Palazzo della Mostra del Cinema

A seaside Fascist monument, this rigid airport-terminal structure seems as ill-suited to the playboy Lido as a woolly bathing suit. But once the red carpets are rolled out and the stars arrive for the Venice International Film Festival, it all makes sense: more than a party venue, the ‘palace of cinema’ is a movie-launching platform. But when stripped of its red carpet, C+S Associates’ 2003 ‘Wave’ entrance begs for a skateboard. Next door is the former casino, another blinding-white monstrosity that replaced the original 1527 Palladio-built casino in a regrettable 1930s Fascist building spree.