On the last Thursday of the trip, we traveled out to the island of Torcello with our coworkers to visit the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta.
We took a long boat ride to the island, stopping first in Murano to switch boat lines. The travel time was around 45 minutes, split between the time to get to Murano, and then from Murano to Torcello, meeting our coworkers on the way.
The island is tiny compared to others in the lagoon. Little streets and small bridges connect large green spaces, covered in tall grass and short trees. These little wooded areas are sprinkled with villas, gardens, and cafes. Our first stop was the local cafe to get coffee and croissants before heading to the church. We got to the church early in the morning before it opened to tourists so we could get a better tour of the church itself as well as work taking place to restore its different components.
Our first demonstration was from the contractor who showed us how they mix different rocks and powders according to an original Roman recipe to make the structural stucco underneath the mosaic floor. The workers there made large batches and carried them into the church, spreading them and evening the surface for the later installation. The main architect, who was working with the mixers, showed us all the different steps and ingredients used to create a layer that is strong enough to withstand weight, porous enough to let water drain through, and durable enough to last generations.
After learning about the mixing of the subfloor, we got the unique chance to see the church’s holy relics up close. The bodies of Saints Fusca, Maura, and Heliodorus are kept within the church, as well as the skull of Saint Cecilia.
Other than the unique relics, the mosaics are what make Santa Maria Assunta famous. Gigantic, elaborate, and gilded scenes in incredible detail adorn the interior of the basilica. In a distinct Byzantine style, these pieces describe various holy scenes and depictions of many Saints attributed to the church. We met the man working to restore some of these as well, 83-year-old Giovanni who has worked on countless famous mosaics around Venice over his lifetime. He gave us a little demo of how he cuts new pieces to fill in lost stones and described how most of the big mosaic registers were deliberately affixed over existing frescos that were original to the church.
After exploring the church some more and eating a fantastic lunch with some of the mixing workers, we climbed the church’s bell tower and got an incredible view of the entire lagoon. The vista stretches from the main island to the airport on the mainland and has a set of three bronze-cast bells inscribed with informative details about the church and the bell’s maker.
Here is the link to Save Venice’s page on the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta: https://www.savevenice.org/project/50th-anniversary-campaign-for-torcello
We took lots of pictures so please have a look at the gallery below!
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