VENICE

Laguna

Engineer Bellati and Engineer Forti (for Napoleon): Mappa della Citta di Burano Dipartimento dell'Adriatico; Venice, 1812

Jacopo de' Berbari: Particolare di Murano; Venice, 1500

This tour would take you through the lagoon of Venice: the busiest most industrious port during the Renaissance-Baroque periods, where you can still find some glass, lace and velvet ateliers operating today. The area is characterized by Renaissance campaniles, colorful facades, and boats of all kinds and sizes. Besides the historical Venice there are other “3 towns” that form the metropolitan area of the city: Murano, Burano and Lido. Murano and Burano got artisanal with glass and fabrics ateliers while Lido remained for the mansions of the elite. In 1291 all the glassmakers of Venice were moved to Murano to prevent the spread of fires throughout the city (but also to keep the different glass recipes a secret) and they created the mirrors and chandeliers that adorn every palace in Europe. In 1314 skillful weavers from Lucca migrated to the laguna to avoid conflict in Tuscany (and to take advantage of the silk/luxury textile industry of the city) and by the end of the century Venice became the epicenter of velvet production; but velvet was not the only fabric that the Venetian mastered, lace too. In 1595 The Dogaressa Morosina Morosini became the patron of the lace industry establishing it in Burano. She promoted lace products in the royal courts of Europe making it popular among the nobles. The productivity of the lagoon died shortly after the republic felt under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797 but the glass and lace industries got revitalized a century later after the unification of Italy in the 1860s. Factories like Antica Vetreria Fratelli Toso opened up in 1854 and the Murano Glass Museum got funded in 1861. After that a new generation of glass designers emerge: Paolo Venini, Ercole Barovier and Dino Martens but with a new spirit, the futurismo: an art movement that would reject the baroque-rococo ornamentation to a colorful organic minimalistic design — today you can still visit their shops. In 1872 the Countess Andriana Marcello invited to the palace the last woman who knew how to do lace so she could teach the handcraft to other women with the intention of preserving the art form. The Scuola Merletti di Burano got created that same year and today is a museum you can visit. Sadly the lace industry didnt experience a boom like the glass one did but at least is still a live and you can find some small shops that sell lace products. The tour suggest spending the morning in Burano visiting the lace museum and the basilica of the town; then a relaxing break and lunch around Mazzorbo in the afternoon; shopping around Burano plus dinner in the evening — and don’t forget to pass by the Arsenale, the largest factory of medieval Europe.

Stops:

1 Burano Walking Tour plus coffee break

2 Lace Museum

3 Basilica San Martino

4 Relax in Parco Mazzorbo

5 Lunch at Venissa

6 Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato

7 Murano Glass Museum

8 Glass Shopping plus Dining at Rio dei Vetrai

Anne Garney:“Le Dolce Vita”; Burano, 2015

Antonio Ermolao Paoletti: A Serenade for the Lacemakers; Venice, late 1800s