Wall reinforcement, roof replacement, and restoration of mosaics from 1977 to 1985 with funding from the International Torcello Committee, composed of Save Venice Inc., World Monuments Fund, America-Italy Society of Philadelphia, Venice in Peril Fund, Comitato Italiano per Venezia, Deutsches Studienzentrum in Venedig, Arbeitskreis Venedig der Deutschen UNESCO-Kommission, Comitato Internazionale per la Salvaguardia della Gondola, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and Noufflard Memorial.

Monitoring of the Last Judgment mosaic in 2002 with funding from Emily and Walter Mead through Save Venice Inc., Venice in Peril Fund, World Monuments Fund, America-Italy Society of Philadelphia, Arbeitskreis Venedig der Deutschen UNESCO-Kommission, and Stichting Nederlands Venetië Comité.

The island of Torcello in the Venetian lagoon became a safe refuge for inhabitants of the nearby coastal area who were fleeing barbarian invasions on the mainland in the seventh century. In 639 a church was founded on the island and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, according to the wishes of Emperor Heraclius of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Byzantine governor Isaccio of the Exarchate of Ravenna, the center of Byzantine power at that time. Major reconstruction of the church took place in the ninth century and again in the eleventh.

Byzantine-Veneto mosaics cover the walls and floor. The apse mosaic, Madonna and Blessing Child (Virgin “Hodegetria”), is from the thirteenth century. Other mosaics include the Twelve Apostles, Saint Heliodore, the Annunciation, Christ Pantocrator and the Archangels, the Four Doctors of the Church, and the Lamb of the Apocalypse. The Last Judgment mosaic on the church’s entrance wall reminds Christians as they leave the church of the eternal damnation that sinners will face. Its lower sections, representing Christ the judge and the tribunal of apostles and saints, were made in the twelfth century, while the upper sections, dealing with the mystery of Christ’s death and his descent into hell, date to the thirteenth century.

Click here to learn more about Save Venice’s 50th Anniversary Campaign for Torcello, which is currently underway.

The mosaics were restored by Giovanni Cucco; the doors by Bruno Girardello; the walls, chapels, and roof by Francesco Zerbo and Jolando Francalancia; and the chapel by the Edilenzo restoration firm. These conservations works were undertaken with the guidance of project directors Mario Piana and Grazia Fumo of the Superintendency of monuments of Venice.

For select projects, conservation dossiers in Italian containing limited textual and photographic documentation may be available for consultation by appointment at the Venice office of Save Venice and the Rosand Library & Study Center. For inquiries, please contact us at venice@savevenice.org.