Luna Hotel, a member of Italy's prestigious Baglioni group, is said to be the oldest hotel in Venice. The Knights Templars are known to have stayed in a building on the Luna's site in 1118 during the Crusades, and Venetian archives show the existence of the "Osteria Luna" in the 13th Century. The "Locanda della Luna," or Luna Inn, was serving overnight guests in the 15th Century, and portions of the current building's decor predate the fall of the Venetian Republic in the late 1700s.Despite its illustrious heritage, the Luna Hotel Baglioni is less well-known among English-speaking visitors than are some of its competitors in Venice's five-star hotel category. That may be just fine with its devoted cadre of well-heeled North American, British, and European guests, some of whom visit the Luna several times a year to enjoy tranquility, privacy, and unaffected luxury within a minute's walk of the Piazza San Marco and Venice's most elegant shops.