MUSEO DEL MERLETTO
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A small museum worth a visit to learn more about the history of Murano lace.
This small museum is well worth a visit to learn more about the history of Burano lace. An original, scholarly museography guides visitors through the birth and development of this meticulous craft, to understand its place in the Venetian economy and society through the centuries. The first embroidered motifs were directly inspired by Byzantine mosaics in the 11th and 12th centuries. From the 15th century onwards, needlework developed on the island of Burano; motifs evolved towards rounder, less geometric animal and floral forms. Relayed in convents until the 18th century, the art of lacemaking was revived in 1872 by Countess Andriana Marcello, who founded a lacemaking school in Burano, to which this museum is attached. Nearly 200 examples of Venetian lace from the 16th and 17th centuries are on display here: tablecloths, parasols, handkerchiefs, doilies, along with archives, drawings and photographs. There are also fine 19th-century painted portraits of the female bourgeoisie of the time. You'll be dazzled by the precision of the details of the pieces on display. Take, for example, this contemporary jewel created in 2008 by Maria Bissaco: a necklace of flowers in embroidered pearls, in homage to a town in the Czech Republic. Just think of the time and, above all, patience it took to create such pieces! Finally, for young visitors eager for an educational workshop, lacemakers are sometimes present at the museum in the mornings.
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