The Summer School will take place in the graceful Benedictine Monastery of San Nicolò, situated on the laguna side of the Lido of Venice.

The monastery adjoining the 17th Century church of San Nicolò (1626) was most probably founded in 1053.
Doge Domenico Contarini, founder of Venice’s most well known and loved building, St. Mark’s Basilica, was the founder of the monastery, along with the Patriarch of Grado and the Bishop of Castello.

After the year 1000, the doges of Venice began to make official visits every year to the three Benedectine monasteries of Venice: San Giorgio, San Zaccaria, and San Nicolò.

In the 16^th century San Nicolò monastery underwent a radical transformation. The graceful Renaissance cloister, where many illustrious personalities of Venetian history are buried, dates back to 1530.

All that remains of the original structure are the two fine Veneto-Byzantine columns on either side of the main entrance to the monastery. Ongoing restoration and excavation efforts continue to bring to light new and exciting aspects of the history of the various buildings in the complex and their changes through the centuries.

The Benedictine monastery of San Nicolò, closed after the suppression of the order in 1770, was later re-opened by Franciscan monks for educational purposes. A technical training school for typographers, carpenters and radiomechanics was eventually situated at the site.

In 1998, the City of Venice generously conceded use of this architectural and historical monument as the seat of EIUC.

The Monastery is twenty minutes by bus from the Palazzo del Cinema where the Venice Film Festival is held. Discussion sessions on films screened at the Festival may be held in the vicinity of this venue.

The Palazzo del Cinema - external view, 2005 Film Festival