San Nicolò al Lido is a church in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, northern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It is located in the northern part of Venice's Lido, and houses the relics of St. Nicholas, patron of sailors (shared with Bari). Here is celebrated the traditional thanksgiving mass of the Sposalizio del Mare ("Marriage of the Sea").

The complex is held by the Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

 order.

History

The convent and the church, located to its main access ot the sea, date to the origins of the independent Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, in the early Middle Ages. From here, in 996

996

Year 996 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* March or April – Pope John XV dies before being able to crown Otto III, King of Germany as Holy Roman Emperor...

, 998

998

Year 998 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Otto III retakes the city of Rome and reinstates his cousin, Pope Gregory V, after mutilating and blinding his rival, Antipope John XVI.* St...

 and 1000, sailed off the first expeditions against the Narentines and the Dalmatia

Dalmatia

Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

ns, which, under Doge Pietro II Orseolo

Pietro II Orseolo

Pietro II Orseolo was the Doge of Venice from 991 to 1009.He began the period of eastern expansion of Venice that lasted for the better part of 500 years...

, led to the submission of Dalmatia to the republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

.

The Doge Domenico Selvo

Domenico Selvo

Domenico Selvo was the 31st Doge of Venice, serving from 1071 to 1084. During his reign as Doge, his domestic policies, the alliances that he forged, and the battles that the Venetian military won and lost laid the foundations for much of the subsequent foreign and domestic policy of the Republic...

 was crowned here in 1071.

Architecture and art

The church, with a single nave, is annexed to a convent and a cloister, all dating to the 16th century. The Baroque campanile was erected in 1626-1629.

The façade is surmounted by a statue of Doge Domenico Contarini, who patronized the convent.

The interior houses works by Palma il Vecchio (Madonna with Child) and Palma il Giovane (San Giovannino).

Use in film and television

It was used as the Italian headquarters of MI6

Secret Intelligence Service

The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...

 in the 1979 James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 film Moonraker

Moonraker

Moonraker is the third novel by British author Ian Fleming featuring the fictional British Secret Service agent Commander James Bond. The book was first published by Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1955, bearing a cover based on Fleming's own concept...

.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079574/locations