Torcello

Torcello is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, located northeast of Venice, Italy. It is part of the comune of Venice in the Veneto region and is connected to the other lagoon islands by boat.

In the Middle Ages, Torcello was one of the lagoon’s most prosperous settlements, home to churches, artisans, and farmers. Its population grew large as it served as a religious and commercial center, but it declined in later centuries due to malaria and the shifting tides of trade and politics, and today it is sparsely inhabited.

The island’s main attractions are the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta, a large Romanesque-Gothic cathedral whose interior mosaics, including a 12th-century Last Judgment in the apse, reflect the early Venetian artistic tradition. The Church of Santa Fosca, dating to the 9th century, is a smaller, circular-plan church known for its brickwork and serene interior. A small museum on the island displays archaeological finds from Torcello and the surrounding lagoon.

Access is by boat from Venice, such as from Fondamente Nove; visits are popular among those seeking historical sites away from the city’s crowds.