Glass Blowing, Lace Making, and a Stray Cat (Day 43 - GToE)

Today turned out to be better day weather-wise than expected. According to the weather page yesterday, it was supposed to rain all day today. I had planned to make it a museum/church day, but when I saw that the weather was going to cooperate today, I changed my plans. 

The day started with my touring the Accademia, which is Venice's top art museum packed with the best of Venetian Renaissance art - artists such as the Bellini family, Titian, Tintoretto, and such. So yeah, lots of Madonnas and Jesuses and other Biblical scenes. Although there were a few canvases that I liked (see photo). Why do I keep viewing Renaissance art when it's not my favorite? Because I'm in Italy and if I don't look at Renaissance art, I might as well go home.

When I left the museum and saw that it was not going to rain after all, I decided that instead of museum-hopping, I would island hop today. I had planned on island hopping tomorrow, but in Venice you take the weather as you get it. Today, I joined a boat tour group which visited the islands of Milano, Burano, and Torcello. All three islands are located just north of Venice.

Inhabited by just 5,000 residents, Murano is known for its superior glass-sculpting artisans. When the tour group arrived at the island, we immediately entered a glass factory and watched two artisans create works of art right before our eyes. The first artisan created a beautiful glass-blown vase, utilizing just some hand tools. The next artisan created a pretty and delicate horse that was about 6" in height and it took him all of 30 seconds to create this amazing piece (see photo). I was completely floored by these experts. In Murano, becoming a glass artisan is a family tradition, skills that have been handed down generation after generation. After making a little purchase in the store, I wandered a little around town, taking photos and visiting a nearby church.

The boat then left Murano to head to...Burano, a small fishing village, which is known for its delicate lace making and its multicolored homes. The village has approximately 2,500 residents. The tour group entered one of the lace making establishments in order to view lace making in action. Sadly, Burano's lace making is a dying art. Beautiful hand-crafted, delicate lace items will probably so be a thing of the past as the older Burano lace makers are dying off and the younger generations of women aren't interested in continuing this tradition. After viewing the lace maker at work, I took a walk around the village and snapped photos of some of the prettiest and most colorful houses you will ever see. I even found a cute kitty to photograph and pet. This is a very sweet village - although I cannot imagine living in any place as small as 2,500 residents.

Our final stop of the day was Torcello. In its heyday in the 10th century, Torcello was one of the most powerful of the Venetian island, even more powerful than Venice. At that time, 10,000 people inhabited this island. Today, the island's population is a mere 17 people. No, that is not a typo - seventeen people! Interestingly, there are 2 churches and 4 restaurants on the island, which seems like a lot for 17 people. Clearly, the island is now dependent on the tourist industry. Ernest Hemingway spent some time there in 1948, writing parts of Across the River and Into the Trees. The novel contains representations of Torcello. I like the cool Devil's Bridge (see photo) and the tale behind the bridge:

Legend has it that during the Austrian domination over Venice, a young lady fell in love with an Austrian soldier, who was subsequently killed by her family as they opposed their unpatriotic relationship.

The grief stricken girl sought the aid of a witch who agreed to meet her on the island of Torcello – an isolated place and ideal for magic rituals. The witch called upon the devil who brought the young Austrian back to life and so the two lovers were united again. But it is well known that the devil doesn’t do anything for nothing so he made the witch promise that for the next seven years she would bring him on Christmas Eve the soul of a dead child who had recently died.

The witch died soon after in a fire and was not able to keep to her pact with the devil. It is said that to this day on the eve of 24 December the devil comes to the Devil’s Bridge in Torcello in the guise of a black cat and claims in vain the souls he was promised.

Otherwise I found the island to be particularly uninspiring but I did fall in love with a beautiful smoky gray stray cat, which I almost tucked into my bag to bring home. Although how I was going to travel with a feral cat for the next 3 weeks, I do not know. Stupidly, I forgot to take a photo of the pretty kitty who allowed me to pet her. 

The tour boat then returned to Venice, where I took a quick jaunt around San Giorgio Maggiore, which is yet another small island that can be viewed from St. Mark's Square. A rather uninspiring church is on the island. I then returned to my hostel for a quick rest before heading out for some dinner. I had thought I might do something after dinner but I ate WAY too much at dinner and felt too nauseated to do anything but come back to the hostel and rest.

As always, you can see all of my Day 43 photos on my GToE photo site.