The event now commonly known as the Mostra del Cinema was launched in 1932 as the 1st International Exhibition of Film Art, as part of the 18th Venice Biennale.
Until 1938, it took place on the terrace of the Hotel Excelsior. The enormous Westin Excelsior is THE luxury hotel on the Lido, with its garden lawn stretching right down to the beach. It has played a pivotal role in the Lido's development as a world-class seaside resort.
The construction of the famous Hotel Des Bains in 1900 had already made the Lido the most important seaside resort in Europe. With the Excelsior, the Lido di Venezia achieved world fame.
Everything else about the film festival can inevitably be read about every year in the tabloids.
