David Whitley discovers glass-blowing, lace-making and colourful houses on a tour of Venice’s islands.
Art in Venice
For anyone with even a passing interest in art, Venice is one big masterpiece. You can’t saunter over more than two bridges without coming across a gallery packed with priceless works, or a looming church that would be the main draw in any other city.
Quite apart from the city’s natural beauty, it is home to centuries of creative innovation and perfection.
Many visitors, however, seem to be under the impression that Venice is a giant, water-filled museum, content to soak up the history without ever realising that the artistic tradition is still going strong today.
Take a few steps away from the major must-sees, and it’s thriving. And what’s more, you can see the creative processes in action.
Fornace Estevan Cossetto on Murano
Approaching from the misty lagoon, the Fornace Estevan Cossetto on the small island of Murano doesn’t look too much to write home about. As the boat sidles up to the jetty, all that can be seen is a gloomy exterior and a crumbling terracotta wall. Inside, however, is something special.
The eyes are immediately drawn to the billowing furnace at the side of the room. With bright orange balls of fire shooting across, it has an immediate warming effect, despite the foundry being rather large and airy.
Glass blowing in Venice
In front of it is a man with a pole, prodding away at the licking flames. He is, as we’re about to find out, a true craftsman.
Twisting and turning the pole with careful precision, he withdraws it from the furnace and sits down on a bench. At the end of the pole, which he is now blowing into, is what will eventually turn into a beautiful vase. Right now, it’s a small glowing bud of glass, slowly expanding into shape.
A few more trips to the furnace, and the odd dink from a piece of metal, and he has produced a wonderfully curved piece of glassware, with five lips in glorious proportion. The whole process takes about ten minutes, and has the gathered crowd on the cusp of both awe and utter jealousy. How can someone make something so flagrantly impossible seem so easy?
Glass exhibition
But if that’s rather jaw-dropping, then the exhibition room is something else. It doesn’t take long after walking in to realise that what you’ve just seen is at the very simplistic end of the scale. The glass-making tradition of Murano goes back hundreds of years, and has been passed through generation after generation of families.
Back in the heyday of the Venetian Republic, it was considered treasonous for a glass-maker from the island to leave, such was the fear that the secrets would be passed on elsewhere.
All those years of knowledge and carefully guarded tricks of the trade have contributed to something truly special, and the showroom is as precious as any art gallery the city can muster.
Try walking through it with even the smallest bag on your back and not feel paralysed by fear. The vases, plates, chandeliers, tea sets and ornaments are so beautifully intricate and fragile that one inopportune footstep or clumsy turn could lead to a very expensive crash.
The colours are vivid, the gold trim luxurious and the price tags breathtaking. One hugely colourful vase, investigated at random, comes in at EUR3,450. And that’s the factory-direct price.
Even the more affordable items are utterly terrifying; destined to spend a lifetime hidden away in a cabinet because they’re far too expensive to serve wine in or cake on. The sort of thing bought for special occasions, only for it to eventuate that no occasion is quite special enough.
The fishing village of Burano
Murano’s spiritual twin is a bit further into the lagoon and home to one of Europe’s most revered lace-making centres. But there’s more to Burano than lovely tablecloths and octogenarian clothing.
It’s also a fishing village, and looks like it has been decorated in order to give the men a warm welcome when they return from long hours tending nets in the cold.
Each house is painted a different colour, and while they are nominally pastels, there’s nothing drab or understated about them. Deep oranges sit next to vibrant yellows, hot pinks and sun-kissed blues.
It’s an absolute delight to stroll around, with the typical Venetian bridges suddenly looking very ordinary in such bright surroundings. There’s also the church tower which rather sums the island up. Made of the thin red-brick that characterises many of Venice’s finest buildings, it leans with a noticeable slant; partly of the city, but a little bit different.
Burano shopping
The main square is home to a plethora of shops, all of which seem to operate a strict “nothing practical” policy. This means they are absolutely packed with things that you might like, fall in love with or “must have”, but nothing you’ll ever really need. Surely that’s what art is all about, though, and it’s why the lace making industry has a perfect home.
Inside one of the outlets, an old woman sits in a chair in the corner, quietly going about her craft and seemingly oblivious to anything going on. Around her, every bit of wall, table and ceiling space is covered in marvellously kitsch lace creations.
The only bit spared is a photo frame, in which Elton John can be seen with his arm round the same old woman. Her expression is one of fabulous bemusement, as if she’s wondering who the portly chap interrupting her work is.
Lace making
Lace may be a bit old-fashioned, but making it is unquestionably an art. Apparently there are seven separate stitches that take years to master, and very few manage to perfect all of them.
What tends to happen is that each woman concentrates on one stitch, with the material then passed around so that the rest can be completed. It’s a team game, not for flashy individual superstars.
It may not be as immediately wondrous as the paintings, sculpture and architecture of the city, and certainly not the glass fantasies of Murano, but it’s a heartening sign. In a city that lives in the past, the lesser-trumpeted artforms from years ago are still thriving.
Tour details
A three hour tour of Venice’s islands, including a visit to Torcello and the city’s oldest church every day from just outside St Mark’s square.
