Burano island
Museo del Merletto
Burano Historic Lace Museum
Museum offering an intimate look at Burano's most famous craft: lacemaking.
Burano + 7-min walk
museomerletto.visitmuve.it
+39 041 730034
Standard admission is €7. Free entry with the official museum pass.
Additional resources
What makes it special
Former lace school
This small yet modern museum features four rooms painted in the vivid colors of Burano and is housed in the palace that served as the seat of the Burano Lace School from 1872 to 1970.
The fabric of kings
Once the most coveted luxury in Europe, Burano lace was a staple of the French and English courts. The museum preserves the same intricate patterns that once adorned the collars of Louis XIV and the veils of queens, showcasing a level of detail that modern machinery can scarcely replicate.
Beyond white
While lace is often associated with white or ivory, the museum also features rare 20th-century experiments in color. These pieces echo the vibrant, polychromatic houses of the island, showing that Burano's lacemakers were not merely technicians, but artists inspired by the vivid scenery around them.
Discover more about Lace Museum through 12 photos with explanations.
Open galleryWhat to expect here
- Examine intricate laceworks dating back tens or even hundreds of years.
- With a bit of luck, you can watch laceworkers demonstrating their craft.
Our #1 tip for your visit
Don't skip the 15-minute introductory video on the ground floor: it's the perfect introduction to the museum experience and helps you understand the context behind the craft.
Book tickets online
Ready to go? Secure your skip-the-line tickets now for peace of mind - breeze past queues and skip any delays when you arrive.
Free with the Museum Pass
The official Museum Pass grants you direct access to this museum and lets you skip the lines at the other civic museums, including the magnificent Doge's Palace.
Watch live lacemaking
If there are no demonstrations on the day of your museum visit, you can make up for it with this walking tour of Burano, which includes a private lacemaking demonstration.
The tour lasts about one hour, and in addition to the lace demo, you'll learn directly from a proud local about the history, customs, and traditions of the picturesque community of Burano.
Fascinating facts about Burano lace
The craft likely began with the island's main occupation: fishing. Fishermen's wives were often engaged in repairing their husbands' fishing nets using simple needles and thick thread. Awaiting the men's return from the sea, the women began experimenting with finer needles and higher-quality thread, recreating the net patterns in a more artistic, refined, and creative way.
Local legend tells a more romantic story: the first piece of lace was a gift from the Queen of the Sirens to a faithful fisherman who resisted the sirens' call out of love for his fiancée. As a reward, the queen presented him with a bridal veil made from sea foam, said to be the inspiration for Burano's delicate lace.
While most lace is made with pillows and bobbins, Burano's lace is crafted entirely with a single needle. Artisans literally 'stitch in the air' - hence the name of the technique, 'punto in aria' - creating a self-supporting textile from nothing but thread.
Burano’s lace was once so valuable that King Louis XIV of France reportedly kidnapped Venetian lacemakers and brought them to Versailles to start his own workshops.
Authentic Burano lace is never the work of a single artist. Each piece passes through the hands of seven different specialists, from the gimp creator to the ground maker, ensuring that every thread is a collective masterpiece of the island’s most skilled women.
Keep all of this in mind as you examine the hundreds of samples in the museum.
More like this
Inspired by Lace Museum? Discover additional Civic Museums in Venice:
View on mobile