My friend Piero is picking me up for a tour of the lagoon.
Venetians love their boats. For Piero,
it's his escape.
He spends his favorite hours away from the crush of tourists, in what he calls
his "parallel Venice." "When did you have a boat from the beginning?"
"My first boat?
My first boat...
six years old." "Seriously?"
"This boat mean the freedom,
the freedom to escape from the
stress life
when the town is so crowded, there is a lot of people,
when there is a lot of tourism,
is a perfect thing
to escape from."
"You step in this boat,
you have your parallel Venice." "Exactly."
The lagoon is protected from the open sea by a string of low-lying islands.
Until modern times,
the city was accessible only by boat.
Then, in 1846, this causeway with train tracks— and a highway added later
by Mussolini—connected the city to the rest of Italy.
Well-marked channels are dredged through the shallow lagoon.
Boats of all kinds shuttle back and forth.
Our next stop is Murano.
Venice is famous for its glass, for centuries blown here
on the island of Murano.
A 13th century law restricted the dangerous glass furnaces to Murano
to prevent fires on the main island and also to protect the secrets of
Venetian glassmaking—historically vital to the local economy.
Today glass is still big business as tourists come here in droves.
While savvy shoppers know the cheap knickknacks are most likely from China,
the venerable art form is alive and well as you'll see in some of the elaborate showrooms.
You can witness the traditional mastery of this craft in adjoining workshops,
which welcome the public.
These artisans are from families of glassblowers which go back many generations.
If you don't have a Venetian friend with a boat,
water taxis
zip quickly from island to island, while regular ferryboats connect Venice with
neighboring lagoon communities in a more relaxed and less expensive way.
Our next lagoon stop is
Burano.
Burano, with its pastel façades gracing the lagoon, was first a fishing town.
Later, it thrived as a lace-making center.
Today, it's popular with visitors for its gentle ambiance...and lace shops.
Once sleepy,
its main center is now crowded with tourists.
Locals say,
"anything with a door is a shop."
Burano's lace making heritage goes back 500 years.
Shops proudly display these painstakingly produced works of art.
Rather than using bobbins, women make Burano's beautiful lace with only
needles and thread.
Meticulously following time honored patterns, these traditions
continue to be passed from older generations to the next.
As the day winds down, shops close and the crowds return to Venice.
Stay and wander Burano's back lanes for a peaceful slice of the Venetian lagoon
most visitors miss.
Earlier today, this place was packed with tourists. I'm here in the early evening
and I've got it all to myself.
All over Italy, escape the heat and the crowds by sightseeing
late in the day.