Page 153 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Venice & The Veneto

Venice area b y area  151

THE LAGOON ISLANDS

Shrouded in myth and superstition, safeguard the lidi from erosion.
the lagoon was once the preserve of experiments with tidal barriers
fishermen and hunters. but marauders continue in an effort to combat the
in the 5th and 6th centuries aD drove ever-present threat of flooding (see p55).
mainland dwellers to the safety of the The thriving communities that once
marshy lagoon (see p44). Here, they lived and traded here are long gone.
conquered their watery environment, Many of the islands, formerly used as
which was protected from the open sea sites for monasteries, hospitals or powder
by thin sandbanks (lidi), created from silt factories, are now abandoned, but
washed down by the rivers of the Po Delta. a handful of them are undergoing
in the 13th century the first murazzi were development – one as an international
built – seawalls of angular stone which university, another as an exclusive resort.

Sights at a Glance
1 Torcello pp154–5 8 Santa Maria della Grazia
2 Burano 9 San Lazzaro degli Armeni
3 San Francesco del Deserto 0 Lido
4 Murano q San Clemente
5 San Michele w Lazzaretto Nuovo
6 Giudecca e Poveglia
7 San Servolo

Key
Central Venice
Major road

Tessera Aeroporto di
Venezia Marco Polo
Aeroporto Torcello
S14
Canale Osellino Mazzorbo Burano
S14
Laguna
V eneto
Punta Vela
Treporti
Chiesa
Murano Lazzareto Sant’
S11
Nuovo
Faro Erasmo
Capannone
Punta
Sabbioni
Santa Lucia Le Punta
Fondamente Nove Vignole Sabbioni
Tronchetto Vignole
VENICE
San Certosa
Marco
Sant’ Elena San Nicolo
Lido
Lido
Sacca Lazzaretto
Sessola Vecchio
Laguna Mar
V eneto Adriatico
0 kilometres 5
0 miles 5
Colourful houses in Burano For keys to symbols see back flap

150-151_EW_Venice.indd 151 06/08/15 11:03 am