Jesolo Lido and the Adriatic Seaside

Lido

di

Jesolo

at

a

few

kilometers

from

the

enchanting

Venice,

with

its

15

kilometres

of

fine

dolomite

sand,

accomodates

every

year

over

10

millions

of

tourists

(including

those

who

overnight

and

those

who

stay

for

the

day)

who

spend

their

holidays

making

escursions

in

the

greenery

of

the

pinewood

and

in

the

encahting

valleys

of

the

lagoon,

who

entertain

themselves

in

the

modern

discos,

in

the

squares

with

hundreds

of

shows

of

every

kind,

the

coloured

fun

fairs

and

above

all

Via

Bafile,

the

longest

pedestrian

way

in Europe.

Two

millenniums

history

are

behind

this

'precision

device'

as

we

can

call

Jesolo

within

the

tourism

economy

of

the

lower

Veneto.

While

this

capital

of

fun,

fashion

and

trends

is

more

and

more

turned

to

the

'immediate use', it is another atmosphere that you can breathe in the near hinterland.

The

'Street

of

the

Ancient

Walls',

starting

from

Jesolo

centre

is

in

fact

a

fascinating

route

along

which

all

traces

of

a

noble

and

glorious

past

reveal

themselves

and

all

the

latest

efforts

aim

to

create

a

real

archeological

itinerary

in

order

to

enhance

an

aspect

of

this

area

which

has

remained

almost

unknown

for

a long time.

Once

upon

a

time

there

was

a

village

called

Equilio,

later

Cavazuccherina,

today

Jesolo

and

not

far

a

desert

beach

wet

by

the

waters

of

the

Adriatico

Sea.

Equilo,

from

the

latin

word

equus=town

of

horses,and

according

to

transcriptions

also

Equilio,

Esquilio,

Esulo,

Lesulo,

Jexollo

and

today

Jesolo

has

its

roots

in

the

times

of

the

Roman

Empire

as

vicus

(=

village),

on

an

island

next

to

the

mouth

of

the

Piave:

it

was

at

the

time

one

of

the

many

places

used

by

merchants

in

their

journeys

inside

the

lagoon,

above

all

in

winter,

sheltered

from

winds

(the

Bora)

and

storms,

on

the

way

from

Ravenna,

port

where

the

grain

of

the

9th

Augustean

Region

called

Aemilia

was

embarked,

to

the

great

town-fortress

Aquileia,

rampart

of

the

Eastern

Roman

border.

Exposed

to

the

continuous

barbaric

invasions

(from

the

5th

Century

on

),

a

part

of

the

helpless

inhabitants

of

Altino,

Oderzo

and

of

the

areas

around

Treviso

and

Belluno,

in

their

escape,

following

the river Piave, chose Jesolo as last refuge.

With

the

fall

of

the

Roman

Empire,

Jesolo

and

the

other

towns

of

the

Venetian

estuary

(Rialto,

Murano,

Burano,

Torcello,

Malamocco,

San

Pietro

in

Volta,

Chioggia,

Brondolo,

Fossone,

Eraclea,

Fine,

Caorle,

Grado

and

Cavarzere),

remained

without

a

political

direction,

they

formed

a

congregation

and

created

their

own

autonomous

government

by

electing

in

697

as

head

of

the

government

Paoluccio

Anafesto,

the

unforgettable first Doge.

Together

with

wars

and

invasions

the

region

was

hit

by

environmental

disasters,

provoked

by

the

Piave

which

changed

his

course

several

times

in

the

past.

Though

its

economic

power

was

reduced

and

slow

because

of

the

fights

against

Eraclea,

by

the

barbaric

invasions,

Jesolo

grew

and

strenghtened

its

trades

with

in-land

towns

and

with

the

East

by

sailing

on

the

sea,

exporting

fish,

salt

(there

were

32

salt-mines)

and

manufactured

products

and

imported

wood,

spices

and

fabrics:

its

port

frequented

by

travellers

and

merchants

who

stopped

for

the

precious

wares

brought

by

the

sailors

of

Jesolo.

In

1000

the

Doge

Orseolo

left

from

the

port

of

Jesolo

with

its

fleet

steering

towards

the

Istrian

and

Dalmatian

costs,

defeated

the

pirates who infested the upper Adriatico and submitted them.

After

a

couple

of

centuries

of

prosperity

there

came

a

decay.

Only

around

the

half

of

the

15th

Century,

the

Serenissima

was

interested

in

developping

the

trade

using

the

waterways

in

Friuli

and

began

the

works,

lead

by

Liberal

from

Oderzo,

in

1440

of

escavation

of

a

canal

(no

more

existing),

which

had

to

join

The

Piave

to

the

Revedoli,

making

it

possible

for

crafts

to

sail

from

Venice

to

Caorle

or

Grado,

without

going

out

at

sea.

The

opening

of

the

canal

(spring

of

1441),

favoured

the

birth

of

stores

and

houses

for

workers

or

keepers

as

well

as

nobles

who

invested

their

fortunes

on

the

territory.

At

the

end

of

the

15th

Century

the

nobles

Gradenigo,

Malipiero,

Soranzo

and

others

began

to

bonificate

the

lands

and

easied

the

settlement

of

many

colons.

On

the

3rd

of

January

1495

the

Patriarch

of

Venice,

Tommaso

Dona',

accepted

the

requests

of

the

nobles

and

workers

and

estabished

the

Parish

of

San

Giovanni

Battista,

the

most

ancient

in

the

Basso

Piave.

After

a

few

years

the

upkeeping

of

the

canal

was

given

to

Alvise

Zucharin

and

his

heirs

(November

20,

1499)

and

that

surname

gave

slowly

a

new

name

to

the

old

Equilio-Jesolo,

which

would

become

Cava

(canal)

Zucharina

(from

the

name

of

the

family

Zucharin),

reported

in

various

manners

in

the

venetian

documents:

Cava

Zuccherina,

Cavazucharina,

Cavazuccherina.

The

name

was

maintained

by

the

town

and

by

the

Commune

(established

by

Napoleon

on

the

22nd

of

December

1807)

until

the

28th

of

August

1930,

when endly the king Vittorio Emanuele III allowed the re-use of the historical name Jesolo