Most tourists in Venice, if they venture out to the islands, take the vaporetto number 12 from San Zaccaria or Fondamenta Nuova to Murano, the ‘glass island’ where the furnaces for the famous Venetian glass are still in use. The onward journey to Burano takes a further 25 minutes, and in the heat of summer the sea breezes are a bonus.

Even on the dullest day, seeing Burano in the distance is quite a shock. You see a lively patchwork of small houses, every one a different colour. Some clash with their neighbours, some provide harmonious contrasts, but all merge into a kaleidoscope of glistening multi-coloured fragments reflected in the sea. It is the most attractive approach to an island anywhere in the Adriatic.