OutdoorActivitiesWorldwide - Venice

So called the “Canalazzo“, is the most important water way of Venice, about 3800 meters long, it splits the city in two sides..Venice from above looks like a big fish, not bad for a city on the sea! The Grand Canal it's like a thick dark line that creates a kind of "big S" inside the fish. http://venice-tourism.com/en/places/san-marco-district/grand-canal

Burano is amongst the main islands of the Venetian lagoon. At the moment about 3000 people live there and it is part of the municipality of Venice. It is linked to the smaller island of Mazzorbo by a small bridge. Just like Venice, it is divided into “Sestieri” (districts): San Martino Sinistro, San Martino Destro, San Mauro, Terranova and Giudecca (not to be confused with the homonymous island). The isle of Burano is famous for the lace working art, (a tradition since the XVI century), its bright multicoloured houses and for the culinary traditions. http://venice-tourism.com/en/places/island-lagoon/burano-island

It's probably the most famous island of the venetian Lagoon, it's composed by seven minor islands. It is well known worldwide for the art of blowing glass. All glass factories were moved to the island of Murano in 1295 to preserve the city from fires that often were caused by factories themselves. Murano was at first inhabited by refugees coming from Altino right after the barbarian invasion. Today it is completely urbanized and counts on 5500 inhabitant. Until 1171, when it was annexed to the Santa Croce district, the island was autonomous. In the year 1275 part of the autonomy was returned to the island's government, so they could promulgate laws and even coin their own money (the Osella). The autonomy of Murano was maintained also during the Austrian domination, that made of it a municipality. During the Austrian occupancy many churches and monasteries were sacked and destroyed so that only three now are left. The Murano municipality (that includes San’t Erasmo and Vignole islands) was suppressed in 1923 and the territory unified with the Municipality of Venice. http://venice-tourism.com/en/luoghi/island-lagoon/murano-island