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| "Burano is a neverland, but it exists." From Semplice Determinazione by Andrea Bettini |
(Venice, Italy) On Friday evening, July 30, 2021, I was whisked across the waters of the Venice lagoon to Burano -- the island of colorful houses, fisherman and lace -- in a boat taxi provided by the atelier Martina Vidal Venezia. The occasion was the launch of a book entitled Simple Determination, celebrating the 30 years that the family lacemaking company has been in business.
"For visitors, the island of Burano became the natural backdrop for their dreams. For residents, it was the best place to live in the entire world. That's what Burano was. A happy landing. A beloved home. ...At exactly nine o'clock on the morning of July 31, 1991, the doors to Artigianato del Merletto da Martina were thrown open."
Martina Vidal and her brother, Sergio, were born into a close-knit family of lacemakers and are constantly finding ways to refresh the ancient tradition by hauling the past into the future. The siblings grew up on Burano watching their grandmothers, aunts and mother work together with needlepoint to create dainty masterpieces call "punto in aria" or "points in the air."
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Sergio Vidal, Cat Bauer, Martina Vidal at Semplice Determinazione launch Photo: Roberto Rosa |
Researchers have concluded that the ingenious inventors of needlelace or "merletto" -- working independently from a backing fabric, indispensable in embroidery -- were aristocratic women during Renaissance Venice. Surrounded by bold, refined ideas, the noble women and their intimate circles would spin their artistic urges into delicate lace while enjoying enlightened conversations.
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| Sergio Vidal, Federica Repetto, presenter, Andrea Bettini, author (on screen), Riccardo Petito, presenter, Martina Vidal at book launch for Semplice Determinazione |
Next the French and Flemish got in on the act, and new technologies paved the way for mass production. Fashions changed; revolutions overthrew aristocracies, and lace was no longer in vogue. Needlelace became a domestic hobby, passed down from mother to daughter, going through periods of decline and revival.
Then, thanks to the efforts of Countess Andriana Zon Marcello and backed by Princess Margherita of Savoy, a lacemaking school opened on Burano on March 24, 1872, reviving the local economy -- which is where the Vidal's great-grandmother learned the art. Sadly, the rally was shortlived. By 1973, the school had closed and is now the Burano Lace Museum.
"Burano is a neverland, but it exists... Burano was
the center of the universe for its inhabitants -- especially for its
children, who left the island for Venice only when they started high
school. Because Burano was their own fantastic world."
The local population has dwindled to about 2400 residents, and these days the painstaking, intricate art is practiced by only a handful of older women, each excelling in one stitch, which is then put together to create the final product. Real handmade lace from Burano is precious and rare.
Atelier Martina Vidal Venezia supplements their handmade lace with contemporary, high-quality linens and luxury bespoke collections made from silk, cashmere and the finest cotton, and collaborates with top designers and fashion houses. They have a discerning clientele that includes celebrities and royalty, but the only name they were willing to reveal was that of Magic Johnson, who has publicly declared his passion for their fashion.
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Garden of Martina Vidal Venezia, former home of artist Umberto Moggioli Photo: Cat Bauer |
Sergio said, "When the sun sets and the tourists leave, the Buranelli have the island back to themselves."
The atelier is located in the reinvented home of Umberto Moggioli, a member of the Burano School, a group of struggling artists who, in the early 1900s, found inspiration on the island, attracted by its haunting landscapes and modest way of life. Moggioli's wife Anna turned their home into a gathering place for artists like Gino Rossi, Arturo Martini and Pio Semeghini, members of the Burano School who would go on to find success, and whose work can be seen today in Ca' Pesaro, Venice's International Gallery of Modern Art.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Burano was a humble paradise where fishermen, lacemakers and artists lived side by side.
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| Trattpria Da Romano & Atelier Martina Vidal Venezia - Generations on Burano |
Artists have to eat, and the local Barbaro family fed them at their small bottega. In return, the artists gifted the family with works of art. Around 1920, Romano Barbaro transformed the bottega into Trattoria Da Romano.
Da Romano is renowned today for over 450 paintings on its walls, and the names of celebrities like Hemingway, Charlie Chaplin, Maria Callas, Fellini, Robert De Niro and Keith Richards recorded in its 26 "Libroni." It's also a favorite haunt of designer Philippe Starck, who used a table at the trattoria as his office for more than ten years, and has maintained a home on Burano for decades.
The book launch was held in the garden of Umberto and Anna Moggioli's former house and artist hangout, now headquarters for Martina Vidal Venezia and their friends and clients. And the food was provided by Da Romano, which is still owned by the Barbaro family.
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| Inside Martina Vidal Venezia - Photo: Cat Bauer |
"This book was born of a desire to rediscover ourselves, to focus on the path we have followed together, but above all from a desire to understand where we want to go from here."
The subtitle of the book encapsulates the secret of the Vidals' success: Simple Determination. Because good people can do great things.
#VeniceBooks
Portions of this article were originally published in a slightly different form in the Spring/Summer 2019 edition of Luxos Magazine.
On Friday evening, July 30, 2021, I was whisked across the waters of the Venice lagoon to Burano -- the island of colorful houses, fisherman and lace -- in a boat taxi provided by the atelier Martina Vidal Venezia. The occasion was the launch of a book entitled Simple Determination, celebrating the 30 years that the family lacemaking company has been in business.
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