Torcello is one of the major islands of the Venice lagoon but it is probably one of them the least known. However, its history is even older than the island of Venice: its stillness and its landscape lead us into one peaceful and atypical dimension compared to what we are used to knowing about the lagoon.
As many inhabitants as the fingers of two hands
Leaving aside the summer, a period of greater meteorological stability and greater tourism, in the autumn-winter period Torcello counts just over ten inhabitants (13 in 2018). Very few people thus become custodians of the great beauty and history of which the island is rich. Seagulls and herons on the other hand, they are very numerous and love to fly over the lagoon water and the barren ground.
Far from the incessant swarming of Venice and just one vaporetto stop after Burano, Torcello presents itself as a 'wild island. The panorama is therefore completely different from the orderly architecture of Venice, almost totally covered with Istrian stone and gray pavement. In the famous Cipriani inn, often also called the "red house", he lived the American writer Ernest Hemingway around 1949.
Torcello, the Romans, the barbarians and trade
Some historical evidences and ancient documents already count the first inhabitants of Torcello at the beginning of the Roman imperial era. In fact, the Latin poet Martial testifies to the existence of some country villas and fishermen's houses in this small archipelago. The first real occupation of Torcello, however, occurs after 639 AD, the period ofLombard invasion of the Venetian territories.
They were the citizens of Altino to find refuge there, fleeing from the barbarians, and to give it its current name (Turricellum) which derived from the Altinate gate where they lived. Not surprisingly, this is also the origin of the names of other islands in the lagoon such as Burano, Murano and Mazzorbo.
In the following centuries the island became an important religious center, an episcopate dependent on the Byzantine Empire. Trade also began to flourish, so much so that by the Byzantines Torcello was considered a "empòrion mega", which is an important commercial hub. In the meantime, however, the group of islands of Venice began its rise and, also due to the progressive swamping of the Torcello lagoon and the development of malaria, ended up stealing the scene completely by throwing it in decline as early as the XNUMXth century.
Torcello between architecture and legends
The Middle Ages was therefore its period of maximum splendor. He came to count 20 thousand inhabitants occupied between fishing, trade, wool processing and monastic centers. The most important was the Benedictine one of San Giovanni Evangelista which over the centuries welcomed offspring of the great Venetian patrician families.
The monastery included a church, which emerged from the Polish excavations in 1960: it is one of nine churches on the island. The most famous are Santa Maria Assunta e Santa Fosca, which are located in the main square. They are absolutely worth a visit as they are extraordinary examples of Venetian-Byzantine architecture. Some curiosities: the Devil's bridge, whose name bears witness to numerous legends in this regard, is a bridge without railings as in Venice by now there are very few of them. Equally interesting is the throne of Attila: it is not clear where this name comes from since Attila, it is certain, never set foot on the island.
The "Last Judgment": the work that leaves you speechless
The fame of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta also derives from the incredible Venetian-Byzantine mosaic which you can admire on the counter-façade (i.e. the internal counterpart of the façade). It is a wonderful example of a depiction of the Last Judgment. The decoration is divided into six registers (decorative bands) and deserves all our attention for the wealth of characters and details that presents. The golden background is typical of the mosaic (but also pictorial) decorations of the early Christian, medieval and Byzantine era since thegold it refers to a mystical and sacred dimension. The work was carried out during the construction of the church, which took place between the seventh and twelfth centuries. Other mosaics can be admired for example in the apse basin and in the triumphal arch, as is typical in Byzantine-inspired cathedrals.