The Lagoon of Venice
Back to On the Waterfront Continue to Across the Canal
The Lagoon of Venice
The
purpose of the boat tour was to spend a few hours visiting some of the other
islands in the lagoon – Murano, Burano and Torcello. Our tour guide was a blond, multilingual
young woman who talked almost continuously, repeating her many descriptions in
three or four different languages. Our
first stop was the
 Aboard the Boat |  Heading for Murano HD Video (15.0 MB) SD Video (5.7 MB) |
A Murano Glass Factory
We didn’t see a great deal of this island, being marched directly into a glass factory from the boat and, later, directly back to the boat from the glass factory. In between there was a demonstration by an Italian glassblower who created a vase and a glass horse as we watched and banged loudly on a tray for tips after he was finished.
 In the Glass Factory HD Video (16.3 MB) SD Video (6.4 MB) |  Glass Furnace |
 Blowing Air Into the Vase |  Making a Vase HD Video (20.4 MB) SD Video (7.9 MB) |
 Rolling the Glass |  Shaping the Horse |
 Making a Horse HD Video (20.3 MB) SD Video (6.2 MB) |  Finished Horse |
Hot Glass Demonstration
HD Video (14.9 MB) SD Video (4.7 MB)
Then we were routed into a store attached to
the factory which sold beautiful and pricey handmade glassware. Photography in the store was forbidden for
some reason, but we didn’t notice this until one of the salespeople called it
to our attention. We didn’t buy any of
the glassware, as it was too expensive.
In the Glass Store
HD Video (18.6 MB) SD Video (10.6 MB)
Our
next destination was the
 Back on the Boat |  Islet with Ruined Building |
 Leaning Tower of Burano |  Approaching Burano HD Video (13.8 MB) SD Video (3.9 MB) |
 Burano HD Video (20.1 MB) SD Video (10.9 MB) |  Nella and San Martino Destra |
Burano is famous for its
hand-made lace, and we were herded toward a lace store called Merletti “dalla
Olga” (Laces by Olga). We were given a
brief description of how the laces are produced (a painstaking process
involving multiple women) and invited to have a look around the store. The laces were amazing and expensive (they
didn’t seem to care about photography at this store), and again we didn’t buy
anything.
Lace Shop
Guide Describing Lace Sample
HD Video (15.4 MB) SD Video (8.4 MB)
Lacemaker
In the Lace Shop
HD Video (16.8 MB) SD Video (7.4 MB)
After
the lace shop, we were given some time to explore the island a little. Philip had skipped the lace shop completely
and was nowhere to be seen. The rest of
us explored the area of the square (Piazza Baldassarre Galuppi) on which the lace
shop was located. Also located on this
square was the
 Church and Piazza HD Video (15.5 MB) SD Video (5.0 MB) |  Bell Tower, Church of San Martino |
 Interior, Church of San Martino |  Inside the Church HD Video (18.1 MB) SD Video (5.6 MB) |
Opposite the church was a street (Via Baldassarre Galuppi) lined with
many shops catering to tourists. We only
had time to look at a couple of them before it was time to return to the
boat. We still hadn’t seen Philip, and
were hoping he had the sense to return to the boat before its departure, and
when we got back to the boat, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that he
did.
 Via Baldassarre Galuppi |  Via Baldassarre Galuppi HD Video (19.0 MB) SD Video (9.0 MB) |
Church from Via Baldassarre Galuppi
Torcello,
the last island we visited, is actually very close to Burano and in the 10th
Century was the site of the most populous settlement in the lagoon. As the lagoon around Torcello became more
swampy and malarial, the citizenry gradually departed for the other islands. The structures which housed the population
were also scavenged for materials to use on the other islands, until very
little remained in terms of people or buildings. The current population is about 20 people,
and of the few remaining buildings, two co-located churches are the main points
of interest. One of the churches, the
Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, was originally built in 639 AD, but
renovations in the 9th and 11th Centuries largely
replaced the original structure. The
Cathedral houses the remains of
We were dropped off at the Torcello boat landing and told to return within an hour. The landing was about one-third of a mile from the churches. Normally not a problem, except by this time the clouds that had moved in were looking unmistakably threatening. And the lack of habitation meant there was essentially no shelter between the landing and the churches. We followed a canal for most of the distance and arrived at the churches just as the downpour began.
 Canal, Torcello |  Walk and Basilica HD Video (20.4 MB) SD Video (8.1 MB) |
 Basilica and Santa Fosca Church |  Basilica di Santa Maria dell' Assunta |
Santa Fosca Church and Rain (SD Video, 8.5 MB)
Philip and Nella contented
themselves with watching the rain from a sheltered walkway, but Bob and Connie
paid the entry fee and entered the Cathedral.
The Cathedral was found to be mostly devoid of tourists and was sparsely
decorated as cathedrals go. But there
was an impressive mosaic of The Last Judgment, as well as a sign forbidding
photography. The sign was obeyed, which
may have been a factor in the rain stopping just in time for us to get back by
the deadline. Or perhaps not. Regardless, we were grateful to get back to
the boat in a relatively dry condition.
Back to the Boat Landing
Burano from Torcello
The
boat returned us to the main island and dropped us off at the spot where the tour began, and after a little bit of
aimless wandering, we eventually found ourselves across the
 Grand Canal from Westin Hotel HD Video (20.0 MB) SD Video (9.2 MB) |  Grand Canal from Westin |
Crossing the Rialto Bridge
HD Video (19.8 MB) SD Video (13.9 MB)
The dinner was delicious, and afterward we did a little window shopping. Then we returned to our respective hotels to rest up for the next day.
 Glass Display |  Christmas Glass |