Lido

The island is divided into three parts:

• The northern part of the island is home to the film festival , there are also the Grand Hotel des Bains , the Grand Hotel Excelsior and the casino.
• Malamocco , in the center, is only a village with a population of 17,265 people (2011). He was also the home of the Venetian Doge .
• At the southern tip is the Fort San Nicolo and the golf club.

At least half of the island from the Adriatic Sea consists of sandy beaches , most of which belong to different hotels. These include Excelsior and des Bains, described by Thomas Mann in his novel Death in Venice . These beaches are private, although there are two huge public beaches on the north and south sides of the island. The Adriatic Sea is quite clean and warm, ideal for children, and only from time to time jellyfish are prevented from swimming there.

The heart of the island is Santa Maria Elizaveta Street , about 700 m long, leading from the lagoon to the sea. There are hotels, shops and tourist restaurants on the island. At the end of the Gran Viale lagoon are boats that can deliver to Venice.

The water temperature on the surface of the Adriatic Sea, the waters of which wash the island of Lido, in summertime varies from 22 to 24 ° C (72 - 75 ° F), and in winter - from 12 to 14 ° C, but it can drop to 9 ° C (48 ° F). ^[1] During particularly cold winters, sea ice may form on the surface of shallow coastal waters, especially in the Venetian lagoon. The beaches and harbors of Lido Island participate in the Blue Flag beach certification program ^[2] , meeting stringent quality standards, including environmental protection, clean water, safety and tourism services.

In the Middle Ages, known as the island of St. Nicholas . Since 1053, in the northern part stood a Benedictine abbey , built to preserve the remains of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors. In 1389, a small area near the church was allocated to the Republic of Venice as a cemetery for the burial of Jews (of great interest, it has now been restored and opened to the public).

Soon, in the 17th century, villages were settled and developed around the new church of Santa Maria Elizabeth.

The island is still protected by a pier , built in the 18th century to protect the lagoon from the sea, which extends almost to the casino square, which was built in the 1930s in the 20th century. Hidden by thick trees, it is an ideal venue in Venice for many cultural events and simply holidays, among which the Venice Film Festival stands out.

In the center of the island, the architecture is full of modern buildings and green parks. In the center of Santa Maria Elizabeth, overlooking the bay, several buildings of the end of the 19th century and the Votive Temple church of the same name, erected after the First World War in memory of the victims, have survived.

Lido was very much loved by many poets and writers and chose him as a place of rest or residence: for example, George Gordon Byron , Thomas Mann , Sergey Yesenin .

The beaches of Lido owe their fame to the fine golden sand and clear water, as well as to the protection of two dams. On both sides of the island, canals enter the lagoon for shipping that goes to the port of Venice. Work is underway to build a protection system against tides, these works are criticized by residents for their allegedly low efficiency and poor environmental impact.

The opportunities offered by Lido are different types of beaches from free to paid in the central part of the island, which differ in the prices for services.