Venice is reclaiming its place as a top cultural destination with the opening of the Venice Film Festival – the first major in-person cinema showcase of the coronavirus era after Cannes cancelled and other international festivals opted to go mostly online this year. But don’t be fooled – the 77th edition of the world’s oldest film festival will look nothing like its predecessors.

The public will be barred from the red carpet, Hollywood stars and films will be largely absent and face masks will be required indoors and out as the festival opens Wednesday.

Those strict measures are evidence of the hard line Venice and the surrounding Veneto region took to contain the virus when it first emerged in the lagoon city in late February.

Unlike neighbouring Lombardy, which became the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe, Veneto largely kept the virus under control with early local lockdowns and broad testing once the virus was widespread.

La Biennale chief Robert Cicutto says the decision to hold the festival will serve as a “laboratory” for future cultural gatherings.

The Sept. 2-12 festival marks Italy’s return to the art world stage after it became the first country in the West to be slammed by COVID.

Even Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible 7,” in Venice at the time for three weeks of filming, had to pull out.

Italy’s strict 10-week lockdown largely tamed the virus, but infections are now rebounding after summer vacations.

Health authorities are scrambling to test passengers at airports and seaports to try to identify imported cases before they can spread.

Guests to the glamorous film festival are not exempt.

If they arrive from outside Europe’s open-border Schengen area, they will be tested upon arrival.

Other measures to limit contagion include reserved seats, spaced apart, for all screenings and a requirement to wear masks even during screenings and outdo