One thing is certain. Many of the ‘arts and crafts’ considered of importance to our ancestors are fading into oblivion or slowly being forgotten in the age of modernity. Although small pockets of adherents still continue to practice their skills, by and large, the general population may not even know that the ‘art’ (or craft) exists. Take lace making for instance. This is an ancient tradition dating back to the 14th century when noblewomen would sit for hours plying their needles to produce exquisite pieces of intertwined cotton or silk. It can still be found, on the Venetian Island of Burano.

Burano is a small collection of islands about 3 miles northeast of Venice, a 30-40 minute vaporetto (water taxi) trip from Saint Mark’s Square. The residents of Burano like color. Their houses are a rainbow of colorful hues — yellow, orange, lavender, pink, green, blue — giving the island a very cheerful appearance in the bright sunlight.

Historically, men on Burano fished; women made lace and have done so since the 14th century although the art itself has even more ancient roots. Legend has it that Leonardo da Vinci brought samples of handmade lace to Venice from the town of Lefkara in Greece. It quickly became the favorite of European royalty and the nobility.

The wife of the Venetian Doge, Morosina Morosini, was so fond of lace clothing that she established a workshop on Burano in the 1300s to ensure a steady supply. Today it continues to be one of the few remaining places where lace is produced as it has been for generations. The lace is made in limited quantities by a group of older ladies who meet in a sewing circle. The design is etched onto a stack of five layers of thin tissue paper. It can take six women, each doing a different stitch, up to 20 days to finish a small piece of lace. When it is done, the paper is torn away leaving only a delicate cobweb of lace which is incorporated into a larger piece of work.

Sadly, much of the lace sold in Burano is imported and machine-made. To see (and buy) traditional handmade lace, visit the Museo del Merletto or Lace Museum, in the old lace-making school (Scuola di Merletti) which contains an impressive collection of Venetian and Burano lace, some dating to the 16th century. It is here that the sewing circle meets, amongst the tools of lace-making to continue the tradition of generations.

IF YOU GO
To get to Burano from Venice, take the LN (Lagoon North) vaporetto line from the Fondamenta Nuova stop on the main island of Venice to Burano (www.venicewelcome.com/actv/vaportetto.htm), Museo del Merletto is at Piazza Garibaldi 1, Burano; www.museiciviciveneziani.it) Closed on Tuesdays.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Diana Russler