VENICE: Torcello island [HD]

Torcello is a quiet and sparsely populated island at the Venetian Lagoon. It is the oldest continuously populated region of Venice, and once held the largest population of the Republic of Venice.

After the downfall of the Roman Empire, Torcello was one of the first lagoon islands to be successively populated by those Veneti who fled the mainland to take shelter from the recurring barbarian invasions.

Torcello rapidly grew in importance as a political and trading centre: In the 10th century it had a population of at least 10,000 people and was much more powerful than Venice. Thanks to the lagoon's salt marshes, the salines became Torcello's economic backbone and its harbour developed quickly into an important re-export market in the profitable east-west-trade.

The lagoon around the island of Torcello gradually became a swamp from the 12th century onwards and Torcello's heyday came to an end: Navigation in the laguna morta (dead lagoon) was impossible before long and the growing swamps seriously aggravated the malaria situation, so that the population eventually abandoned the island and left for Murano, Burano or Venice. It now has a population of around 20 people.

The former splendour of Torcello's numerous palazzi, its twelve parishes and its sixteen cloisters has almost disappeared since the Venetians recycled the useful building material. The only remaining medieval buildings form an ensemble of 4 edifices.

(1) Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
It is a notable example of Venetian-Byzantine architecture, one of the most ancient religious edifices in the Veneto. The campanile is closed since 2010 due to instability, and covered in scaffolding.

(2) Church of Santa Fosca

(3 & 4) Museo Provinciale di Torcello, housed in two fourteenth century palaces: the Medieval and Modern Section housed in the Palazzo del Consiglio, and the Archaeological Section housed in the Palazzo dell'Archivio

May 23, 2013

Видео VENICE: Torcello island [HD] канала Stuart's TRAVEL VIDEOS