FEATURE
THE LACE, TODAY, IS CREATED
USING FIVE MAIN STITCHES—
NAMELY GUIPURE, BARRETTE,
TULL, RILIEVO, AND SMERLETTI—
AND THEIR VARIANTS.
46
I APPAREL I
December 2019
to 1970. The museum has information on
lacemaking in Venice and Burano and provides
insights into vintage lace—from its origins in the
16th century and subsequent periods.
While there are several lace shops on the
island, during our trip, we visited Merletti dalla
Olga near the Lace Museum, and were delighted
to have had an opportunity to watch Alegretto
Lucia engrossed in working fine stiches on a
delicate piece of lace placed on a padded,
cylindrical cushion. A resident of Burano, she
started learning lacemaking at the age of 10, and
has been practising it for the past 60 years.
The store, comprising two levels, has
a fantastic range of lace as borders for
handkerchiefs, collars, framing, as well as
apparel. The staff at the shop explained
the nuances of lace and also helped us in
differentiating lace made with punto in aria from
the ones made on bobbins. Lace made with
punto in aria is expensive due to the skill, effort,
time, and the number of lacemakers involved in
the process. The lace, today, is created using
five main stitches—namely guipure, barrette, tull,
rilievo, and smerletti—and their variants.
The variety of lace at Merletti dalla Olga and
other stores conveys that the practice of lace,
which is immensely time-consuming and requires
dedication and skill, is kept alive by the loyal
makers and patrons of Burano. We left the island
with precious mementos of the ancient tradition.
After learning about Burano lace and seeing it
being crafted right before our eyes, we walked
down the street and enjoyed a gelato, bussolai
(butter cookies that are typical to Burano), and a
meal at restaurant Ai Pescatori, which indulges
diners in a choice of local specialities. Most
importantly, we left Burano with some precious
lace, which we will always remember as an icon
of a living, breathing heritage.