We've seen so many parts of Italy and places during our initial trip to Venice, that I often miss up writing about some of those discoveries. One of them being the Museo Provinciale di Torcello.
Sadly, we are speaking about a very small island with very few activities and places you can see during your stay in Torcello, but at least it represents one of the places out there that I can say that I covered entirely, because it was hard not to.
One of the places that truly caught my interest while walking around, was Museo Provinciale di Torcello which came pretty unexpected since these kinds of figures and statues are more likely to be met in or around Rome, which was definitely not the case for Torcello that is around 400 km away from the capital of Italy.
However, as most people know, Italy is pretty famous for its history both from the past but also the one that is basically written even in the 21st century, so thinking again about meeting this Archaeological museum in Torcello, makes a lot more sense now.
But along with the Archaeological Section of the museum, the building also shelters a section for Medieval and Modern findings.
The whole activity of collecting Archaeological artefacts began in 1870 when the prefect of Venice, Luigi Torelli, purchased Palazzo del Consiglio located nearby to house all the things he was about to find and start gathering, summing up the museum we can see these days.
However, just two years later the building was given to the Province of Venice, so all the artifacts had to find a new home, thus taking birth Museo Provinciale di Torcello.
After Luigi Torelli died, the passion for collecting interesting pieces of history was passed to Cesare Augusto Levi who got involved pretty fast, also bringing pieces from other parts of Italy, one of them being Rome, the one I mentioned before.
For the next 80 years, the collection of artefacts kept having different people to lead the passion, each of these taking part more or less into improving the collection until 1949 when the whole direction was assigned to Giulia Fogolari who got involved into a radical restoration of the objects exhibited, also opening up the section for medieval and modern objects to be displayed.
But as things rarely happen with no connections from the past, the place where the museum was born is on Torcello Island which represented for many years a point of arrival and place of trade between the sea and hinterland for the Roman cities of that time that met with the eastern and northern sides of Europe for business.
The island played a major role in the economic system of the Roman Empire, but after centuries passed and the place faced various invasions and the formation of the Roman‑Barbarian kingdoms, these activities were taken to other places for the sake of keeping the locals safe.
Sadly, even if the origins of Torcello are more ancient than those of Venice, this one doesn't enjoy the same popularity as the most famous city of Italy we also explored, talking about less than 30 people living in Torcello in 2024. The single activities they can have are either fishing or farming, while the main source of income comes still from tourism.
Even if the door was open at the museum, this one was not available to be visited during our trip because it took place off-season, but from what we understood, the main elements part of the exhibitions are inside the building, including various objects from the early-Veneto, pre-Roman, Roman, Byzantine, and early medieval periods.
There is also an archive room with all the official documents of Venice and when Torcello was suppressed, but also papers showing the ecclesiastic life Torcello has been part of.
Happily, even if we missed all of these, there are enough objects and sculptures placed outside the museum that are available all the time. While most of the elements part of the exhibitions sheltered by Museo Provinciale di Torcello are basically findings on and around the island, there is also a huge variety within these, talking about objects and works embracing the Greek, Etruscan, Central Italic, Paleoveneto and Roman cultures.
The elements that are not connected in any way with the island or history itself, were bought from pure passion from antiques markets or donated by other people sharing the same hobby. But as history speaks any language and it's a very vast area of knowledge, I'm sure the museum was more than happy to bring a bit of diversity within its elements and culture.
Hence why, you shouldn't be surprised to notice columns, busts, heads of divinities, and specific animals of Greece, nor Roman ceramics, or specific elements of the Adriatic Sea.
Click on the images to see them in full resolution
The Modern and Medival Sections instead, include documents and objects from the first centuries of the Christian era, as well as the Early Middle Ages that focused mainly on the Byzantine influence over the island.
Sadly, we didn't manage to see any of the elements part of the Modern and Medival Sections as these are entirely displayed within the museum, but the whole atmosphere, along with very few people around gave me the feeling of an almost forgotten part of the island where history still manages to live through its remains.
The complete address of Museo Provinciale di Torcello is Piazza, 30175 Isola di Torcello VE, Italy and it's open only on Saturdays and Sundays for one hour between 4-5 PM at no entrance cost. We got a 24-hour pass to use vaporetto which is a bus water that takes you to all the islands around Venice, but there are also a few more options such as:
- via ACTV public service: LN line (North Lagoon) and T line (Torcello) being needed to change it in Burano
- via Venice - Fondamenta Nouve - Burano - Torcello
- via Mainland - Punta Sabbioni - Treporti Burano - Torcello
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