After we finished our shopping for souvenirs which took way too long, we made our way further exploring Murano Island of Venice, in search of a bit of silence from the crowds of tourists that were still a lot even in November.
We usually reserve the last day before our trip comes to an end for this kind of shopping in search of the best gifts to bring home to our loved ones just because we all grew like that and every time a member of the family visits a foreign country, it brings plenty of souvenirs for the others.
However, after seeing 4 parts of Italy during our stay, we decided that would be better to get some souvenirs from Murano Island which is well known for its glass and souvenirs made out of this material. So what we thought would be a successful mission picking quickly what to offer to the rest members of the family, turned into an almost impossible challenge after entering tens of shops and spending a few hours seeing everything and still being hard to make the right picks.
We ended up buying wine stoppers and some other decorations made entirely of the famous Murano glass and then continued our journey with the thought that we would complete the gifts in Duty-Free - yet the easiest method to bring home some souvenirs.
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We only needed to walk a maximum of five minutes to reach our new destination because the island is fairly small and it doesn't take too long to get from one side to the other, being able to explore every single part of it quite fast.
Even though the weather was pretty grumpy that day with a cloudy sky and a bitter wind, we were still fascinated to discover a different side of nature even if it was only composed of a few trees that barely had some leaves on the branches. But we weren't on this trip for nature itself so we called ourselves satisfied for being able to see even just a little part of nature as those trees that were accompanied perfectly by the old houses which even though had some parts missing, they still seemed to do great.
The lighthouse was placed right in front of those trees that captured our attention first due to not seeing other trees on the island so far. However, the biggest surprise came when finally met Faro dell'Isola di Murano which also represented a first for me since I've never seen a lighthouse so close.
Actually, I can count on the fingers from one hand how many lighthouses we have in Romania, and most of them can be seen either from the distance or if you reach them with a boat which is definitely not an easy thing.
But for some reason I've always been fascinated by these constructions often seeing them in movies since I was a kid, so being able to finally meet one, admire its structure, and even touch it, was definitely a dream coming true.
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It felt great to have the lighthouses just for us, but it was also weird not to see any tourists around since Faro dell'Isola di Murano is considered one of the biggest landmarks of the island.
So along with reading the background of the lighthouse from the informative panel placed nearby and taking plenty of pictures to keep as memories, we also dedicated a few moments sitting on the stairs from the back side of the lighthouse, listening to the waves hitting the shore, and getting a deeper feeling of what it actually feels to live in Venice and nearby.
As long as the time and weather are in our favour, I love doing this activity which even though it might seem like not involving any proper tasks, the spiritual feeling and atmosphere always speak louder than anything.
The initial lighthouse of Murano was built in this place in the 18th century when the Republic of Venice still existed, and it was entirely made of wood on top of which bonfires were lit to send signals over the sea through their light.
As things evolved with the passage of time, in 1912 a proper lighthouse was built from metal but this only lasted until 1934 when the current one was raised and which still works even these days.
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The actual Murano Lighthouse was mainly composed of Istrian stone to make it durable since it was more exposed to the lagoon than the previous one and was surrounded with extra stone boulders to protect it.
Until the 1960s the lighthouse worked on gas until it became completely powered and controlled by electricity with an automated ignition that is fully managed by the Italian Navy as all the other lighthouses in Italy.
Although the lighthouse can't be climbed since it still does its job for those coming on the water, its illuminating presence dominates the island and creates a picturesque view no matter the day or night, having a little signal shown every 6 seconds that can be visible from a distance of 17 nautical miles (approx 31 km).
Black stripes were painted in the upper part, to make the construction even more visible in fog but which can only be admired from a boat since they are facing the range line on the east side. This clever design also ensures enhanced visibility during daylight hours since the tower is mostly white and would be hard to notice on a sunny day.
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The overall construction is 35 meters (or 115 feet) and it's placed 37 meters above sea level, but while there is no way to get inside and discover it even more, I think it offers a wonderful opportunity for capturing memorable photos.
Murano Lighthouse is located in the southeastern part of Murano Island and in order to reach it you will need a waterbus or water taxi. We decided to go with the waterbus which has a station right on the island but from there you will still need to walk around 8 minutes until reaching the lighthouse which is 600 meters away. The waterbus lines taking you to Murano Island and the lighthouse, are: Lines 3, 4.1, 4.2, 12, and 13.
Gabriela Travels is the FOUNDER of "Festival Mania" who started this community from the passion of attending various festivals and with the purpose of encouraging more people to explore festivals all around the world and share their experiences. At the same time, Gabriela is an independent Graphic Design Freelancer since 2019 completing over 600+ orders in this time and collaborating with various businesses and people from all over the globe. Additionally, Gabriela has her own corner on the internet since 2017 where she writes various articles for her blog, the most popular being the travel ones (260+ articles written on this field), but also abording other topics as well, like game reviews, movie and series reviews, photography posts, cooking recipes and more, boosting the total number of articles written to 550+ blog posts. Gabriela is also a gamer since she was 11 years old and gaming remains one of her biggest passions along with traveling, editing, cooking, and doing various sports activities.
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