Description
Burano is an island in the northern lagoon, reached by boat from Venice, famous for its houses painted red, yellow, blue and green lined up along the canals. It is also the home of a needle lace known around the world.
The center is small: four islets joined by bridges, with one more bridge to Mazzorbo. People come here above all for the colors, and find them at almost every corner, reflected in the water.
The most photographed spot is the crossing of the Tre Ponti, where three canals meet, along with three of the island's five districts. The most colorful streets lead to the fishermen's houses and the artisans' workshops.
Why are the houses so colorful? No one knows for certain. Some say it helped the fishermen find their own house in the thick fog of the lagoon; others say each hue marked a family, since there are few surnames on the island. Among the best-known houses is Bepi Suà's, decorated with geometric patterns.
The symbol of the island is the bell tower of the church of San Martino, which leans noticeably: the foundations, resting on piles as in part of Venice, have given way. Inside the church is a Crucifixion by Giambattista Tiepolo, from 1725.
In a chapel of the apse rest the patron saints of the island, Albano, Domenico and Orso, who according to legend arrived in a sarcophagus carried by the waters.
The Lace Museum is in the old palace of the podestà, which was also home to the lace school. It displays over two hundred unique pieces made between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries, and keeps the school's archive. The palace is Gothic and looks onto the square.
Burano lace is made with the needle alone, without a bobbin pillow: they call it "punto in aria", stitch in the air. In the seventeenth century it sold for very high prices as far as France, then fashion changed and the art risked disappearing.
In 1872 Countess Andriana Marcello decided to save it: she looked for the last lacemaker who knew all the stitches, Cencia Scarpariola, and asked her to teach them. A school was born, and it still exists.
The main square is named after the composer Baldassare Galuppi, born in Burano in 1706. Try the bussolà, the island's typical biscuits, ring-shaped or S-shaped.
In the island's boatyards nearly all the boats of the lagoon were built, from the sandolo buranello to the big cargo burchi. In the twentieth century Burano gave its name to a "School" of painters, including Gino Rossi and Pio Semeghini, who painted its canals.
Another curiosity concerns language: the Burano dialect has an unmistakable sing-song, with drawn-out vowels. Some island families emigrated to Ancona and left traces in the local dialect, such as "mamulini", small children.
Don't miss
• The colorful houses.
• The leaning bell tower of San Martino.
• The Lace Museum.
• The bussolà.
Did you know?
• Throughout the period of the Kingdom of Italy, changing the color of a house required the permission of a superintendent.
• According to legend, lace was born from a veil of foam given by the queen of the sea to a fisherman who had resisted the sirens' song.
The center is small: four islets joined by bridges, with one more bridge to Mazzorbo. People come here above all for the colors, and find them at almost every corner, reflected in the water.
The most photographed spot is the crossing of the Tre Ponti, where three canals meet, along with three of the island's five districts. The most colorful streets lead to the fishermen's houses and the artisans' workshops.
Why are the houses so colorful? No one knows for certain. Some say it helped the fishermen find their own house in the thick fog of the lagoon; others say each hue marked a family, since there are few surnames on the island. Among the best-known houses is Bepi Suà's, decorated with geometric patterns.
The symbol of the island is the bell tower of the church of San Martino, which leans noticeably: the foundations, resting on piles as in part of Venice, have given way. Inside the church is a Crucifixion by Giambattista Tiepolo, from 1725.
In a chapel of the apse rest the patron saints of the island, Albano, Domenico and Orso, who according to legend arrived in a sarcophagus carried by the waters.
The Lace Museum is in the old palace of the podestà, which was also home to the lace school. It displays over two hundred unique pieces made between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries, and keeps the school's archive. The palace is Gothic and looks onto the square.
Burano lace is made with the needle alone, without a bobbin pillow: they call it "punto in aria", stitch in the air. In the seventeenth century it sold for very high prices as far as France, then fashion changed and the art risked disappearing.
In 1872 Countess Andriana Marcello decided to save it: she looked for the last lacemaker who knew all the stitches, Cencia Scarpariola, and asked her to teach them. A school was born, and it still exists.
The main square is named after the composer Baldassare Galuppi, born in Burano in 1706. Try the bussolà, the island's typical biscuits, ring-shaped or S-shaped.
In the island's boatyards nearly all the boats of the lagoon were built, from the sandolo buranello to the big cargo burchi. In the twentieth century Burano gave its name to a "School" of painters, including Gino Rossi and Pio Semeghini, who painted its canals.
Another curiosity concerns language: the Burano dialect has an unmistakable sing-song, with drawn-out vowels. Some island families emigrated to Ancona and left traces in the local dialect, such as "mamulini", small children.
Don't miss
• The colorful houses.
• The leaning bell tower of San Martino.
• The Lace Museum.
• The bussolà.
Did you know?
• Throughout the period of the Kingdom of Italy, changing the color of a house required the permission of a superintendent.
• According to legend, lace was born from a veil of foam given by the queen of the sea to a fisherman who had resisted the sirens' song.