Page 163 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Venice & The Veneto

THE LA GOON ISLANDS  161

the village of Malamocco. International Film Festival
There are some pleasant fish
restaurants here, but there is Film fans flock to the Lido every year in late summer for the
little evidence that this was International Film Festival. The event was inaugurated in 1932 under
once the 8th-century seat of the the auspices of the Biennale (see p260) and was so successful that the
lagoon’s government. Palazzo del Cinema was built four years later. During its history the
Alberoni, at the southern end festival has attracted big
of the Lido, is the site of a golf names in the film world; it
course, a public beach and the has also been plagued by
landing stage for the ferry bureaucracy and political
across to Pellestrina. in-fighting. There are signs,
however, that the event is
making a comeback and the
San Nicolò famous names are now
The Lido’s only quarter of cultural returning to the Lido.
interest is San Nicolò in the north. The event takes place
Across the Porto di Lido, it over two weeks in late
is possible to see the fortress August/early September.
of Sant’Andrea on the island Films are shown day and
of Le Vignole, built by Michele night in numerous venues
Sanmicheli between 1435 including the Palazzo del
and 1449 to guard the main Cinema (tickets are sold
entrance of the lagoon. outside). You can normally
It was to the Porto di Lido that spot the stars (along with
the doge was rowed annually the paparazzi) for the price
to cast a ring into the sea in of a drink on the terrace
symbolic marriage each spring of the Excelsior Hotel. Poster advertising the first Lido International
(see p37). After the ceremony he (See also page 259). Film Festival, 1932
would visit the nearby church
and monastery of San Nicolò,
which was founded in 1044 and w Lazzaretto Nuovo juniper. During the pestilence
rebuilt in the 16th century. Tel 041 244 40 11. 4 No. 13. that afflicted Venice in 1576, the
The nearby Jewish cemetery, Open Apr–Oct: 9:45am & 4:30pm Sat island housed 10,000 victims.
open to the public, dates from & Sun. 8 & donation
1386. The rest of this northern ∑ lazzarettonuovo.com
area is given over to an airfield. e Poveglia
The aeroclub located there can A mere stone’s throw from No public access.
organize private flying lessons. Sant’Erasmo, in the northern
lagoon, Lazzaretto Nuovo is one Formerly called Popilia on
Jewish Cemetery of the few uninhabited visitable account of all its poplar trees,
Tel 041 71 53 59. & 8 call in islands. Archaeo logists continue the island was once a thriving
advance for a guided visit. to unearth medieval structures community with its own
dating back to the late 15th government. After the 1380 war
century, when the island was with Genoa, it fell into decline,
q San Clemente used as a quarantine station for and over the centuries became
crews of ships hailing from a refuge for plague victims, an
Founded in 1131 as a refuge for distant lands where the plague isolation hospital and a home
pilgrims and soldiers en route to was rife. Cargoes would be for the aged. Today the land is
the Holy Land, the crescent- fumigated with rosemary and used for growing crops and vines.
shaped island of San Clemente
became the site of a monastery,
home to a succession of
religious orders. During the
Republic, doges frequently met
distinguished visitors here, but
from 1630, when it was hit by
the plague, it served as a
military depot. In the 19th
century the island was turned
into a lunatic asylum; most of
the buildings date from that
time. Today San Clemente is a
peaceful island with a beautiful
hotel, which is currently closed
and awaiting new buyers. Hotel San Clemente Palace Kempinski on the San Clemente island in the southern lagoon
The picturesque Lago di Misurina in the Dolomites

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