Torcello is a small island on the Venetian Lagoon. Now barely populated, it was one of the first inhabited islands in the region and a flourishing town before the emergence of Venice overshadowed it. People came from the mainland to Torcello and the other islands in the lagoon to escape from invading armies during the downfall of the Western Roman Empire. The most feared of the invading peoples were the Huns led by Attila, who destroyed the city of Altinum on the nearby coast in 452. Today, just in front…
