Burano
Jenny and I break off from our group to go and enjoy a leisurely lunch at one of the quayside restaurants in Ferrovia before heading for the island town of Burano,an island in the Venetian lagoon famous for its lace.
As soon as we step off the ferry we are in love. Even if you have no particular interest in lace, Burano is a must-see destination. This is the most colourful town in the world. It has been called a photographer’s paradise. It is as if some crazy painter has decided to use every colour in his paint palette - no house is painted the same colour: crushed raspberry, moss green, eggshell blue, fairy floss pink, pistachio, burnt sienna, buttercup yellow, aquamarine, Aegean blue, even bright purple!
The brightly-painted walls extend all through the island and not just the principal tourist canals. Apparently, the colours of the houses follow a specific system dating way back. If someone wants to paint their house they must send a request to the government, who will respond allowing only the specific paint colors permitted for that part of the island.
The story goes that a long time ago, when fishermen were out fishing (and apparently drinking) all day, they needed to have distinctive colours in order to identify, in their inebriated state, their own houses.