Further Distractions
Torcello: Torcello appears almost deserted and it is hard to believe that between the seventh and thirteenth centuries it was home to a thriving community of 30,000, who prospered from the wool and salt trade. Its decline began in the fourteenth century, when silt from the rivers turned the waterways around the island into swampland and brought malaria to the community. A visit to this ghost town provides a fascinating glimpse into the early beginnings and architecture of the Venetian lagoons. The main square can be reached by crossing the Devil's Bridge, the only medieval bridge remaining in Venice, allegedly built by the devil in a single night. The austere façade of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, linked by a portico to the Church of Santa Fosca and the Baptistery, conceals lavish mosaic wall coverings. Founded in the seventh century and rebuilt in the ninth and eleventh, the complex pre-dates St Mark's Basilica by two centuries. In the central apse there is a beautiful representation of the Virgin and the Mystic Lamb, inspired by works in Ravenna. The most magnificent mosaic is on the wall over the main door, an enormous composition depicting Christ and the final judgement.
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