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Before There Was a Venice, There Was Torcello
Glittering mosaics, breathtaking views, and a marshy proto-Venice in the Venetian Northern Lagoon
TorcelloVaporetto: T from Burano
tel. +39-041-296-0630 or +39-041-730-119
Book tour: Viator.com
Sights nearby
Burano (another island)
Murano (another island)
Where to eat nearby
Trattoria da Romano (on Burano)
Hotels nearby
Apartment Villa Santa Caterina (on Mazzorbetto)Hotel Murano Palace (on Murano)
Hotel Al Soffiador (on Murano)
Hotel Locanda Conterie (on Murano)
Bed and Breakfast Ca' Venier al Dolce Dormire (on Murano)
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» THE VENICE BOOKSHELF
The campanile (bell tower) on Torcello.
Grassy, semi-deserted Torcello is pretty much a one-trick pony: glittering Byzantine mosaics in a cathedral oddly stranded in the middle of a desolate, largely abandoned mud island. There's a reason for that.
Torcello was the first of the lagoon islands to be called home by a mainland population fleeing the Barbarian hordes that overran the Italian peninsula during the Dark Ages.
From here, the settlers eventually moved to the area around the Rialto Bridge to build what we now know as Venice. Today Torcello consists of little more than one long canal leading from the ferry landing past sad-sack vineyards to a clump of buildings at its center.
Venice 1.0
Torcello's marshy badlands give you the best feeling for what Venice looked like when people first started settling there. Actually, Torcello predates Venice, and it was a thriving center of some 20,000 souls from the 7th to 11th centuries. Then malaria and competition from La Serenissima set in and quickly depopulated the isle. It now runs on a skeleton crew of 75 inhabitants.
From the ferry dock, follow the solitary long canal on a 10-minute stroll past a lithe bridge (nicknamed "The Devil's Bridge") to Venice's oldest monument and one of its prettiest, the Cattedrale di Torcello (Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta), whose foundation dates from the 7th century. (Technically, it's no longer a cathedral since there's no bishop, but everyone still calls it that.)
The church is is famous for its outstanding 11th- to 12th-century Byzantine mosaics—a Madonna and Child in the apse and a Last Judgment on the west wall—glowing walls of gold-flecked art to rival those of Ravenna and of St. Mark's Basilica itself. The cathedral (tel. +39-041-296-0630) is open 10:30am to 6pm (in winter 10am to 5pm), and does charge admission.
The 12th century mosaics depicting the Damned in Hell part of the Last Judgment in the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta on Torcello.Across the square from the church is the dinky Museo Archeologico della Provincia di Venezia di Torcello (tel. +39-041-730-761; sbmp.provincia.venezia.it). The collection is split between archaeological fragments and the remains of some 10 other churches that once sprinkled Torcello's landscape. It's open Tuesday to Sunday 10:30am to 5:30pm (in winter 10am to 5pm); adm.
Also of interest is the spare 11th-century church dedicated to St. Fosca adjacent to the cathedral (open daily 10am to 4:30pm; tel. +39-041-730-084).
Aside from a lone, tipsy bell tower you can climb for some really nice views (last entry: 5pm Mar-Oct, 4pm in winter; closed in Oct. 2008 for restoration work; check to see if it has reopened at tel. +39-041-296-0630), the rest of the island is given over to swampy canals outlined by logs hammered into the muddy banks (a glimpse at how Venice looked before the stone palazzi were built) and a scraggly vineyard.
Somewhat incongruously, the island is also home to a world-famous restaurant (world famous because Hemingway loved it) called Locanda Cipriani (www.locandacipriani.com)—yes, that Cipriani, of Ciprianis around the world (not to mention Harry's Bar in downtown Venice).
Tips
- Planning your day on the outlying islands: You can easily be done with this tiny island in an hour while you wait for the next ferry (half-hourly), but if you take time to tramp around à la Hemingway, you might stay for two (just don't get stuck when the last "T" ferry for the night heads back to Burano at 8:10pm).
- Take a tour: If you don't want to bother with the hassle of timing your vaporetto stops—or simply want a guide along to explain what you're seeing—take a guided tour of Murano, Burano, and Torcello with our partners at Viator.com
- Go ahead and get the €10 cumulative ticket for all three sights with entry fees (the cathedral at €4, campanile/bell tower at €4, and archeological museum at €3). Bonus: it comes with a free audioguide (which is otherwise €1).
- Santa Fosca closes at 4:30pm; last entry to the museum and bell tower are at 5pm (4pm winter); and last entry to the basilica is 5:30pm (4:30pm winter), so do them in that order to fit them all in.
- Mass is still said at the basilica at 9:30am Sundays, 4:30pm weekdays.
Related pages
- Other islands in the Northern Lagoon: Burano, Murano
- Getting around Venice's outlying islands
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This material was last updated February 2011. All information was accurate at the time.
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