In response to the forwarded question about Pellestrina in the far south of the Venetian Lagoon, I visited Pellestrina in search of lace in the fall of 2001. I found no current evidence of lace or lacemaking then. I was drawn because it was the site of the 18th century playwright Goldoni's "Squabbles at Chioggia" in which the female characters are all lacemakers. I inquired at the tourism office, shops, police station, bars, and the public library but nothing. Only at the public library did they know about the play and what lace I was talking about.
On the main street (the one you arrive at the head of when you alight from the ferry) I did find the house where Goldoni lived when he penned the play. The house is on the left hand side when your back is to the ferry landing (a ways down from the landing but very walkable). Look UP to the second story for the plaque mentioning Goldoni. They were renovating the house when I was there. The little bar and restaurant at the ferry drop off was named for the play but they didn't seem to know anything else about it! Pellestrina and Chioggia (its city) constitute a bustling, hardworking commercial port, far removed from the tourism and laid-backness of Venice. Very, very little English spoken there. A bit hard to get to - you take water transport to the Lido and from there a combination of train and more ferry riding to Pellestrina but well worth the adventure to go someplace without hoards of tourists. I think it took us about 1.5 to 2 hours to get there. Perhaps you'll have better luck than I did at finding Pellestrina Lace. If you go, please report back!! Cheers, Shirley - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
