Venice – Murano, Burano & Torcello

The first time I visited Venice in the late 90s, it was only for 5 days and we didn’t manage to visit any of the islands apart from Murano. With a week pass for the Vaporetto, Mum and I remedied that this visit. Sadly I still didn’t make it to the Isola di San Michele (the cemetery island) but at least I got a good view on the way past. It always reminds me of the Isle of the Dead by Arnold Bocklin.

Murano, the Island of Light, is best known for the glass factory and workshops. Glass production started in 1291 when the furnaces for glass processing, initially located in Venice, were moved to Murano because of the risk of fire, a constant worry in a city with buildings largely constructed with wood.

Torcello is the oldest inhabited island in Venice, first settled in 452. It is now sparsely populated and many of the buildings that were there were dismantled when the population migrated to the Venice, with the materials moving with them. The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is the key attraction, dating from 639, with its stunning mosaics, alongside the islands desolate peacefulness, a marked contrast to the rest of Venice.

Burano is a mainly residential island, once home of fishermen and lace makers, and now a major tourist attraction due to the wonderful colourful houses. It is said that they were painted so brightly so that the fishermen could see their homes from the lagoon in inclement weather.

It is also home to Il Tratorria al Gatto Nero, the wonderful family owned and run trattoria, where we had lunch on our last afternoon in Venice (you can read more about it in a later post). After an afternoon in the restaurant we witnessed the beautiful sunset over the lagoon whist waiting for the Vaporetto back to the hotel, the perfect last day and evening to a wonderful week.

All Images and Text © Jonathan Dredge.