From the north of the island of Venise, along the Canale delle Fondamente Nuove, you can stop for a while near this quiet little port, in this place called Sacca de la Misericordia (limits of the Cannaregio sestiere). Across the Canal, this long island with its cypresses is Venice's San Michele cemetery, where lie Sergei Diaghilew, Igor Stravinsky or Ezra Pound. The island was formerly a fishing port and served as a final stopover for travellers to Venice. On the tip of San Michele Island, the Church of San Michele in Isola is one of the first Renaissance church in Venise, made 1469 by Mario Codussi.

Fishing is one traditional occupation of the Buranelli; the other is lacemaking. If you haven't spent your souvenir budget in the glass shops of Murano, you may find it hard to leave Burano without a supply of doilies and table linens or a wedding dress. (One word of caution: True Venetian Point lace is in limited supply, and many items in the shops are imported or machine-made.)

A "must see" attraction on Burano is the Museo del Merletto, or Lace Museum, in the old Scuola di Merletti or lacemaking school. The small two-story museum has impressive displays of historic and contemporary lace designs. If you're lucky, you'll find a group of Buranese women (mostly older ladies) wielding their needles in a sewing circle upstairs, near the display of traditional lacemaking implements. Admission is free to holders of the Venice Card. (Closed Tuesdays.)

The restaurant "Da Romano" is one of the places that the "vips" of the 20th century most loved and frequent, and one of the most charming artistic restaurants of Venice. It has always been managed by the Barbaro family, who continues the tradition with love and ability, giving prestige and a pleasant hospitality to the restaurant.

Here you can taste the typical dishes of the lagoon cuisine: the risottos and fish dishes, famous for their refined simplicity that comes from an old gastronomic art. Dishes : Risotto alla buranella, sea food spaghetti, tagliolini with shrimps and vegetables, mix grilled fish.

Roman Catholics and lovers of solitude may enjoy a side trip to the monastery island of San Francesco del Deserto, where the nine Franciscan monks welcome visitors from 9-10 a.m. and 3-5 p.m. daily. The island is 20 minutes by rowboat from the Burano waterfront. (A gondolier does the rowing.) For more information, or to book an overnight stay, call the monks at 041 528 6863 when you're in Venice.

According to tradition its monastery surrounded by cypress trees was founded by Saint Francis of Assisi and the two small cloisters still house a community of Friars. The story goes that the saint passed through here on his way back from the middle east, as he approached the island a storm that was raging suddenly dropped and the birds began to sing!

The island of Burano lies in the northern part of the Venetian Lagoon, about 40 minutes from Venice by motorboat. It has a much different atmosphere from Murano or Venice's historic center, thanks to the Buranese custom of painting houses in bright colors--a tradition that may have had its origins in the color schemes of local fishing boats. The houses, it is said, were painted these brilliant colors out of the fishermens' desire to see their own houses from far out at sea.

Everywhere you look, you'll see houses clad in blue, green, pink, rose, lavender, purple, yellow, and other colors. And because Burano's houses tend to be small, the island has a cheerful coziness. It wouldn't be surprising if Burano were used as a model for a family resort at Disney World.

The island's most notable landmark is the leaning tower of the San Martino church whose interior houses a painting of the crucifixion by Tiepolo the elder.