A small archaeological and medieval art museum on the island of Torcello in the northern Venetian lagoon, housed in two historic buildings adjacent to the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. The collection presents artefacts from the lagoon's earliest inhabited island, which served as the principal settlement of the Venetian lagoon from the fifth to the eleventh century before Venice itself rose to prominence and Torcello declined to the near-deserted state visitors find today. The Palazzo dell'Archivio section displays archaeological finds from Roman, early Christian, and medieval periods: fragments of pavement mosaics, carved stone capitals, inscriptions, ceramics, coins, and metalwork excavated from the island and surrounding lagoon mud. These objects document Torcello's period as a prosperous trading town of 20,000 residents -- a population it has not approached in nine centuries -- and the lagoon community that preceded the founding of Venice on the Rialto islands. The Palazzo del Consiglio section houses a collection of medieval and Byzantine art including icons, altar fragments, gold and silver liturgical objects, and architectural sculpture from demolished churches. The juxtaposition of these refined objects with Torcello's current desolation -- a handful of buildings, one restaurant, and a handful of residents amid wild vegetation and archaeological ruins -- creates a powerful meditation on the impermanence of human settlement. Torcello is reached by vaporetto Line 12 from Fondamente Nove via Murano and Burano, a journey of approximately one hour. Most visitors combine the museum with the cathedral's extraordinary Byzantine mosaics and the adjacent Church of Santa Fosca. The island's extreme quietness outside of tourist visiting hours provides a contemplative experience impossible anywhere in Venice proper.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: Piazza Torcello, Torcello, Venice, Italy, 30142