10/13 Sunday
We have a beautiful day, cool and
sunny, just right for a boat ride to the nearby island town of Burano, famous for the lace-making school
that was established there, which is now a museum.
The island is really pretty,
quieter, full of farms and vineyards and distressed farmhouses. The houses are
mostly two or three stories, and painted rich pastel colors of blue, green,
yellow and pink. Incredibly picturesque. The main street is full of tavernas
and osterias for the tourists, mixed in with shops selling lace tablecloths and
scarves, “made in Italy” but certainly not handmade anymore.
The Lace Museum is right off the
center plaza, and as usual, is empty. None of the hundreds of tourists on the
island seem to have any interest at all in the distinguishing feature of the
place.
The museum has a well-produced video
telling the story of the lace school, founded as a way to provide a trade to
the abandoned girls and orphans in the city, when the fashion for fine lace was
blooming. Venetian lace from Burano became the gold standard for hand made
lace. The school was in operation for nearly one hundred years, closing in the
1970’s, and existing now as the museum. In the video, woman demonstrates the
process for making a small piece, an oval designed to resemble and emerald,
with different stitches making up the facets. The stages are also shown in a
display on the wall so you can really examine every step.
It’s a shame that no one is here to
see the displays. The rooms are fitted with cabinets that have rolling shelves
to hold the lace pieces, so you can move the drawers yourself to see more work.
The lace is absolutely incredible, so delicate and intricate. A gossamer bridal
veil embellished with floral designs lies in one drawer, and every thread has
been woven with a small needle, by a young girl holding her work in her lap.
In the plaza just outside the
museum, the local church is holding a “Festival of the Children” with older
kids running ring-toss games and water-gun games and dance music going on, lots
of shrieking and scooters and strollers and balloons. The church guys are
putting on a big barbeque, but instead of chicken, which we would expect,
they’re having a calamari roast. Just down the street, all the tourists are
sitting at the table-clothed osterias, paying their restaurant prices, missing
all this.
The island seems like a very nice
place to live, with farms and orchards bordered by small canals. But, having
worked our way through the piles of tourists at the dock, we wonder how much of that you could take if you lived
here.
We have a great boat ride back to Venice, with the sun
getting lower and golden on the water.
1 Video Included
Venice Burano Lace
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