Associazione Progetto Recycle

Burano and the colors of the rainbow to give some light in these strange days. Since we cannot move, we continue with our photographic walks in an environment that is becoming more and more sustainable day by day.

Burano and the Venetian lagoon where Nature is regaining its place

Some info

Writing about Venice and its Lagoon is not very simple. Venice and the Lagoon, and the other islands like Burano inside the lagoon, are part of a complex ecosystem with a lot of different aspects. The heterogeneity of what we call Venice is clearly visible by clicking on this link. 

Mestre, on the mainland, is representing the Industrial / Commercial part of the area.
Venezia, the unique city, is the touristic, overcrowded aspect, as opposed to Lio Piccolo, the rural area of the Lagoon, where quiet and nature are the absolute protagonists.

Venice, the crowd and the parties of Carnival just a month ago, on one side and the silence of the nature on the other.

Nature that is claiming its place back, now that we must #stayhome. If you think for a moment… Human Being is THE virus … We must remember this when this pandemic will come to an end, we must remember the sound of silence and the fresh air. It is now time to reconsider our production processes in a sustainable way. 

But now let’s go to Burano and its houses as colorful as a rainbow

Burano

If you look at the maps, you will see a lot of small islands in the Venetian Lagoon. On the Islands, one part of the Venetian economy is still active, even if some of them are abandoned now. Today we will reach Burano, the village on the island further away from Venice.

To reach Burano you have obviously to use a ferry, a “vaporetto”

You will understand where Burano is when you will start to see a stain of colors over the water. Because this is what Burano is: a crayon box with people living inside. You can get lost in the alleys and along the canals of this colorful little Venice. The sense of orientation is lost after a few minutes in the alleys that seem all the same, even if each one is different from the other.

To find your way look at the Bell Tower, that is clearly visible from every alley of the village. Inclined of an impossible angle, like a kind of Venetian “Pisa’s Tower”, it seems to be the only building that has its natural color.

And finally when, following the bell tower, you reach the main square, you understand what Burano is famous for. Do you know what is produced in this island?

In Burano fantastic craftswomen produce laces. They have always produced laces in Burano . The lace school was founded in Burano in 1875, and after three years it already had more than one hundred students. Even today, the Burano laces are among the most exclusive and expensive in the world.

We can stop now but we will be back. It is really worth visiting Burano and its rainbow, but let’s always remember all its ecosystem. A fragile ecosystem that must be respected and preserved. We will talk about that soon

I am taking inspiration from recent events in order to talk about Venice, the Venetian lagoon and sustainable tourism.

In recent months there has been a lot of talk about Venice, high water (high tide correctly) and lagoon. The extent of the last high water made more evident than ever how a great and dangerous change is taking place. Taking into account sustainability is now something we owe to the environment. And to Venice as well.

Well, I am not an expert and I do not want to talk about things I do not know. What I want is to reassure all friends, especially foreigners: no, there is no risk of drowning. Unless you swim in the canal, or jump off a bridge, but this goes under the name of imbecility. At most, if you like walking barefoot in the high water you could meet a pantegana (big, big rat) and get the “samoro nero” (distemper) otherwise it’s all right, you can continue to visit Venice. I am joking… but this is to highlight some tourists’ bad behaviours . A little more respect would be really appreciated. Ok, I am a bit mean but we all have – as human beings – our faults towards Venice and towards the planet.

Once again I need to start from the high water and from all the controversies that have arisen for the fundraising launched by an Italian TV. The perception is “in Venice they are all rich”. I do not have any evidence of that and, just to make it clear “Venice is a world heritage site” that’s it. The funding went to Pellestrina,  which is a part of Venice, but certainly it is not in the historic center. There is a whole world that lies outside the well known tourist destinations. A beautiful and (almost …) uncontaminated world, a natural environment that must be enhanced and visited, always with a great respect . We need to preserve it.

This is just the prelude for telling a story of a different environment, with its own poetry. An environment that in my opinion gives its best in the winter period when, with a clear sky, the mountains embrace the sea. Today we will visit a small part of the Venetian lagoon which is part of the Cavallino Treporti tourist park

Lio Piccolo

Only a few people are here in winter. It is a bit difficult to find a restaurant where to eat, but the scenery is absolutely amazing and you can settle for a sandwich. So here we are to discover Lio Piccolo

Lio Piccolo a village in the lagoon, thus reads the tourist information sign. It is actually a tiny little village. Some houses, Palazzo Boldù, the Church of Santa Maria della Neve, the bell tower. Picturesque, but its main strength is the landscape of the lagoon, the labyrinth of canals and the quiet reigning everywhere

Thanks to this peace, pink flamingos have returned – or maybe they have just arrived, I don’t know-. Flamingos are not the only species living there. In the whole area there are a lot of birds, we saw many egrets and herons. We were able to see flamingos only from a distance. It was too late to attempt to get closer as the sun was going down. We will try again.

And it is precisely at sunset that the colors become spectacular. It’s a triumph of light and shadow, the red of the sky reflected on the water, a fishing net that is “in the shadow of the last sun”

The lagoon and sustainability

Isn’t it worth moving a bit from Venice to admire what surrounds it? Venice without the lagoon would not exist. The lagoon is a complex system that must be preserved, enhanced and people must be aware of it. And above all they must respect it. High water, indeed granda as the one in November, is only one of the problems that made the world discover how fragile Venice is. But there are other too. Just as an example: the increase of the water temperature of the lagoon and the consequent change in fish fauna. Climate change, climate crisis are issues that we have already discussed in Q11 but it is worth mentioning them again.

As an association we like to let people know about our territory and the Italian territory in general . We strongly believe in sustainable tourism. A slow tourism that moves on foot or by bicycle. And these areas of the lagoon are more than suitable – we expect (only) people to be respectful. We don’t ask for much. So let’s take a walk in Venice and Venetian lagoon. Enjoy your walk! Have fun, walk and listen to the silence

All you need is  a flower – 100 hours for the environment.

This is the title of the event developed  thanks to the “stubbornness” of Movimento Caparbia, and a bit of our stubbornness too- , a really “big” event that brings together conferences, music, culture and recreational activities.

It will take place from June 5 to June 9 in the area of “terraferma” which is not far from Venice: Marghera and Mestre

The events of last October and November, which brought considerable damage to the Venetian forest heritage, to the heart of Venice, to the coasts – and affected many other areas of our territory – have greatly affected us. They  have added greater evidence to what we have already under our eyes for several years.

Climate change, air pollution, in particular the area of ​​the Po valley, the accumulation of waste, the depletion of natural resources, the melting of glaciers, the summer drought are some of the many alarm bells for the state of the environment.

We have decided to do something and have therefore brought together the forces of  Progetto Re-Cycle and Movimento Caparbia. In a short time we have managed to organize this  awareness-raising event. “All you need is a flower – 100 hours for the environment –

The program

When: from 5 to 9 June 2019

Where:

Negozio Piave 67

Al Vapore