Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Shh! I'm thinking about Torcello

And how quiet and peaceful it was.

I first went there in September '06 and it was just a passing through visit - a walk up a path to the old medieval buildings, with no one there but us. We looked at the old stone chair, the Church of Santa Fosca, and the mosaics of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. The well was unusual, with interesting carvings of amphorae around it. There are supposed to be sixty people living there, but apart from the people who served me my coke at the bar, I didn't see, or notice anyone else actually.



It was a warm, still and serene afternoon. As we walked back along the canal to the ferry, there were wild flowers waist high in the grass along side the path. The only sounds I could hear were crickets and a few small birds.



Sipping my ice cold coke on a seat outside the bar, I thought about how important Torcello had been in the past, and how small and secluded it had now become. Do you know, I think that afternoon was actually one of the highlights of my trip. I am never bothered or concerned by large numbers of tourists, who are enjoying Italy just like me.



That's because I can always find somewhere just like Torcello, that's far from the madding crowd.

6 comments:

Lilly said...

That looks so beautiful. It is lovely to see a whole different side to Venice than which is often presented elsewhere. You have a real eye for colour and design. I love the background colour on your blog. Are you artistic in other areas too Leslie? Somehow I bet you are. I also love your stories about the pictures as well - you have a lovely writing style too!

I just saw your comment about the car on my blog. Oh no, what a nightmare!!!

Anonymous said...

I really want to visit Torcello! I guess I will have to "force myself" to return to Venice again :)

Sandrac said...

What a lovely post, Leslie. After the nasty shock of the Conservatives again winning a Canadian election last night, your post is soothing.

As Girasoli says, I really must return to Venice and visit Torcello.

Anonymous said...

I love Torcello too. I am definitely going back out there in December. I might even have lunch out there, and I'm going to be looking for cats!

You are so right, there are many places in Venice where you can escape the tourist hoardes!

Trekcapri said...

Hi Leslie, great post and photos. I really enjoyed my visit to Torcello too. It was really interesting taking that walk along the canal and around the back. And the view from the Tower was wonderful. I would love to return again to visit the mosaics which I unfortunately missed seeing.

Anonymous said...

That was a particularly evocative post - made me want to go there.