Burano is one of the islands of Venice, famous for its lace and for its colorful houses. All visitors to Burano are in fact fascinated by its thousand colors and by the houses that are reflected in the green waters of the canals, by the crooked bell tower, by the tranquility and by the fishing boats.
The typical houses of the island are mostly square in shape and are divided into two or three floors. On the ground floor there is the kitchen, the dining room and the services, on the following floors the bedrooms. The different colors of the houses, which today have become the main feature of the island, once they served to delimit the properties. However, there is a "legend" linked to the colorful character of the island, which tells that it was the fishermen who painted their house, in order to recognize it from afar during the long periods of absence due to fishing.
La history says that it was the inhabitants of Altino who, in order to escape the barbarian invasions, took refuge in the various islands of the lagoon, giving them the names of six city gates: Murano, Mazzorbo, Burano, Torcello, Ammiana and Costanziaco. The name Burano derives from the Porta Boreana so called because it is located in the North-East, direction from which the bora blows. There is a school of thought which assumes that Burano did not arise where it is today. Some ancient texts write that the island was located closer to the sea and that the inhabitants abandoned it because of the strong sea currents that flooded the land and because of the winds that corroded it. Other texts instead write that Burano has always been where it resides today and that it has always enjoyed an excellent geographical position: it seems that the continuous ventilation of the island has managed to keep away malaria. The inhabited center of Burano is still divided into five fractions connected by bridges: San Martino Destro, San Martino Sinistro, San Mauro, Giucecca and Terranova which are separated from each other by their respective canals: Rio Ponticello, Rio Zuecca and Rio Terranova.
For reach Burano with the ACTV public service it is necessary to arrive first in Murano, boarding is in front of the entrance of the station, approximately every 10 minutes with the ACTV lines for Fondamente Nove:
- Line 1 and N (Night): get off at the Ca 'D'oro stop and continue on foot for 5 minutes to Fondamente Nove and go to the boarding point for line 12.
- Lines 4.2 and 5.2: get off at the Fondamente Nove stop and go to the boarding point for line 12, across the Donà bridge.
- DM Line (Direct Murano): get off at the “Murano Faro” stop and go to boarding line 12 for Burano.
