News & Stories

Save Venice is pleased to continue its commitment to the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta on the island of Torcello–Venice’s oldest heritage site–by funding urgently-needed conservation treatment of the mosaic presbytery floor. Extending for roughly 900 square feet (85 square meters) between the iconostasis and the high altar, this decorative pavement is thought to date to the 11th-century and is composed of precious marble and stone tesserae in geometric designs.

During Save Venice’s recent conservation efforts at Torcello, it was discovered that the roof requires essential repairs to ensure the church’s structural stability and preservation. While the Catholic Diocese of Venice will finance work on the roof, funding is first needed for the delicate mosaic floor, which will not be able to withstand the weight of the interior scaffolding required. The floor must therefore be conserved first, prior to the roof.

Beginning in fall 2023, the work will be undertaken by master mosaic conservator Giovanni Cucco, who restored the apse wall mosaics of the church during Save Venice’s 50th Anniversary Campaign from 2020-2022. He will be assisted by recent restoration school graduates, who will gain valuable experience.

The conservation entails detaching the mosaic floor in sections, removing and replacing the mortar, integrating missing mosaic tesserae, and placing each section on a new base. The detached portions will be treated in a temporary laboratory set up in the closed fourth nave of the church. Once the roof work has been completed in 2025, the restored mosaic segments will be reinstalled in the presbytery, on top of a new subfloor that will be created following mosaic floor building practices defined by Vitruvio in the 1st century.

JOIN THE CAMPAIGN FOR TORCELLO

The cost to restore the 11th-century mosaic floor of the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta on Torcello is substantial–estimated at $500,000. Save Venice is seeking sponsors to join the campaign and help make this work possible.

For more information, contact kim@savevenice.org.