Murano, Burano, What’s the Difference?
As I mentioned before, we had both read the book “City of Falling Angels”, by John Berendt and one of the most intriguing players in the book was a man named Archimede Seguso, a descendant of one of the first families of glass blowers in Venice. So on our third day, (or was it our fourth?) we hopped a on the vaporetto and headed over to Murano, motoring by the quiet but stately elegance of Isola San Michele.
Historically, Murano had started out as a fishing port and a center for trade. In 1291 the Venice city council decided that the risk of fire from the glass blowers was too great and moved their industry out of Venice and to Murano. This transition happened very quickly and so to make up for it, the glass blowers were given special privileges, such as their daughter’s being able to marry into high society, even though they were essentially industry workers. With this, as in all things, there was a further price; the glassblowers themselves were not permitted to leave the island and their secrets were never to be revealed, upon pain of death.
Murano is remarkably like Venice, only industrialized. There are a number of glass blowers, but we sought the Seguso shop. We strolled all over Murano, only finding the Seguso shop exactly in the opposite direction in which we had originally partaken. We had been told in Venice that it was impossible to get into the showroom of Seguso without an appointment. We had also been lucky enough to purchase an original Seguso piece from one of their Venice stores. Having it in our head that it would be nice to have a photo of the workshop, we hung around the front of it trying to ascertain where the best shot would be. While we were doing this, a very distinguished, well dressed (well, they are really all very well dressed here- but he was particularly so) went up to the door and proceeded to unlock it. We both kind of stood there, staring at him, trying to figure out who he was. As quickly as he appeared, he disappeared inside the door, closing it behind him. We smiled at each other took a couple of more shots and turned to leave when we heard the door behind us open and a voice in broken English call out, asking if we had an appointment. We shook our heads saying no we didn’t, but that we had purchased a piece of Seguso’s glass and had just wanted to get a photo of the workshop. We were then asked if we would like to see the inside, to which of course we stated we would love to. The door opened and we were beckoned inside. The lady we followed took us to an office and asked us to wait. We were soon greeted by a man we both knew had to be Archimede’s grandson, Gianni, confirmed by his introduction. We were thrilled and became even more so when he offered to take us to the showroom. It was amazing- there were literally thousands of pieces that had been created by his grandfather. Gianni was an absolutely charming, polite and very kind host. It amazed me to think that this young man had the familial history that he did- I mean, to live everyday in the footprints of your ancestors, to know you are upholding a family tradition which literally was passed down hundreds of years- it really must be staggering. To have been allowed inside for a viewing, particularly one that was unannounced was such an honour for us, and we were truly grateful to them for taking the time for us, and making our trip to Murano worth it.
From Murano, we hopped another vaporetto and headed over to the island of Burano, largely a textile island, with the primary industry being lace making. There are still a few shops where they make the lace by hand, but they are hard to find. What captured our hearts and imaginations here were the beautifully painted houses. Each one painted a different color than that of its neighbour, it really just exudes a feeling of quiet optimism.
Although spending the day on one or both of these islands means losing a day in Venice, to my mind, it is defintely worth it.
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