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This is the blog of Steve Burkett of Italy, Our Italy

A Transformation With Substantial Alteration

Today we need to get out our bag of stonemason’s tools to perform some major alterations along a Venetian canal. We’ll need to cut a building in half and then reassemble it to our liking…well, at least my liking…and I hope you like it, too,.

As usual, we will start with a really, really blah snapshot and convert it for more of a fine-art look. The photo was snapped so quickly that I neglected to get the canal in the shot. But no worries, I’ve also got a firehose in my set of tools that should help us to take care of that problem. So, here goes…

The Original Snapshot

So, here it is.

A piece of this building has fallen ott!

As is often the case, the photo is not level…it droops to the right. I’ll have to jack up the right side of this brick building to alleviate that problem.

And I don’t know whether you noticed it, but there is actually a big chunk of the building that’s fallen off. Look along the right side, or in the detail photo.

I didn’t do that folks…”it was that way when I found it”…how many times have we used that line?! I’m going to use the ‘if you ignore it, it’ll go away’ mantra to resolve this major structural issue.

And there’s a big crack running from the top of the window on the right going toward the top-right corner of the photo. I’m not touching it…I’ll leave it as I found it.

Finally, that window on the right side of the photo has a really distracting reflection that needs to be removed.

The First Alteration

Building jacked up and leveled? Check.
Chunk of missing building on the right ignored? Check.
Didn’t mess with that big crack? Check.
Reflection in right-hand window removed? Check.

No missing chunk and building leveled out

A Major Rework

OK, I’m going waaaay out on a limb here, and I hope you like where I’m going next. I can only assume that like me, you don’t like that big empty space in the middle of the photo. Am I right? (That’s not a rhetorical question, by the way, so you can answer right out loud wherever you happen to be as you are reading this…maybe even shout it out.)

So, I pulled out my building-cut-in-half tool. Getting rid of the excess bricks wasn’t particularly a problem, as they fell right there into the canal. And, I like the way we were able to fit the bricks from one wide with the other…interlocking them as we went. I also decided that the second-from-the-right window needed its own reflection removed.

But, I’ll be darned…because I messed with the cut-and-rejoin stuff, that crack has opened up to a dangerous extent. Why I let you talk me into messing with this building, I’ll never know. Help me out here…OK?

Middle removed, but huge crack opened up

This’s better. I know, right? Thanks for giving me a hand. And I didn’t mean to come down on you…in my panic I felt I needed to blame someone else…and you were handy. I won’t do it again! Let’s move on.

Took Some Out…Put Some Back In

Things are now looking a little too ‘packed in’ to me. The windows are too close to the edge of the photo. So, I’ll recover some of those bricks that fell into the canal, grab some mortar, and I’ll get to work adding some brick work to each side of the photo.

Is The Tide Out, Or What?

Well, this is a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea, so maybe the tide is out, indeed. Glad I packed that firehose into my kit. So, let’s use it to fill up the latent canal.

The Final Photo

All that’s left is to give the brick work that Venetian glow and to ‘enrich’ the water a bit. And there you have it! Major rework of a Venetian building with just a small hiccup that you were able to help me repair. I kind’a wish that the original architect had designed it this way…right?

Whilst in Venice, touring the numerous beautiful churches with their fabulous artworks, many artworks are often draped over and scaffoldized as they are restored. Today, we were able to do some renovation and restoration without distracting the traveler from their pursuit of visionary pleasures.

Ciao for now,

Steve

p.s. Thanks again for helping me to repair that crack…it was my problem, and I’m grateful for your help.

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Your Murano Glass Experience

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“As I explain below, booking a tour has its benefits.”

Today, we visit a typical Murano-island glass ‘fornace’, or glass furnace…in other words, a glass making workshop. Though accompanying photos are from a recent visit to Fornace Estevan Rossetto, the process of visiting any fornace is pretty much the same. So, I’ll just focus on the generic adventure of visiting a Murano glass factory, or fornace. We’ve been to four glass factories/foundries/furnaces/fornaces over the years, and each experience has been mostly the same…and fun…and productive (i.e. we bought something that we treasure).

The Island of Murano

Glass blowing businesses in Venice are located on the island of Murano, not the main conglomerate of islands and canals known as Venice proper. The aerial photo shows the proximity of Murano to Venice. It is about a mile north of Venice, and it is about a mile in diameter.

In between Venice and Murano is the island of San Michele, which is Venice’s cemetery island.

Like Venice proper, Murano is a whole bunch of small islands linked by a lesser number of bridges. So, like the 5,000 inhabitants of Murano, you need to know your way around the labyrinth of bridges and calles to get where you want to be.

Want to venture to Murano? The absolute best way to experience the glass-blowing arts of Murano is to take a tour of one of the many facilities there. And, as I explain below, booking a tour has its benefits.

A Forced Move to the Island of Murano

Glass makers in the populous Venice proper were forced by the Venetian Republic to move to Murano because of the fear of fire. In contrast to today’s Venice, most of Venice’s buildings were wooden in the 13th century. So in 1291, off to the less-populated island of Murano they went.

The move wasn’t such a bad thing for these mobile glass makers. Their prominence soared as they became more important to Venice’s European status. Statutory privileges abounded, as they were immune from prosecution, were able to marry off their daughters to affluent Venetian families…and, they looked really nifty because they were allowed to wear swords when others were denied this privilege.

Though they looked really cool wearing a sword and having certain immunities, there was a trade off. They were physically bound to the Venetian lagoon. They were not allowed to leave for fear that their uniquely perfect glass making techniques would be shared with others. Thus, the monopoly on high quality glass making was protected for centuries…until some were lured away to conduct their trade and share their knowledge…shame on them!

Getting to Your Murano Island Glass-Making Experience

There is only one way to get between islands in the Venetian lagoon…and that’s by boat. But alas, there are many types of boats in the lagoon, as you can see here in my whimsical composite titled, ‘Busy Day on the Grand Canal’.

The most prominent for our own liquid movement opportunities are the vaporetto, gondola, and water taxi. A vaporetto is basically a water bus. It is the most prominent means of travel within Venice, and between the many other islands in the Venetian lagoon. Here are a couple of photos of vaporetti (vaporetti is plural of a vaporetto).

[As usual, you can click on an image to get a larger view]

A vaporetto is ok…and you will probably use one to get around on the Grand Canal and to get to the other islands of Venice. However, it isn’t necessary to take a vaporetto to Murano…but you might need one to get back…keep reading to see what I mean.

How about a gondola? Well, its a long ways out there to Murano (again, about a mile) and the water can get pretty choppy, and I doubt if you could talk a gondolier into making the journey…and do you want them to wait for you? I have seen gondola in choppy waters like these folks are experiencing, but not often.

The water taxi is the ultimate way to get to your glass making experience on Murano. The water taxi are sleek and comfortable. Which of these two boats is a water taxi that you would want to ride to Murano? I’ll let you figure that out!

The taxi drivers (taxiliers?) take great pride in their wooden boats and they keep them pristinely waxed, like this one reflecting a palazzo on the Grand Canal.

Here are friends Debbie and Scott enjoying the beginning of their ride to Murano.

So, how do you wrangle a water taxi ride to and from Murano?

Arranging Your Glass-Making Tour

You could take a ride on your own to Murano without taking a ‘tour’, but I’m not sure how it would go for you. Which of the glass showrooms has a glass master working today? When do you need to arrive to get the full experience? Etc?

Let’s do it this way. You will find Murano glass-making tour hawkers in various parts of Venice…primarily the places where people are most gathered. Maybe the tour is reputable, but then maybe it isn’t. Here’s the best way to arrange for you tour. Use your hotel.

The front desk at your hotel is a great place to start…or the concierge, if there is one. The hotel employees have access to glass-making facilities that they trust…after all, they want your tour to increase your trust of their hotel, not detract from it. So, just ask at the hotel the day before you want to visit Murano. Give them a general time, like morning or afternoon. And be sure to ask whether you will be provided with water taxi transportation, as that’s the whole point of going through your hotel. They will make the appropriate arrangements for you…including the exact time and place you will need to be waiting for your transportation.

Your Glass-Making Adventure

If you’ve followed the advise above, you will be whisked in comfort (no matter the weather) to a glass-making fornace of your hotel’s choice. In our experience, they are pretty much the same.

For our tour of Fornace Estevan Rossetto, you can see in the photo where we arrived…at the dock. The fornace/furnace/glass-blowing-area is at the entrance where the dock terminates into the building. You can see that the whole facility is linear…and we have experienced this at most all of the facilities. You will go from the creation area to the showroom, where you can purchase your glass keepsake.

We were greeted by this lovely young lady…perhaps named Pia…if not, my apologies.

Our first stop is the room containing the fornace. If it is a bit chilly outside, you will be comfortable within the workshop.

We’ve arrived at the beginning of the Master’s production of a vase. Between the 2nd and 3rd photo, he actually blew into the iron pipe to form a round shape, and he subsequently used one of his tools to deftly create the neck of the vase, as seen in the 3rd photo. Then, as if by magic, he removed the vase, flipped it end-for-end, and re-applied it to the pipe. In the 4th photo, you can see that he is now working on the fluted top of the vase. And in the 5th photo, he is crimping the top of the vase as a design element.

In this next series, the Master is working on a mystery piece. He first goes to the furnace where a glob of glass is daubed onto the blow pipe, as seen in the 2nd photo. In photos 3 and 4, he begins to create a still unrecognizable shape. You can see the almost completed horse in the 5th photo. After bending legs this way and that (yes, it is still malleable), and firmly setting the horse down upon a flat surface to be sure that the two hind legs and the tail make a stable setting (no pun intended on the word ‘stable’), we see the finished product, along with its cousin completed just a bit later. In all, it took the Master less than 5 minutes to complete one horse.

I’ve used the term ‘Master’ a few times, and the term is not used lightly. It takes years to become a Master glass craftsman, after creating hundreds of lower-quality touristy pieces as an Apprentice.

Now, to the Showroom

After watching a Master create something right before your eyes, you will be directed to the showroom. Here you can see hundreds of pieces created at the particular fornace. Here are some photos from the Fornace Estevan Rossetto website.

The Masters of Murano are most famous for their chandeliers. And, they are surely most excellent works of art…and they cast nice light within your room, for sure. Here are a few photos of the Fornace Estevan Rossetto Murano-glass chandeliers.

And here are a couple that we had in our bedrooms during our last visit to Italy.

Beautiful! I know, right?

Getting Back to Venice-Proper

Of course, as you know, you can always take a vaporetto back. But, there is a better way. However, this better way can be a bit expensive.

What’s the trick? Buy something in the showroom. I’m not sure exactly how much you have to buy, but we’ve managed a water-taxi ride back each time…well, on the last trip we wanted to eat lunch on Murano after our showroom purchase, so Fornace Estevan Rossetto provided their boat to take us a ways for lunch at Trattoria Busa alla Torre. After lunch, we amble-shopped toward the closest vaporetto stop to return to Venice.

So, what does it take to get a water taxi ride back? Here are some things we have purchased over the years that earned us that ride.

The item in the first photo is 15” across and 12” high. Our salesfriend, Alivesi, suggested that we could use it as a margarita glass! Alivesi had this bowl etched on the bottom with ‘BURKETT Murano 18-9-1997’…he said that this would make it an heirloom! (BTW in Italy when writing out a date in digital format, the day comes before the month) The white-glass chalice or bowl in the 4th photo is one of the most exquisite pieces that we’ve ever seen. The white-on-clear rods had to be built up in two different patterns before all was expertly fused together into this work of art. I’m going to the dining room to gaze at this particular piece……OK, I’m back.

Speaking of Alivesi, here is a humourus anecdote from our trip in 1997.

During the 1997 trip to Murano, our friends Mike and Judy Ponsford were with us. We had a morning tour of one of the fornace, starting about 10am. After visiting the workshop, we entered the showroom. When Alivesi recognized that we were going to be purchasers rather than just lookers, he brought out his most effective negotiation tool…a bottle of nice red wine. Who cared that it was now about 10:45am? Not us! Mike and Judy had picked out about a dozen items for consideration. Mike would put a few items in a cluster and ask, “How much?”. He repeated this a half-dozen times with different clusters. He finally reached around the whole grouping of items and quoted a price with which he would be comfortable. Alivesi was taken aback a bit and suggested that, “Signore Ponsford, your arms are much too long!”. To complete the story, after payment and providing shipping information (don’t try to pack your purchase in your luggage), we went out onto the dock to await our water taxi ride back into Venice. Alivesi came out onto the dock to let us know that the boat would be here in about 10 minutes, and then he asked, “Would you like red or white while you wait?”…we opted for another round of red! This was a truly fun adventure to the island of Murano.

I hope you enjoyed our tour to a fine-glass producing fornace. If it isn’t absolutely clear to you how to arrange for and get out to your tour, I would be happy to make the arrangements when we are there together…we enjoy every visit to Murano!

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Shop Here: Cavalier in Venice

When we travel, we are often creatures of habit. That habit is one where we return to places we enjoy. Whilst in Venice, returning to Cavalier is routine for us. We just love this cozy, golden, little shop.

The red arrow marks the location of Cavalier in the aerial view of Venice, below. For reference, that’s the Accademia bridge across the Grand Canal to the left. [For those in the know, it doesn’t look like the Accademia bridge, which is a simple wood decked bridge. The bridge has been reworked to modernize it, and to eliminate the attachment of those irritating locks one sees hanging here and there. So, the version you see here during Google’s photo shoot has construction scaffolding.]

The large vacant area to the lower-right of the arrow is Campo Santo Stefano. This is not a piazza, as there is only one piazza in Venice, and that is Piazza San Marco.

Here is the business card for Cavalier. The owners are Gianni and Alberto. We have not met Gianni, as Alberto has been in attendance on our visits.

And here is their cozy little shop’s exterior. And cozy, it is.

So, what is it that Gianni and Alberto do whilst at their cozy shop? As it says on their business card above, they are a ‘gilding’ artisan workshop. Specifically, they apply gold leaf to gild just about anything, but in particular to picture frames and small carvings.

You will instantly take a liking to Alberto. Here you can see friendly Alberto with a soon-to-be gold-leafed picture frame. It looks as if this frame has had a past life of framing.

I returned to the shop after a bit of lunch to check on Alberto’s progress. Here you can see that he has made great strides in his work.

And, what holds the gold leaf to the wood work? Alberto explains below that it is rabbit. Yes it is a rabbit glue within Alberto’s glue pot. I have no idea which part of a rabbit produces glue, or whether it is given up freely by the rabbit, but is sure works well.

On this trip, here is our purchase…a little putti (to adorn our Venetian inspired guest bathroom, which is complete with Venetian plaster walls, applied by none other than my artist-daughter Alyson).

As is always the case in Italy, things are wrapped as if the wrapping were as important as what’s being wrapped. We have never wanted for traveling protection of our purchased treasures.

And yes, our cute little putti made it home safely, and is now ensconced for our guests to admire.

And, here is another cutie, purchased at Cavalier on our most recent trip. This purchase was inspired by my granddaughter Kylie…who i a spitting image of this putti!

So, what should you do whilst in Venice? Do what we do time and again and go spend some time with Alberto (or maybe even Gianni) at Cavalier, of course.

When you visit Cavalier, hit me up for one of their charming putti, as I’ll probably be there visiting with Alberto. In the meantime…

Ciao for now,

Steve

Transforming with a Flip-Flop

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Strange title above…I know, right? But, after looking below, you’ll see why I chose that title.

We were on the island of Murano. Murano is one of many islands in the Venetian lagoon…it is one of the closest and most active. Murano is the island where centuries ago, the glass foundries were exiled because of fire danger in the main part of Venice. So yes, we were on Murano to purchase Venetian blown glass. But, that’s another story.

The Snapshot

After lunch, we wandered a bit on our way to the vaporetto stop for our return to Venice proper. Here is what I saw and photographed along the way. It’s just an average snapshot…a bit skewed, with a whole lot of blah. But, I liked the potential for symetry.

Step 1

My plan was to work the potential symmetry into the final version of the photo. So, here is step 1, which is to duplicate the left side of the photo and to use it replace the right side of the photo, as you see here. This is the ‘flip-flop’ aspect of this transformation. Then there are those darned electrical conduits and hanging wires…poof, and they’re gone.

Step 2

Obviously, I don’t want a complete replacement where it is obvious that I just flipped one side to the other. So, I removed one of the planters at the right edge of the photo, removed a shadow, and removed the mailbox on the left wall. The flip-flop isn’t so obvious now.

Step 3

The partial windows at the top of the photo, just above the planter box, bother me. So, out they go! And its time to increase the mood of this rainy day afternoon. Darkening the photo helps here. And the arched window shutters were a bit blah, so I worked on them a bit, too.

Final Step

The final step was to provide a bit of lighting here and there to draw focus to the center of the photo. And, since pigeons are the most ubiquitous element of Venice (well, maybe its actually the water), I decided that they needed a bit of illumination, also.

Details

Speaking of those pigeons, here is a closer view. Oh, what a life to be out in the rain. They just seem to fluff up their feathers to get more insulation and then hunker down a bit to endure the afternoon shower.

And then there’s that plaque above the shuttered windows. A bird (perhaps a peacock?) attacking a rabbit…that’s the way I see it. What’s that about, anyway?

That’s it for today’s quick transformation. Tune in next week to see where we wind up in the adventure of Italy, Our Italy.

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Eat Here: Da Divo

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This hidden gem is in an out-of-the-way part of Siena, as you can see in the photo, below. If you can find Via Franciosa, look for number ‘25’. Making your way from the Piazza del Campo (at top left) to the Duomo (cathedral), you are almost there.

The red arrow marks the location of Da Divo

The unassuming entrance from the small street to Da Divo does not reveal what lies within…and below.

Scott suggests that it’s time to come in and eat

Da Divo is a most interesting restaurant. Its history is that it used to be an Etruscan dwelling or tomb. Going once again to a restaurant’s website, we see the description of their restaurant as “To dine in history of a suggestive and unique atmosphere, which goes from the Middle Ages to the Etruscans”. So, there you have it…right?

The Layout

After you enter through the street-level entrance of the restaurant, you will find three subterranean levels of the restaurant. In this photo, I am standing on the first subterranean level, with the entrance level to the top right. Down the steps to the left is the second subterranean level, and then further down (where the bare-bulb light glows) is the third subterranean level.

This is underground level two of Da Divo.

Photo taken from level 3, showing level 4

In this photo, you see the lowest, or third subterranean level, with couples enjoying the quiet atmosphere.

Dinner Time

OK, enough about the layout of the multi-level restaurant. Before we move to the food, it is time for that time-honored toast to friends, both present and absent…which includes you!

Here is a sampling of the good eats you find at Da Divo.

Cooked rice of risotto gathering up cheesy goodness

Here we had our first look at a unique way to make risotto. Normally, one will stir in Parmesan cheese when the rice is completely cooked. However, here at Da Divo, we see that the cooked rice is placed into a scooped out wheel of Parmesan cheese, gathering cheesy goodness as the rice is stirred. Man-oh-man…it was really yummy!

A Parting Glance

As we enjoyed our meal at Da Divo, I made the mistake of looking up. What I saw was the structural system that was holding up the roof. I would suggest that it has been doing its job for many, many years…so, don’t worry about the structural integrity as you dine. And, be sure to try the risotto.

The roof has been steadily sitting there for many years…not to worry

So, there you have one more meal in beautiful and tasty Italy. As you sit watching your risotto being stirred whilst it is in that scooped out wheel of Parmesan, look up at the face of the one doing the stirring…it just may be me!

Ciao for now,

Steve

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