876 2008-07-11T04:15:42Z DocWatson42 38455 /* History */ Changed a hyphen to an em dash. {{other}} [[Image:20050525-033-lido.jpg|thumb|250px|Lido vaporetto terminal, seen from the Lagoon.]] [[Image:Leguna Veneta.png|thumb|right|250px|Lido and the Venetian Lagoon.]] [[Venice]]'s '''Lido''' is an 11-mile (18&nbsp;km) long [[bar (landform)|sandbar]], home to about 20,000 residents, greatly augmented by the (mainly Italian) tourists who move in every summer. The [[Venice film festival]] takes place at the Lido every September. ==Geography== The island is home to three settlements. The Lido itself, in the north, is home to the Film Festival, the [[Grand Hotel des Bains]], the [[Venice Casino]] and the [[Grand Hotel Excelsior]]. [[Malamocco]], in the centre, is the first and for a long time the only settlement. It was at one time home to the [[Doge of Venice]]. [[Alberoni]] at the southern end is home to the [[golf course]]. At least half the [[Adriatic]] side of the island is constituted by a sandy beach, much of which belongs to the various hotels that house the summer tourists. These include the renowned [[Excelsior]] and the Des Bains, setting for [[Thomas Mann]]'s classic novel ''[[Death in Venice]]''. These beaches are private, though towards the northern and southern ends of the island there are two enormous public beaches. The [[Adriatic Sea]] is fairly clean and warm, ideal for children, with only the occasional [[jellyfish]] to disturb swimming. The heart of the island is the Gran Viale [[Santa Maria Elisabetta]], a wide street approximately 700 m long that leads from the lagoon on one side to the sea on the other. It houses hotels, shops, and tourist-centric restaurants. At the [[Venetian Lagoon|lagoon]] end of the Gran Viale, you find the boats that connect to [[Venice]] (15'), the mainland (35'), the islands and the [[Marco Polo International Airport|Marco Polo]] airport (60'). ==History== In [[1202]] at the beginning of the [[Fourth Crusade]], it was used as a camp by tens of thousands of crusaders, who were blockaded there by the Venetians when they could not pay for the Venetian ships they needed for transport. The [[island]]'s [[casino]] has recently closed down—it used to operate in the summer months, moving to Palazzo Vendramin Calergi in [[Venice]] for the winter. ==Notes and references== <!-- this 'empty' section displays references defined elsewhere --> {{unreferenced|date=March 2008}} {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://maps.google.com/maps?q=venice,+italy&ll=45.383984,12.351723&spn=0.096212,0.328766&t=k&hl=en Satellite image of the Venetian Lido from Google Maps] {{coor title dm|45|23|N|12|21|E|region:IT_type:isle}} [[Category:Frazioni of the Province of Venice]] [[Category:Geography of Venice]] [[Category:Islands of Italy]] [[Category:Seaside resorts in Italy]] [[de:Lido]] [[eo:Lido (Venecio)]] [[fi:Lido]] [[fr:Lido (Venise)]] [[it:Lido di Venezia]] [[ja:リード・ディ・ヴェネツィア]] [[nl:Lido]] [[nn:Lido]] [[pl:Lido (wyspa)]] [[pt:Lido (Veneza)]] [[ru:Лидо]] [[zh:利多]]