The Lagoon & the Islands - Venice: Top Sights, Local Life, Made Easy - page 212

Don't Miss
Mosaics at Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta
Don't let its serene exterior fool you: the basilica (founded in 639 and reconstruc-
ted around 1008) is full of gripping tales told in vivid mosaics. Inside, the
Madonna rises above corn poppies like the sun in the golden eastern apse, while
the Last Judgment looms ominously on the western wall.
Byzantine Civilisation at Museo di Torcello
Relics of Torcello's 7th- to 11th-century Byzantine empire heyday are shown inside
13th-century Palazzo del Consiglio, home to the Museo di Torcello ( 041 73 08
75; Piazza Torcello; adult/reduced €3/1.50, incl cathedral €8/5; 10.30am-5pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, to
5pm Nov-Mar; Torcello) . Exquisite mosaic fragments here show glass mastery
achieved in Torcello before Murano entered the business, while upstairs archives
contain Greco-Roman artifacts from the lost civilisation of Altinum. Out front
you'll spot the worn stone throne Attila the Hun is said to have occupied when he
tore through the area in the 5th century.
Shrine to a Teen Rebel at Santa Fosca
Proof that parents just don't understand is found in this 11th-century church. Ch-
iesa di Santa Fosca ( 10am-4.30pm; Torcello) honours a Roman girl raised in
Libya who converted to Christianity at 15. Her angry father had her arrested, until
an angel frightened the soldiers away. But the teen calmly turned herself in, know-
ing she'd be tortured to death. In 655, a Venetian sailor named Vitale brought Fo-
sca's remains to Torcello, and they're still enshrined here.
Top Tips
› Overnight stays are available at the Locanda Cipriani ( 041 73 01 50;
www.locandacipriani.com ; Piazza Santa Fosca 29, Torcello; per person €100-190, with half board €160-240;