The Church of Santa Maria Assunta (Italian: Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta) is a basilica church on the island of Torcello, Venice, northern Italy. It is a notable example of Late Paleochristian architecture, one of the most ancient religious edifices in the Veneto, and containing the earliest mosaics in the area of Venice. Former Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Torcello.
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👉 Torcello Cathedral in the context of Hodegetria
A Hodegetria, or Virgin Hodegetria, is an iconographic depiction of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to him as the source of salvation for mankind. The Virgin's head usually inclines towards the child, who raises his hand in a blessing gesture. Metals are often used to draw attention to young Christ, reflecting light and shining in a way to embody divinity. In the Western Church this type of icon is sometimes called Our Lady of the Way.
The most venerated icon of the Hodegetria type, regarded as the original, was displayed in the Monastery of the Panaghia Hodegetria in Constantinople, which was built specially to contain it. The painting became known as the Madonna of Constantinople. Unlike most later copies it showed the Theotokos standing full-length. It was said to have been brought back from the Holy Land by Eudocia, the wife of emperor Theodosius II (408–450), and to have been painted by Saint Luke the evangelist, the attributed author of the Gospel of Luke. The icon was double-sided, with a crucifixion on the other side, and was "perhaps the most prominent cult object in Byzantium".
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Torcello Cathedral in the context of Roman Catholic Diocese of Torcello
The Diocese of Torcello or Diocese of Turris (Latin: Dioecesis Torcellanus) was a Roman Catholic diocese located in the town of Torcello in the province of Venice in northeastern Italy. In 1818, it was suppressed to the Patriarchate of Venice.