Torcello: MRA-ITA-Tor001
Type Sample Item
Sample ID
- MRA-ITA-Tor001
Sample Material Type
- Mosaic
Sample Sub-type
- fragment
Dimensions (cm)
- Length
- 4.4
- Width
- 2.9
- Height
- 3.2
Weight
- weight value (g)
- 27.95
Other info about sample identity
- Torcello, Intonaco dipinto sotto mosaico [hand-written note]
Geographic Location
- Country
- Italy
- Place
- Torcello
Site/monument
- Italy (ITA)
Torcello
Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta
Historical note about the site/monument
- The church of Santa Maria Assunta is a church-sanctuary located in Torcello, Venice, Italy and dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. The place was originally designed to be a church and was built in the style of the palaeochristian basilica church even if not much of the original layout is left. The original church was erected in 638 after the order of the Byzantine exarch of Venice Isaac, who wished to provide the bishop Altino. Indeed, he fled his original seat in Turicellum after the pressure of the Longobards, who invaded the territory (6th - 7th century). After the construction of the church, Turicello lived its golden age. The prosperity and favourability of the socio-political situation mirrored on the church itself, that was added some parts to the original layout. In 1008, the original church was rebuilt and dedicated to Saint Mary Assunta, under order of bishop Orso I Orseolo. Also, it was elevated to the status of cathedral church. Later in the 15th century, the city started declining and the church together with it. In 1818, the dioceses of Torcello was suppressed and the church passed to Venice. In 1986 this institution was suppressed, and the church was downgraded again to the status of church-sanctuary [1]. The floor plan of the church is longitudinal, with a narthex at the entrance and a martyrion on the left side. Made in the 11th century, it was enlarged in the 12th century. Internally, the main nave is divided into three naves with two series of arches that lead to the presbytery. The presbytery is separated from the rest of the church through an iconostasis made of a series of slender pillars on the upper story, while the lower hosts relief carvings with peacocks, lions and wooden panels with religious icons. Remarkable are the mosaics made between the 11th and the 12th, that are some of the most beautiful in the Byzantine churches in Italy, with representations of the Virgin, the Last Judgement, Christ Pantocrator and figures from the Old Testament [2].
Further reading:
[1] Polacco, Renato (1984). La Cattedrale di Torcello. Venezia-Treviso: L'altra riva-Canova. ISBN: 88-7662-012-5.
[2] Damigella, Anna Maria (1966). Problemi della cattedrale di Torcello. In: Commentali, 17, pp. 3–15.
Chronological period (sample)
- 11th-12th century