A day on the lagoon is always a good idea!

The Venetian lagoon is beautiful any time of the year. Today we were blessed with a day of exceptional clear skies, calm waters and a brilliant, lucid light. We could see the mountains fringing the Venetian plains even though they were probably at least 50 kms away. As the sun shone down it warmed our faces and reminded us of summer. It felt good to be alive and experiencing one of the largest lagoons fringing the Adriatic Sea.

The lagoon is the lifeblood of Venice. It is the protector of the city. A natural harbour, a safe and sheltered anchorage for boats. The lagoon is a liminal space of calm and tranquility (mostly) between the open seas of the Adriatic and the bustling chaos of ‘terraferma’ the populated mainland.

Here we were enjoying the second Sunday of November and it felt like summer. In fact it was a typical ‘estate di San Martino’. There’s a well known meteorological phenomenon in Venice known as L’Estate di San Martino – it means ‘The summer of St Martin’ and is the equivalent to an Indian Summer in England. It’s usually a few days in the second week in November when the weather is beautiful, sunny and calm. This tends to coincide with the Feast of San Martino (St Martin). So this year in Venice with San Martino just around the corner (11th November) a warm sunny day is exactly what we’ve come to expect and it’s exactly what we got!

We set off early on the public boat from Lido to Burano. It’s a scenic boat ride across the lagoon heading north towards Punta Sabbioni, Treporti and then Burano. the sky was blue, the air was fresh and birds filled the sky. I wished I had binoculars with me, so that I could spot the snowy egrets, geese, cormorants and even flamingoes that make the lagoon their home. However even with the naked eye I spotted egrets, geese and the odd cormorant – no flamingoes though!

When we arrived in Burano we headed straight for the ‘Linea 9’ boat that takes you straight to Torcello. It’s only ten minutes further but it’s completely worth it. Torcello is an island in the northern lagoon. It was one of the first areas to be settled permanently by Roman citizens, fleeing the mainland more than 1500 years ago.

Today Torcello has just a few dozen inhabitants – probably less than 30 and yet in its heyday there was a population of many thousands living here on an island in the lagoon.

Visitors today follow the red brick road from the boat jetties to the centre of the island. Here there are two churches, a small Byzantine style church dedicated to Santa Fosca, dating from the 6th century and still used occasionally for weddings and christenings. Next door is the very imposing Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta with its monumental bell tower and vast open plan interior. The views from the top of the bell tower are sublime. In one direction you can see the mountains and the edge of the lagoon. To the north and east you can see fishermen’s nets, several islands, numerous mud flats and salt marshes. The mud flats are known locally as barena, they are half way between land and sea. Often covered in coarse grass vegetation they may flood at high water and offer safe habitats for nesting birds, lagoon animals and various species of salt-tolerant plants and shrubs.

Torcello also has a small museum, filled with artefacts and treasures brought to the island by the people of Altinum, a Roman town very close to the edge of the lagoon. When the people of Altinum first arrived in the lagoon they thought their stay here would be temporary. However as the Roman Empire dwindled hostile tribes invaded from the east making the Roman cities of Aquileia, Altinum and Concordia vulnerable to attack. The citizens of these towns fled into the lagoon to survive.

Visiting the peaceful island of Torcello today it’s hard to believe that this small piece of land anchored in the northern reaches of the Venetian lagoon offered sanctuary first to the Veneti people, who lived here as fishermen, for centuries before the Romans arrived. Then later offering safety to desperate Roman citizens fleeing the ‘terraferma’ towns of Altinum, Aquileia and Concordia as barbarian hordes invaded from the east.

Lunch was a delicious fresh fish affair at the ‘Trono di Attila’ a small restaurant right next to the Devil’s Bridge. The sunny weather had brought the Venetians out in force. Hundreds of small boats arrived loaded with families and friends. In no time at all the small canal leading to the heart of the island were filled with small boats. It reminded me of Jerome K Jerome’s description of ‘Boulter’s Lock’ on the River Thames on a Sunday afternoon.

The Venetians live surrounded by water and many Venetians own boats. It’s great to see them out and about on their home turf, as we did today.

Probably the most important feature of the Venetian Lagoon is its dynamic nature. The lagoon is changing all the time. The area is tidal so every day there’s a high tide and a low tide. This exchange of water between the Adriatic Sea and the lagoon changes and refreshes the lagoon water. The waters of the lagoon near the sea are salty, whilst the water close to ‘terraferma’ is brackish or fresh water from the rivers that flow into the lagoon.

If you’d like to learn more about the lagoon and to discover more of this exceptional and unique watery environment then check out other articles on my blog Educated Traveller just type lagoon into the search bar.

For more on the island of Torcello you might enjoy an article I wrote about Torcello and legends. Torcello – island of legends

Lastly, don’t miss the exceptional sunsets that illuminate the lagoon and offer a cascade of colours worthy of the finest Monet impressionism – no filter required!

The author Janet Simmonds writes about Italy, especially Venice and Ravenna, but also The Alps, Sicily, Naples and Ischia. Follow her activities at www.grand-tourist.com and at her blog www.greyhoundtrainers.com

She has Master’s degrees from Oxford University and Manchester University in Geography and History of Art respectively. Janet has worked with university groups, professional groups and well known journalists assisting and informing guests on life in Italy today. She offers guided tours throughout Italy where she acts as a guest lecturer and local expert.

In August 2025 she is organising an academic residency at St Hugh’s College, University of Oxford for MFA students from Alma College, Michigan. She will be hosting this event with Sophfronia Scott (Program Director) and team members Lucy Simmonds (English Teacher at the University of Ludwigsburg) and Bilge Akkol (Istanbul and Ismir expert).

Further writing that we hope might inspire you:

Festa di San Martino – Venezia

Ernest Hemingway, Venetian Lagoon

Venice and the lagoon, a vast natural harbour…

All photos c. Educated Traveller

Venice – Zattere, Arsenale, Building Bridges (Lorenzo Quinn) and flags flying over Certosa.

December 2024

Quality – Authenticity – Excellence