Trip to the Island of Burano

I took a side trip during my adventures in Venice/Murano, to have a fabulous lunch at the Black Cat Restaurant with friends on the island of Burano.

Burano is famous for its lace makers and fishermen and the amazing paint jobs on the houses of the town. Burano is one of the islands in the Venetian Lagoon that has a permanent population. The whole island is made up of buildings that look a lot alike except for the colors they are painted and it is this difference that makes visiting Burano such an artistic delight. Along with the fantastic paint jobs on all the houses, the inhabitants like to put pots of beautiful blooming flowers on their window sills, to add to the over all beauty of the island.

You have to take a boat from Murano to get to Burano that takes about 45 minutes, but the Sunday lunch I had at the Black Cat Restaurant was worth the boat ride. I have eaten at the Black Cat (called Trattoria al Gatto Nero da Ruggero in Italian) before in years past, but the meal I had during this trip to Burano was absolutely fabulous. Since the male population on Burano are fishermen, the seafood dishes at the Black Cat are as fresh as any I have had and very delicious.

I first got to know the Black Cat Restaurant when my husband and I had the opportunity to buy murrini directly from the Glass Master Mario Dei Rossi, who makes some of the finest glass murrinis in the world. Mr. Dei Rossi lives on the island of Burano in a house full of interesting art of many kinds. It is no longer possible to buy murrini directly from Mr. Dei Rossi, but you can see what is available and for sale on mostlyglass.com if you are interested in such things. I am posting a photo of one of Mario Dei Rossi’s murrini in this blog for all of those folks who have never seen one. They are artistically remarkable and highly collectible.

The lace made on Burano is very fine and unique, but is a dying art form because it is so time consuming to produce and younger generations of Burano women do not want to stay on Burano and make lace anymore. If you ever have the chance to make your way to Burano, buy some lace work there (I have myself) because it will be no more in the near future and be highly collectable.

If you have time when you visit Burano in the future, take the boat ride a little further through the lagoon and visit the island of Turcello. There is a very fine restaurant there and an old monastery with beautiful gardens, making for a quiet and pleasing side trip.