PHOTOGRAPHING VENICE: THE LAGOON & BURANO

In Burano, like in many Mediterranean villages, men worked mostly as fishermen, while women developed special skills in working with thread and needle on the fishing nets.

In the 16th century, lace became so popular, and the demand of expert laborers grew, the women’s skills were transformed into extremely intricate and elegant laces used to decorate altar tables, tablecloths, and garments. Somehow—and with difficulty—the tradition of Burano lacemaking has survived the centuries and has been handed down to our generations, as recounted in the Burano lace museum, Museo dei Merletti.

Before World War I, young ‘rebel’ painters like Umberto Moggioli and Pio Semeghini found on this secluded island their refuge, cenacle, and inspiration: in their canvases, the ethereal surfaces of the enchanted houses evoke an almost metaphysical atmosphere.

A century ago, Tomaso Filippi, a renowned Venetian photojournalist, used his camera to document the life and working activities on these islands at the time in which progress and motorboats were changing forever the traditional rhythms of the past centuries.

Today, Burano boasts a Cooperative society of local fishermen who provide baby sea bass and sea bream to the fish farms of the Lagoon.