June 25 Burano, Murano (Day 272)
We decided to travel further afield today with a 48 hour pass to ride the Vaporetti throughout the Venetian islands. The water-bus, or ferry, system is extensive and is used by the locals and tourists alike. Our first trip was to the furthest tourist site, Burano, known as the Lace Island, a colorful fishermen’s village.
On the way to catch the vaporetto to Burano we had to walk through the train station and past this icon of train travel – The Orient Express! As close as we’ll get to it I think!
A half hour ferry and we disembarked at the colorful, peaceful village.
Even the lunch was colorful! Small snacks called Cicchetti accompanied by beer, wine or apertif are like the Spanish Tapas.
The many vibrant colors of the houses in Burano. Known for handmade lace manufacture the practice is dying out because of competition with less expensive machine manufactured lace.
On our walk around the small island we noticed the bell tower of one of the churches from different angles.
This view shows the tower has a significant lean compared to the first picture!
From Burano we caught the vaporetto to Murano, the Glass island. During Venice’s heyday as an economic superpower, glass manufacture was an important and well guarded craft. For safety reasons the glass factories were moved to the island to protect the wooden structures of Venice, and to more safely protect the innovation and unique manufacturing processes that made Venetian glass highly prized and valuable! The shopfronts are filled with beautiful unique art glass. Many of the shops prefer that you don’t take pictures of their wares.
I found these beautiful chandeliers hanging in a local church!