Day 264 - Celebrating our 30th anniversary with an island tour

30 years! Wow, what a wonderful adventure it has been so far.

It's a scorcher today. Although, I think it was even hotter in Toronto on the day we got married than it is today in Italy.

Breakfast at the Venissa. Yes, that is cake in the
middle for breakfast.

The Venissa provides an absolutely glorious start to each morning of our stay, and today was no exception. Our waiter in the mornings has been Matteo, a truly delightful, friendly and charming man who we took an instant liking to. Not only could he make a mean cappuccino, he was excellent at knowing just when you might need another one without being intrusive. But more important, he was a great conversationalist if you wanted a chat, and he and Phil chatted about everything.

Phil with his new friend, the
wonderful Matteo.

We enjoyed lovely breakfast of fresh baked breads, homemade jam, fresh fruit, ham and cheese on a table Matteo had set today in the shade at the front of the hotel so we could watch the world travel ever so slowly by. Why would you ever want to leave?

After breakfast, we decided to make it a day of exploring a couple of the lesser visited islands in the lagoon. We hopped on the vaporetto at the stop near our hotel, and took it to the next island, Torcello.

Phil braves the Ponte del Diavolo (Devil's Bridge), perhaps so named because of its lack of railings?
The name is actually thought to come from either a family name, or from a legend in which a local girl,
anxious to be reunited with her Austrian lover ,makes a pact with the Devil to provide him with
the souls of seven children to be exchanged on the bridge.

At first glance, it's difficult to believe that at one time Torcello was a more powerful centre for trade than Venice. Some say it was home to almost 30,000 people, although recent archaeological findings suggest that was closer to 3,000. It was first settled about 450 BC due to mainlanders trying to avoid raids, although there is evidence that canals and passageways existing since the second century. Torcello had close ties both culturally and for trade with Constantinople, but its distant position allowed it to remain autonomous.

The island is surrounded by vast areas of salt marshes, and it is these marshes that led to both its economic boom and its eventual decline. The island's main industries were fishing and ship building. By the 14th century, land levels had lowered and the marshes become increasingly difficult to navigate. Add to that several major outbreaks of plague and growing issues with malaria, and the population decline also took a toll. Torcello's palazzi,12 parishes and 16 cloisters have for the most part disappeared. The Venetians took away most of the building material for use elsewhere.

Today, the long canal from the vaporetto stop leads to one small palazzo with the cathedral, church, the town's former council chamber and archives (which house amuseum), and the nearby basilica and campanile. The island has about 10 permanent residents, including the priest of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, founded in 639. Somewhat surprisingly, there are several lovely looking restaurants along the canal edge and B&Bs...would make a lovely place for a small wedding, if anyone reading this is in the market. ;-)

We took the vaporetto back to Burano, stopping en route to pick up a grapefruit gelato (which upon eating on our first day here, I immediately became addicted to), then hopped on another vaporetto to a stop near the town of Treporti. From here, we had to switch to another vaporetto to the island of Sant'Erasmo. This sparsely populated island is the second largest in the lagoon, and it is here the most of the fruits and vegetables are grown for use by the residents of the city of Venice. The island is famous for its artichokes, but zucchini, peas, lettuce, basil and more are also grown here. The local honey is even derived from the flowers of artichoke plants.

Despite the strong, hot sun, we walked the road to a restaurant located on a beach overlooking Venice and the Lido, passing through the countryside en route. 

Our restaurant for lunch was the Al Bacan, where we enjoyed an artichoke pizza (of course) and fitto misto (a mix of battered seafood and vegetables), along with a very large bottle of sparkling water (a must on these hot days) and a couple of local beers (another must, despite Phil's declaration that he is not drinking ales).

Then we took the slow journey back to Mazzorbo managing to avoid all the vaporettos filled with tourists heading back to Venice at the end of the day.

Later in the evening, we strolled into Burano for an evening meal to celebrate our anniversary. Being a Monday, many of the restaurants were closed, but the Trattoria da Romano was open. We got a table for two outside under a large awning and ordered a bottle of Prosecco. The sky began to cloud over and looked almost brown off to our left. We asked the waiter if he thought rain was coming, and he shrugged but said he thought it would blow by. Lucky for us, it didn't. We ate our delicious seafood dinner with a beautiful roaring thunderstorm passing over us. We kept dry under the awning, and by the time we had finished our dessert, the rain had stopped.

It was magical ... just like the every day of the last 30 years.