Safely moored at the San Giorgio Yatch Club marina, we decided to spend the day exploring the islands of Burano and Murano in the Venice Lagoon. By the way, Venice lagoon or laguna? In French, we make a difference. A "lagon" refers to tropical islands surrounded by coral reefs while a "lagune" refers to any kind of shallow water body separated from the sea by a sandy bar. So, in French Venice would have a "lagune" and not a "lagon". But English does not make a difference, so Venice is surrounded by a lagoon, and laguna in fact is a Spanish term.
Belisama is the third mast from the right, with the windmill visible on her aft
Our day there confirmed that these two islands are a must visit for anyone visiting Venice...
With a Venice pass, one can take a short vaporetto ride from the centre of Venice to visit Murano. It is really an interesting visit!
Murano
Murano was established in the 13th century to host the glassmaking furnaces out of the city to avoid large fires in Venice. Glassmaking in Venice originated from the long tradition of glassmaking developed in the middle-east for centuries. Venice became a significant trading hub in the Mediterranean during the medieval period. This position allowed Venetian glassmakers to access knowledge, materials, and techniques from the Middle East, in particular during the crusades.
Example of glass blowing techniques in Murano
At the same time, trade with the Middle-East allowed the development of glass making industry in Western Africa as well, in particular the area corresponding to Nigeria nowadays, where glass beads became a "currency". No wonder, what is hard to get and produce is a good basis to develop a money system. In the mid-15th century, Portugal started slave trade "industry". As a result, glass beads became the currency for trade, and Murano "trade beads" became at the centre of the slave trade peaking in the 18th century.
Glass beads today in a Murano factory
I have at home trade beads from Nigeria and I will follow-up on this issue, as soon as I am back home...
Murano canal
Burano
Burano is a few miles away from Murano and is famous for its colourful houses and lace industry. The tradition of painting houses in bright colours is said to have begun as a way for fishermen to easily spot their homes from the lagoon in foggy weather conditions. Nowadays, having become a touristic attraction, colouring of houses is regulated, and if you want to repaint your house, you need to consult a board to tell you which colour you can use given your neighbours. The result is magnificent, though. See below in the canals of Burano:
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