Lido di Jesolo historical timeline

Jesolo is a resort built on a lagoon that is no longer there, and its name is the last trace of what it used to be.

1. Roman period The lagoon extends over the area the town now occupies. Several islands stand in it, the largest known as Equilium — the place of horses.
2. After 476 The fall of the Western Roman Empire brings invasions to the Veneto hinterland, and the lagoon islands take in those who leave it.
3. Byzantine period With the Byzantine reconquest of the lagoon, the district of Venetikà is created — first part of the Exarchate of Italy, then of the Duchy of Venice.
4. Medieval Equilio is a town in its own right. What survives of it is now the Antiche Mura archaeological site north of the old town, under active study by the University of Venice Ca' Foscari.
5. The name "Jesolo" is probably a chain of transcription errors working away at the oldest form: Equilo, Esulo, Lesulo, Jexulo, Jexollo, Jesolum, Giesolo.
6. 20th century The modern resort is built along the shore as Lido di Jesolo, separate from the old inland town, and grows into the second-ranked beach resort in Italy.