Murano & Burano

Murano

Today we visited two outlying islands from Venice -- Murano and Burano.  Murano is known for glass making and has multiple glass factories on the island.  When you hear of Venetian glass, you're hearing about Murano.  Burano is known for lace-making and the panoply of pastel colors that cover its buildings.

Cam Furnace -- Glass Factory

Our first stop was Murano.  We took the vaporetto from the stop nearest our hotel for the 40 minute ride to Murano.  The public transit system in Venice is not buses, but boats.  There are no cars in Venice, only boats that traverse the numerous canals that cross the city.  Vaporettos are the public transit boats.  Being that it is Sunday, we weren't sure what we would get to see, but we found the Cam Furnace open and they gave us our own private glass making demonstration.  If it were a weekday, we could have see normal production taking place, but having a personal demonstration was pretty cool.  The master glass maker made a vase and a horse figurine while we watched.  It was amazing to see the speed at which he worked.  As with most of of Venice being dependent upon tourism, Murano is no different and we were then escorted to the show rooms to see all of the glass on display that we could buy.  While we did make a small purchase for a souvenir, it was incredible to see all of the chandeliers and other large glass items that are made in Murano -- and as was pointed out to us -- they can ship it anywhere in the world.

Burano

Murano was a nice first stop, but after seeing the demonstration and strolling the streets for a while, we were ready to move on to Burano.  Another 30 minute vaporetto ride and we were there.  The first thing that struck you as the boat was pulling in was the rainbow of colors covering the buildings.  Burano seemed to be more lively than Murano, with more outdoor cafes and shops open.  We saw several stores that sold everything lace -- from clothing to curtains to other decorative items.  Some of the patterns were quite intricate and delicate.  After a couple of hours of Burano charm, we headed back to the hotel for an afternoon siesta before heading back out.

Our lunch stop -- delicious paninis