torcello, an island on the northern end of the venetian lagoon. it was once the economic center of the area, bigger than venice itself, but before long, the lagoon around the island became a swamp and people moved elsewhere. now, supposedly only 20 people live on the island.
i found the island while reading up about venice and the history of the lagoon. i read that hemingway stayed here in 1948 while writing ‘across the river and into the trees’. i like the idea of finding the out-of-the-way places to explore and to live and to create. as i move around the world, crossing off the big places on my list, i’m making a new list of these out-of-the-ways – those are ones that i hope to come back to, should we ever need a place away from the places.
torcello, italy. june 2013.