The Torcello Island was one of the oldest and most flourishing settlements in the Venetian lagoon, located in a strategic position near other islands, which contributed to the rise of the small town. It is located a few minutes by boat from the famous island of Burano, from the island of Mazzorbo and also from Punta Sabbioni. The latter is an excellent starting point to visit and discover these suggestive islands and to spend a beautiful day immersed in the nature of the Venetian lagoon.

Walking along the main stream, between cultivated vegetable gardens and old buildings, we meet the mysterious Ponte del Diavolo, which according to local legend, was created in just one night by the devil, for this reason it has remained incomplete today. Founded between the fifth and sixth centuries, it is currently the sleeping beauty of the lagoon but, once, it developed to become a thriving colony with palaces and churches. With the rise of Venice, however, the island began its decline to become what it is today, or a quiet place in which a beautiful Byzantine basilica stands out.

The Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta was founded in 639 and, despite numerous renovations, still evokes the solemnity of the time. It was built with the name of Santa Maria Madre di Dio, for the bishop Paolo, who dived to escape together with the inhabitants, bringing with him the relics and treasures of the diocese of Altino, which was under siege by the invasions of the Lombards. Over the years, this small center became one of the most prosperous and fertile in the Republic of Venice, subsequently the church was modified and enlarged several times, until 1008, which was rebuilt and rededicated with the name of Santa Maria Assunta, for the will of the new bishop Orso I Orseolo, son of the doge Pietro II Orseolo.

After a few centuries, despite the decline and abandonment of the city, the church still maintained its cathedral status. Today the interior has an early Christian scheme, with the central part of the building that is formed by the basilica. Its pearls are, the thirteenth-century mosaic on the central apse, which depicts the Virgin immersed on a gold background, and in the semi-cylindrical apse below we find the Apostles on a flowery meadow, from the side of the main entrance, another emerges grandiose Byzantine style mosaic, which portrays the Last Judgment.

Nearby we find the church of Santa Maria Fosca is a classic example of the Venetian-Byzantine style of the island of Torcello, it stands on what was once the town square, next to the basilica. It is a 12th century building with a beautiful portico of marble columns and capitals. Inside, on the martyrion, we find the relics of the martyr Fosca, coming from Sabratha, a north-western city of Libya. Do not miss the Torcello Museum, which collects a huge number of ancient objects found on the islands of the lagoon and on the Venetian mainland.