Torcello Island

The most sparsely populated island of the Venetian Lagoon.

The city was founded in the middle of the 5th century by the inhabitants of mainland Altino, forced to flee from the invasion of barbarians. Over time, thanks to trade relations with Constantinople, he became rich and by the 10th century, the population was much larger than then Venice. But prosperity did not always reign here.

With the passage of time, trade stalled and for some unknown reason, the water off the coast ceased to renew. This led to waterlogging and the locals were forced to flee again, now from malaria. At the same time, most of the buildings of Torcello were dismantled for construction in Venice.

The island was deserted and has since aged and decayed. Now it is a sparsely populated, if not deserted place, where only 4 very ancient buildings survived. Among them is the magnificent Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, which houses a magnificent Byzantine mosaic of the 12th century, the best in Northern Italy.

The lack of pomposity, fuss and brilliance of neighboring Venice make the island charming in its own way. This will be appreciated by romantic tourists.