My relationship with Italy is a true love-hate one. I’ve been to Italy on several occasions, and each time I would swear to God I’d never come back, well at least not during peak seasons like Easter holidays. And guess what? I would keep visiting Italy, generally in the peak season. My latest visit was in 2015, in the last week of August for a family trip to a camping resort on the Adriatic Coast. A place not far from the Venetian Lagoon made a day trip to Venice inevitable.
I had visited Venice for the first time in 2003 during the carnival weekend—try to imagine the crowds! Some 12 years later, I found the summer crowd in Venice not as overwhelming, but the island’s flair a lot different. The entire place was now full of “Made in China” souvenir shops, leaving barely any traces from the authentic mask ateliers where I had imagined myself as a trainee learning about the fine details of a historical handicraft. Too late to become a mask-maker. Whatever. Slightly disappointed, we hopped on a Vaporetti (water bus) to Burano, one of the tiny islands in the Venetian Lagoon.
The Venetian Island of Burano is famous for its lace products (be aware, Made in China available here as well), but the real deal is its brightly painted houses. With colors representing every hue of the rainbow, Burano is a real feast for the eyes.
Every house in Burano shines in a different color due to some practical reasons. Legend has it that the houses were originally painted in a wide variety of bright colors so that the fisherman could see them easily even in the thick fog, find their own lot and “park” without incidents.
Even today each group of houses is allowed to be certain colors that fit the island’s special color scheme. According to local regulation, if a resident wants to paint their house, they must submit a request to the authorities, and in response, they get a list of the specific colors permitted for that house lot.
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| A gas station in Burano |
Italy means loads of tourists at any time of the year, which inevitably means long queues. Need proof? Look at those queuers at Piazza San Marco in Venice, awaiting their turn for picking food 🙂
If you feel like escaping the crowds though, consider taking a short Vaporetti ride to one or the other island in the Venetian Lagoon, just like the most picturesque Burano. A couple hours spent wandering around the island in serenity will surely nourish your soul, and perhaps ultimately fix your relationship with Italy.
