Jesolo or Iesolo is a seaside resort town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy of 26,776 inhabitants. With around six million visitors per year, Jesolo is one of the largest beach resorts in the country, and ranks 7th overall as a tourist destination, and fourth most popular Italian seaside resort. With 204,711.4 visits per thousand inhabitants, it is also one of the 50 Italian towns with the greatest tourist pressure. Its 15 kilometre long beaches and proximity to central Europe make it a favourite destination of many German, Austrian, Dutch and French visitors.
Geography
The town lies north of Venice, between Eraclea and Cavallino-Treporti. Jesolo gives its name to a lagoon of on the Adriatic Seabetween the riversSile and Piave. The urbanized area lies on an island of sorts, delimited by the rivers Piave and Sile, and an artificial canal called Cavetta, which starts from the center of Jesolo and goes towards Cortellazzo. The Jesolo area stretches along the Venetian coast on a flat landscape overlooking the Adriatic Sea and edged by Jesolo’s own lagoon, and by the rivers Sile and Po. This latter is edged by the opposite Laguna del Mort. The valley of Dragojesolo together with that of Grassabò,is the largest in the northern lagoon of Venice. The coastal strip is low and sandy, consisting of an uninterrupted beach about 12 kilometres long and varying in thickness between 30 and 100 metres.
History
In Roman times the lagoon extended over the area now occupied by the town. There were several islands in the lagoon, the biggest of which was known as Equilium, the place of horses. It is thought that Jesolo represents a corruption of this name.
Origin of the Name
The ancient name of Jesolo was Equilium which means "town of horses." The name refers to the breeding of horses, for which the ancient Venetians were famous. The current name of Jesolo probably comes from a series of transcription errors of the oldest name. From the 16th century until 1930, Jesolo was called Cavazzuccherina. This name came from the canal of the same name, opened on 20 April and built by Alvise Zucharin The official spelling used by the municipality is Jesolo but in the same time, the spelling Iesolo is also erroneously used.
Economy
The city's economy is mostly based on tourism. Jesolo is a seaside resort with abundant holiday facilities and its beach called Lido di Jesolo. At the height of its touristic life, Jesolo was hosting 6 million tourists per year. Currently these have dropped to around 4.5 million tourists per year due to the competition from new resort towns.
People
Petrus de Natalibus, bishop of Equilio from 1370 to his death, and author who compiled the widely circulated book Legends of the Saints.
Matteo Momentè, Italian footballer who had played for Inter Milan in the early 2000s but now plays for A.C. Gozzano.
