Wednesday 24 June 2026 (Day 4)
An 08:35 departure to ‘Torcello: Hidden Treasure of the Lagoon’ excursion.
We boarded a small boat moored on Burano for the two minute transfer across the waterway to the island of Torcello. Susan Street was our guide. At Torcello we had to walk along winding canal path almost to the other end of the island. The group strung out.
Although we couldn’t see her we could hear Susan’s commentary on our Quietvoxes but it was of little use. She would comment on things “over there”, but apart from those with her at the front we had no idea whether “over there” was to the right, left or straight ahead or when we reached that view point.
Our destination was the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, a small church that pre-dates St Mark’s Basilica. We entered it, and before two-thirds of the group had passed through its narrow entrance Susan Street was commenting on what those at the front could see, and before we managed to get inside she’d already gone to the next area.
Apparently much of the church had been closed for renovation and we were told we were lucky that it had only just opened. There was a new wooden walkway up and across to the other side of the church but this was narrow so there was no opportunity to stop and look at what had been commented on earlier.
At last everyone caught up at an end wall covered with illustrations of heaven and hell. One panel showed hell’s demons tormenting those who’d stored riches instead of distributing them to the needy and were thus guilty of the sin of avarice, and I pondered on the gold used to illustrate this, and the gold and precious stones in St Mark’s Basilica and the needs they could have been alleviated.
Halfway along the walk back we stopped at a large, well shaded open air restaurant where we were served coffee, tea or soft drinks along with a plate of local biscuits.
When the shuttle boat returned to Burano we had a short explore before returning to the boat for lunch. Burano has made itself a tourist attraction by the simple, and cheap, method of painting its houses in dazzling colours.
Torcello had preceded Vienna in power and importance but now most of the buildings from that time have gone, and fewer than a dozen people live on the island. The cathedral is a relic of those times.
The morning’s excursion was a pleasant break which could have been better led, but at the end of the day it was ABC.
After lunch there was an excursion to a Murano island factory for a ‘Murano Glass Blowing Demonstration’. We didn’t go, but apparently it was impressive when the group were asked for something for the glassblower to make and he was tasked with a horse, of which he did a credible job in a short time. I saw photographs on people’s phones.
Instead I visited ‘Venissa’, the walled vineyard next to the boat. It is owned by the Bisol family of Prosecco fame and planted with the rare Dorona local variety. These produce large golden grapes and get their name from the Italian for gold – d’Oro. This is the world’s only vineyard producing varietal Dorona wine.
Signs in the vineyard tell how Gianluca Bisol was taking customers around Torcello in 2002 when he noticed an ancient grape vine growing in a garden near the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. The owner agreed to send him some grapes and he identified them as Dorona. He propagated the grapes in his vineyard, using ditches to channel away salt water and spacing vines so their roots grow sideways to avoid going down to the salt water level.
Within the walls are also a Michelin starred restaurant, ‘Il Restaurante Venissa’, a tavern, ‘Osteria Contemporanea’ and a wine shop, also a vegetable garden that supplies the restaurants.
At 16:15 the boat set sail for Chiogga and shortly afterwards Louisa Warman presented a lecture in the lounge titled ‘La Serenissima’. Such was our ignorance many of us thought it was about an opera singer but, as you probably know, it’s the nickname of Venice and means ‘The Serene’.
Louisa, an English art historian and translator who lives in Venice gave an excellent talk supported by up-to-the-minute slides. Discussing flooding she told how a team of experts came up with a plan to close the channels to the Adriatic at unusually high tides, and how this plan gathered dust for decades. When it was finally put into production, millions of Euros didn’t reach suppliers and although more than 30 politicians were arrested, they were all released without anyone facing court.
The boat was moving so Louisa could show us the artificial island built in the middle of a channel and where the barriers were raised into place. She has slides showing the barriers in action. She spoke clearly, without ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ and was a pleasure to listen to.
Dinner was Uniworld’s 50th Anniversary Golden dinner, preceded by a Golden Cocktail Party and followed by a Golden Anniversary Party Night. We were encouraged to wear something gold. I wore my bright golden shirt but we gave the party night a miss.
Overnight mooring – Chiogga port
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