Torcello

Torcello is an island in the laguna morta, the northern part of the lagoon of Venice, where the tides are no longer noticeable.

Geography

Torcello is located 150 meters north of the islands of Burano and Mazzorbo, separated from the latter by the Canale di Burano. The island is 44.17 acres in size, or more precisely 441 699 m², and only two meters high. At the 2001 census, 25 permanent inhabitants were detected on the island.

History

After earlier opinion Torcello was settled in the 7th century, but near Torcello, the floor of a Roman villa was discovered two meters below the water level. Therefore, it is assumed that Torcello has been inhabited since the 1st century.

Torcello was 638-689 seat of the Bishop of Altinum and quickly gained in importance as a center of politics and commerce. Although there is now only one church, namely the cathedral, but in the early Middle Ages, the Benedictine monastery of San Giovanni Evangelista emerged beyond, and the church of Sant'Andrea ( the Apostle ) di Torcello. Both are mentioned only in the Cronaca Altinate.

In the 10th century, Torcello had perhaps 10,000-20,000 inhabitants and was larger and richer than Venice. In the 12th century, the manuscript ms. 768 in the Museo Provinciale di Torcello addition to the aforementioned religious buildings, the Hospice of San Pietro di Casacalba, two other Benedictine ( Sant'Angelo di Zampenigo - it was around 900 - and Sant'Antonio Abbate - it was built around 1000), then two Cistercian monasteries ( San Tommaso dei Borgognoni - the building dates back to pre-Christian times - and the Benedictine Cistercian monastery, Santa Margherita), and finally the Baptistery of San Giovanni Battista and the two chapels of Santa Fosca and San Marco. However, were up on Santa Fosca, which still exists today, as well as San Giovanni Evangelista, Sant'Angelo di Zampenigo and San Marco, the sites no longer known. In a private house were found in the 19th century remains of the sacristy and the apse of San Tommaso dei Borgognoni. On the other hand, a church was discovered during excavations, which appears in none of the known sources. The other churches appear in the visitation reports of the diocese, but also in collections of the National Archives, so that in the 1970s and 80s and their locations could be determined. San Giovanni Evangelista, was completely destroyed by two fires at about 640 and in 1343.

After the 12th century ended this heyday, and the place sank into insignificance. The Lagoon at Torcello marshy, Malariaepedemien threatened. The inhabitants left the island to Venice or Murano and took everything that could be recycled as a building material, so that the city was almost completely removed. At the 2001 census, only 25 permanent inhabitants were detected on the island. Today, only 14 inhabitants live on Torcello.

From the once magnificent buildings on Torcello little remained. Of the original twelve parishes and sixteen monasteries of the diocese to which also included other islands in the north of the lagoon, is the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, which goes back to the year 639, with its rich Byzantine mosaics and the church of Santa Fosca in the 11th receive century. In addition, there are two palaces of the 14th century, the house a small museum. The so-called Throne of Attila, a carved from one piece of stone seat, has nothing to do with the Hun. Probably this was the ' throne ' of the Podestà or the bishop. Today Torcello is a well known destination for wealthy gourmets mainly because of the Locanda Cipriani.

By 1860, Torcello had about 360 inhabitants.

Santa Fosca

The church of Santa Fosca owes its existence to a martyr 's grave. The relics of the martyr Santa Fosca were brought to the tradition before 1011 from the oasis of Sabratha in Libya to Torcello. The church is erected in the 11th century central building with an inscribed octagon into a Greek cross, and thus contains a typical design feature of Byzantine architecture of the 11th century. An arcade with stilted arches, columns and sculpted capitals around the church in five of the eight outer walls. Is the pentagonal apse flanked by semicircular apses at the other outside of the church. Santa Fosca is connected by a colonnade of the 16th century Santa Maria Assunta. It was originally planned, the church to bulge with a brick dome, but after the collapse of vaults similar buildings they decided on a wooden cupola with roof tiles.

1811, the French government decided the destruction of Santa Fosca, but the decision was not executed.

Santa Maria Assunta

Your art-historical significance of the island thanks consecrated in 1008 by Bishop Orso Orseolo Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta ( " to the sky colliding Maria ").

The church has an altar rail, a so-called iconostasis from the 15th century. By such an iconostasis of the area of ​​the Holy of Holies was separated around the altar from the community room in the Greek Orthodox Church of the Middle Ages. Originally there were in the Byzantine-style churches at this point half high parapet on the type of early Christian choir screen.

Since the 14th century, and its consequences - particularly in the Russian Church - a full partition wall, which was covered with pictures and in one or several doors were admitted, so the altar area completely eluded the eyes of the faithful. Here there is a later version, which you can only remotely view the previous wall character. Before the iconostasis, you can still see on the left the pulpit from the 12th century are on pillars, of which the Christian message was proclaimed from the community members outside of the sanctuary.

From the previous picture wall was later called the iconostasis, a frieze of pictures, which closed the open design of the iconostasis up. Shown are Mary and the 12 apostles: from left to right, Andrew and his brother Peter with the key and the book, next to the central figure of the Virgin and Child - a so-called Madonna Hodegetria - decorated mosaic on a gold background. Here you can still see that in the apse of the early Middle Ages was not the altar, but the bishop's throne, which was achieved through several stages, so was significantly increased. In the Christian church painting the pictures of the apse differ significantly from the rest of the church facilities. The apse representations have often visionary as environment of the altar issues and allow a cutout liable look in the heavenly realms.

The mosaics of the church are its most valuable part. The dating is controversial and their conservation status varies. The central Madonna probably dates from the 12th or early 13th century.

The well-preserved Apostle frieze below the Madonna is on the 12th/13th. Century dates. Its quality is on the same level as the mosaics of San Marco. Here the mosaicists have special effort to an individual and detailed representation of faces and to an emphasis on the drapery folds. But not to be overlooked is the tendency of the Byzantine- oriented art to abstract geometric patterns, here especially in the design of the garment in the lower part of the body.

The two side aisles of the church have its own apse with its own apse mosaic, respectively. The right-hand side chapel has in the vault before the apse mosaic of the oldest church. It still originates from the predecessor of the present basilica, namely from the 7th century: four angels carry a bekränztes medallion with the Lamb of God.

The mosaics of the apse actual date from the 12th century: in the center Christ in the gesture of blessing the Savior on the throne between the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. Among the four Doctors of the Church Gregory, Jerome, Augustine and Ambrose. But here we have a juxtaposition of the two numbers three and four, above the "spiritual " triple - constellation, below the " secular " group of four.

Two of the oldest still in the church artworks are a stoup and the so-called " peacock panel ", both from the 11th century. The peacock table is a marble relief with two peacocks peck from a bowl. These bird - symbolism refers to the renewal of life and the resurrection of Christ. The peacock is in the medieval symbolism of the resurrection, because he loses all his feathers in the autumn and spring according to Pliny gets new and his meat - according to the teachings of Augustine - is incorruptible.

On the opposite side, where there is the entrance to the church, covered another huge mosaic with the theme of the Last Judgment in five zones overlying the entire wall, but which has been in its lower two zones in the 19th century poorly restored. It was mounted in the second half of the 12th century here. The theme of the Last Judgment was in the medieval churches usually where the sun sets on the west side, the side mounted. The believer was thus reminded leaving the church on the predicted in the Apocalypse of John Court at the end of the historical world.