Torcello island

Torcello: what to see and how to get there

Island of Torcello

It is now almost completely uninhabited, but it was once one of the first islands in the Venetian lagoon to be inhabited.

The people of Altino settled here when they fled from the barbarians.

In 638 the bishop of Altino, transferred the relics and from this time Torcello continued to exist until the island was abandoned.

From the 5th to the 11th century it became an important urban center with churches, monasteries, salt production

TORCELLO CHURCH

The swamping of the surrounding lagoon and the need for a safer refuge prompted the island’s inhabitants to abandon Torcello and take refuge in Rivoaltu (Rialto), which had become the capital of the ducal seat.

Over the next few centuries Torcello was abandoned and stripped of its marble and bricks, and they were used for new construction in Venice.

WHAT TO SEE IN TORCELLO

Over the centuries the two main buildings of its ancient center have remained unscathed: the cathedral and the church of Santa Fosca.

The cathedral dedicated to St. Mary of the Assumption

It was founded in the time of Heraclius, emperor of Byzantium, about 639 and is among the oldest Venetian-Byzantine buildings remaining in the lagoon.

Torcello cathedral

Not far away is the 11th-century bell tower:it is a sturdy square tower from the top of which there is an enchanting view of the lagoon.

Another thing to see in Torcello is the church of Santa Fosca, near the cathedral, built around 1100.

The cult of saints Fosca and Mura

The cult of Saints Fosca and Mura was established in Torcello in the 11th century itself

When the remains of the two saints arrived on the island from Sabratha, a Punic-Roman city located near Tunis.

The cathedral, the church of St. Fosca look toward the small square, a grassy space with a massive stone seat in the center called “Attila’s throne,” although the king of the Huns never had the opportunity to sit on that unusual stone.

Instead, it was used by the island’s tribunes and is perhaps the most photographed artifact, as no one can resist the temptation to take a picture of themselves sitting on the throne.

THE DEVIL’S BRIDGE

I recommend that you see in Torcello the Devil’s Bridge.

You will see it on your right from the ACTV pier.

Legend has it that during the Austrian rule in Venice, a young girl had fallen in love with an Austrian soldier; however, he was killed by her family, who were against that union, which was not at all patriotic.

The young woman turned to a sorceress who gave her an appointment in Torcello, an isolated place and therefore perfect for magical rites.

The sorceress invoked the devil on the bridge, and he made the Austrian appear and take the girl away; but the devil does nothing for nothing, and the sorceress promised him that for seven years on Christmas Eve she would bring him the soul of a newly dead child.

But the sorceress died soon after and could not honor her pact with the devil….

So even today it is said that on the night of December 24 on the Devil’s Bridge in Torcello the devil comes futilely to claim his souls in the guise of a black cat.

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