Sailing the Eolo on the Venetian Lagoon

I have had an amazing summer. Not through any kind of planning or purpose I got to spend a lot of time on boats and on islands. One of the most special of these experiences was an evening spent on the Eolo on the Venetian lagoon.


Noah and I were in Venice for our death march of art. That is the phrase I have coined for the rigorous art filled days spent at the Venice Biennale. We had planned an afternoon with my energetic pal Monica and her son for a little bit of art and a meal at Amarone and then for two non stop days of as much of the Biennale as we could physically endure. On our first evening, I checked my email and there was dinner invitation for the next day from my good pal Elizabeth who was also up north but she was out exploring Venetian islands for her app Eat Venice.

I didn't have a lot of details more than a message that read "Meet Mauro on Vignole or me on Mazzorbo by 5pm." so Noah and I cut our Giardini art day a little short and hopped on the number 12 vapporetto leaving behind the crowded calle of Venice and the crush of tourists.

Little more than 30 minutes later, we stepped off the ferry and into another world. A quiet, green world. We easily find the hotel Venissa and met the owner,Gianluca Bisol, who showed us around the hotel and the lush grounds. 

Soon the Eolo, traditiional Venetian flat bottomed fishing boat known as a bragozzo pulled up to the hotel and we met Mauro Stoppa and his team. Before we set off our main course was delivered from cooler lifted off a small speed boat. Inside was a spigola caught only a few hours before. Dinner sorted, we slowly sailed past Burano and out into the lagoon. Passing marshy wetlands and a few fishing shacks. Plates of scallops and lemon salad bruschetta were passed around while we sipped prosecco and chatted about life on the lagoon and debated the best place to spend summer in Italy. We dropped anchor in a silent save for bird call spot and watched the set set, the full moon rise and Venus and Jupiter sparkle in the sky.

An elegant table with linen and crystal appeared and we sat down to pan grilled calamari with cherries (An amazing, unexpected combination), shrimp with fresh ricotta, that really fresh spigola was grilled with potatoes and a side of green and salty from the brackish lagoon banks where it grows, salicorne (also known as samphire,) that was a perfect foil to the delicate fish. There was chocolate cake for dessert and an incredible wine that was somehow both dry and sweet.

Under the light of the very bright full moon we dropped Elizabeth home in Mazzorbo and continued on to through the moonlit lagoon to the empty silent canals in the center of Venice that can only be found well after midnight on a mid summer night.

To book the Eolo contact Mauro through his website.

Noah and I were a guests of Mauro for dinner on the Eolo.