Byzantine

Byzantine

bɪˈzantʌɪn,bʌɪ-/

adjective

1.

relating to Byzantium, the Byzantine Empire, or the Eastern Orthodox Church.

2.

(of a system or situation) excessively complicated, and typically involving a great deal of administrative detail.

Lyn wanted to reduce our luggage by posting home some clothes and shoes. This involved grappling with the Italian bureaucracy. Forms were filled, stickers pasted, two trips to the counter, weighing, stamping and, most painful of all, 67 € contributed to Italian state revenue. 

I confess to being entertained by everything except the 67 €. That wiped the smile off my face. 

We spent the rest of the day in the islands of the northern Laguna. At Murano, famous for glass, Lyn bought glass stuff. At Murano they really take their glass seriously. She found a "nice man" who adjusted a necklace for her.

From Murano we sailed to Torcello. This is a very rural place now but it was once the centre of a thriving Byzantine city. It was in many ways the beginning of Venice because it was here that the Romanised Venetii fled the barbarians and began their city in a lagoon. The Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta now towers over a population of about 40, but once there were thousands. Malaria ravaged the population and most of the survivors moved a few kilometres. Now Torcello is a peaceful place but two mozzies have survived because they got Lyn. We had a great guided tour of the basilica and its extraordinary mosaics.

Where is Lyn's hat?

Yep, she'd left it somewhere. She retraced her steps but we think she left it on Murano. Never mind - there is now room in the bag for another...

The next island was Burano. Even without its reputation for lace-making, Burano would be famous for its byzantine building code which appears to insist that no householder should paint their house the same colour as a neighbour and that nothing be even close to vertical. Particularly disconcerting is a bell tower which would give its Pisan cousin a run for its money. If it falls down the Burani would probably rebuild it leaning in another direction and paint it pink.

If you are wondering why all this isn't 'tagged', this poster we saw on the vaporetto might give you an indication.

On the way back to the main island we chatted to 3 nice English ladies. In the Laguna we passed two of the massive cruise ships which dump thousands of people in Venice every day. The city was beautiful at sunset. Tomorrow we leave for Bologna, where there may be hats and there will certainly be space in our bags.