Discover Burano

Burano lies in the shallow northern lagoon about seven kilometres from Venice, beyond Murano and immediately across the water from Torcello, which is close enough to reach by a short connecting vaporetto hop.

It is not one island but five, separated by three canals and joined by bridges -- a structure that gives the place its shape: everything faces water, there is no interior, and the whole island can be crossed on foot in about fifteen minutes.

The surrounding lagoon here is barena, salt marsh that surfaces at low tide, crossed by staked channels marking the only water deep enough to navigate. That shallowness is why Burano stayed a fishing village while Venice became a port: the boats that work from here are small, flat-bottomed, and suited to water a metre deep.

The island sits low enough that acqua alta reaches the lower fondamente several times each winter, which is one practical reason its houses have been repainted so regularly for so long.