Italy / Veneto - Mazzorbo

Italien / Venetien - Mazzorbo

 

Chiesa di Santa Caterina in Mazzorbo

 

Mazzorbo is one of various islands in the northern part of the Lagoon of Venice. Like the other islands in this part of the lagoon, it was the site one of the earliest settlements in the lagoon which predated the development of Venice. However, these islands then declined and were eventually abandoned. In the 1980s the architect Giancarlo De Carlo built a brightly coloured residential neighbourhood to help to repopulate Mazzorbo. In 2019 its population was 256. It is linked to Burano by a wooden bridge. It was once an important trading centre but is now known for its vineyards and orchards. Its main attraction is the fourteenth century church of Santa Caterina.

 

Geography

 

Mazzorbo is situated next to the island of Burano, to its north, to which it is linked by a bridge, and to the west of the island of Torcello. It lies to the north of the palude di Santa Caterina marsh and to the west of the palude del Monte marsh. The canals around the island are the Canale Borgogni and Canale di Burano channels to the west, the Canale Scomerzera di Mazzorbo channel (the western end of which separates it from Burano) to the south, the Canale Santa Caterina channel (which separates it from the Santa Caterina island) to the east and the Canale di Mazzorbo channel to the north. The latter separates Mazzorbo from the larger Mazzorbetto island. Mazzorbo is linked to the island of Murano and the central part of the lagoon by the Canale Scomerzera di San Giacomo canal.

 

Mazzorbo is part of a group of four islands. To its west there is the island of Santa Caterina to which Mazzorbo is separated by the Santa Caterina channel. The two islands are connected by two bridges. The Santa Caterina island was split into two in 1928 when an extension of the Canale di Mazzorbo channel (the Santa Margherita canal) was dug to connect Mazzorbo’s northern shore to the Canale Scomerzera San Giacomo canal. To the north there is Mazzorbetto, which is separated by the some-60 m wide Canale di Mazzorbo channel. Although in Italian Mazzorbetto sounds like “little Mazzorbo,” it is the largest island of the group.

 

Etymology

 

In the past Mazzorbo was variously called Maioribus or Maiorbo (1137), Maiorbenses (1143) or Maiurbo (1228).

 

Jacopo Filiasi, a late 18th/early 19th century historian, argued that the origin of the name Mazzorbo was the Latin term Major Urbs, Major Urbi, and Majurbium, Great or Major Town, and that this settlement was the largest town in the whole of Byzantine Venezia Marittima, the coastal area of north-eastern Italy which was under the Byzantines in the 6th century. However, the work of many historians, including Roberto Cessi, has shown that Mazzorbo was never mentioned in the ancient and medieval chronicles. Therefore, this hypothesis seems unlikely. It has been suggested that Filiasi’s interpretation came in the context of the patriotic and aggrandising panegyric typical of 19th century Venice and anti-Austrian rhetoric during the Austrian occupation.

 

In the basis of the lack of mentions of Mazzorbo in the old chronicles, Cristoforo Tentori Spagnuolo, another late 18th/early 19th century historian, argued that the origin of the name Mazzorbo was Medium Urbis, ”Town in Between” or “Town in the Middle” (of other towns).

 

A Roman stone inscription which was discovered in the 19th century, the Epigrafe Torcellana (Torcello Epigraph), commemorates a donation to the town of Altinum by Tiberius Claudius Nero who, during his consulate (13-14 BCE) built temples, porticoes and gardens. It describes the town, its districts and gates and mentions the Maedium Urbis gate. The inscription was placed on this gate, which was in the northeast of the town. This name also appears in other sources, where it is sometimes written as Medium Urbium or Mediurbium. This was also the name of the sixth district of the town. According to Simone Menegaldo, the refugees from Altinum gave this name to this island because it was in between other islands they settled (Burano, Torcello, and Costanziaco).

 

History

 

It is often held that the settlements in Mazzorbo and the other islands in the northern part of the Lagoon of Venice were built by refugees from the nearby coastal town of Altinum either when it was destroyed by Attila of the Huns in 452 or form the inland areas of the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions when they were conquered by the Lombards in 569-615. However, in 1881, archaeologists discovered Mycenaean pottery on the island, which shows that there was already commercial activity in 1600–1100 BCE.

 

Like the settlements on other islands of the northern part of the lagoon (Torcello, Costanziaco, Ammiana and Burano) Mazzorbo was one of the earliest settlement in the Lagoon which predated the development of Venice. These settlements thrived from the 9th to the 14th century when they were the hub of maritime trade with the Adriatic Sea and the rest of the Mediterranean Sea. Flaminio Corner, an 18th century historian, wrote that "[the island of Mazzorbo] is divided into two by a wide canal which flows in the middle and separates the island into a western and eastern part, it lies among other islands, a long time ago it was a breathing space of the Nobles, when they were dedicated to a fruitful maritime trade."

 

Mazzorbo and the other islands in the area declined with the urbanisation of Rivoalto, which developed into the city of Venice and became the dominant centre of the lagoon. Many families moved to Venice. In addition, there was environmental degradation caused by floods which eroded the banks of the islands and various buildings, the expansion of the surrounding marshes and problems with malaria. Eventually, Mazzorbo and other islands in the area were abandoned.

 

With the depopulation of this part of the Lagoon of Venice, many religious institutions were established on these islands. Despite not being a large settlement, Mazzorbo had five monasteries and five parish churches. The monasteries were Santa Eufemia (which was dissolved and demolished in 1768), San Maffio (which was dissolved and demolished during Napoleon's occupation of Venice and its lagoon), Santa Maria Valverde, Santa Maria delle Grazie and Santa Caterina. The parish churches were: San Pietro, San Bartolomeo (which was demolished in 1810 during the Napoleonic occupation), San Angelo, Santo Stefano and Santi Cosma e Damiano. With the decline of the island and with the dissolution of churches and monasteries, all of these churches and monasteries, except for the Santa Caterina church, were demolished and no trace of them remains.

 

The above mentioned names (Maioribus, Maiorbo and Maiurbo) referred to a settlement which comprised all of the three-island group (prior to the splitting of the S. Caterina island in 1928). In fact, the San Matteo monastery was on the Santa Caterina island. The Sant' Eufemia monastery was in the southeast of the Mazzorbetto island, along the Canale di Mazzorbo channel and with its entrance facing the Canale Bognoni channel which leads to Torcello. The San Pietro church was at the southwestern end of Mazzorbetto.

 

Not much is known about the life and the politics of Mazzorbo before its abandonment. There are only archival documents which mainly record information about its religious institutions. The monasteries also provided for the education of young noble women. Through this connection with the nobility, the churches and monasteries of Mazzorbo were endowed with artworks by painters and other artists who were renown at the time.

 

Santa Caterina, the only surviving church

 

This the only surviving church in Mazzorbo. According to a 1715 chronicle by Bernardo Trevisan, a Venetian nobleman, Santa Caterina was built in 783. It was rebuilt between 1283 and 1291 and annexed to a Benedictine nun convent with the same name. The convent was behind the church. It was demolished in 1806 during the Napoleonic dissolution of monasteries. The church was tuned into a parish church. By then it had been in decline. In 1819 it became the only parish church in Mazzorbo. Major restoration work in 1920-25 altered the original structure. Restoration work in 2002 re-established the original bricked wall.

 

Its earliest mention is in the acts of a parish synod convened by the bishop of Torcello in 1374. The oldest archival document is a 1398 pledge of loyalty to the bishop of Torcello by the abbess. In the 14th century the nuns experienced hardship. In 1314 the Murano chapter granted them a marsh so that they could benefit from the revenues of its mills. However, this income was not enough, and the number of nuns decreased. In 1432 the revenues of the monastery of Santa Maria della Gaiada on the Tumba della Gaiada island (which was part of the settlement of Ammiana) were incorporated into those of Santa Caterina. In 1492 the dissolved Benedictine monastery of San Nicolo was merged with Santa Caterina.

 

The complex was restored in 1712 by Pietro Tabacco, a nobleman who in the same period founded the Madonna del Rosario church on the Madonna del Monte island, towards Murano. To provide further aid, the Bishop of Torcello merged Santa Caterina with Santa Maria della Gaiada monastery, which had been abandoned.

 

The church has a unique aisle with a ceiling which resembles the hull of a ship dating to the 15th century. There are several paintings. The most important are the “Mystical wedding of Saint Katherine” by Matteo Ponzone and one by Giuseppe Porta. Above the entrance door there is a sculptured marble lunette with the “Mystical wedding of Saint Katherine and two Donors.” Christ is sitting on a throne holding an open book which reads “EGO SUM LUS MUNDI” in his left hand. With his right hand he puts a ring on the finger of a kneeling St. Katherine. The bell tower was built in the 14th century and has the oldest bell in the lagoon. It dates to 1318.

 

Mazzorbo today

 

Mazzorbo today is a sparsely populated island devoted mainly to agriculture with vegetable growing, vineyards and orchards. Mazzorbetto and Santa Caterina are also devoted to agriculture. In the latter two there are several farmsteads and hardly any inhabitants.

 

At the eastern end of Mazzorbo, by the bridge which connects it to Burano, there is the Scarpa farm. It has a number of buildings, some of which date to the 16th century, vineyards, fruit trees and vegetable areas which are surrounded by a 19th century wall. It was bought by Venice council in 1999 and after it was restored in 2006 it was opened to the public. It has information about the history of local agriculture. The Dordona grape is grown here. This is a fine grape which is native of the lagoon and has been recently been selected from centuries-old vines.

 

Giancarlo De Carlo was an architect who belonged to a new generation of architects who wanted to develop a new type of architecture, one which was better suited to local social and environmental conditions and where man "is not reduced to an abstract figure". He theorized a more democratic and open "participatory architecture". In 1979 he built a brightly painted housing neighbourhood to help to repopulate the island.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Mazzorbo ist eine Insel in der Lagune von Venedig, die nur etwas über 50 Meter westlich der Insel Burano (bzw. deren Teilinsel San Mauro) liegt. Mit dieser ist sie durch eine einfache, 60 Meter lange Holzbrücke verbunden. Mazzorbo ist traditionell eines der sechs sestieri von Burano (die übrigen fünf liegen auf der Insel Burano selbst). Die Insel hat offiziell eine Fläche von 52 Hektar, genauer 517.945 Quadratmeter. Satellitenbildmessungen ergeben jedoch nur eine Länge von 945 Metern und eine maximale Breite von 320 Metern, mit einer Fläche von kaum mehr als 20 Hektar. Unter Einschluss der Nachbarinsel Mazzorbetto wäre der offizielle Flächenwert plausibel.

 

Zur Volkszählung 2001 wurden 364 ständige Einwohner nachgewiesen, sowie 10 auf Mazzorbetto, am 4. Juni 2010 zählte man noch 329 auf der Insel, 2011 waren es nur noch 316.

 

Lage, Verkehr

 

Von Venedig kommend fährt man in den Mazzorbokanal ein (Canale di Mazzorbo, der in seinem westlichsten Teil 22 Meter breit ist, sich jedoch weiter östlich von 55 bis auf 75 Meter weitet), der Mazzorbo von der nördlich vorgelagerten, größeren Insel Mazzorbetto trennt. Eine Brückenverbindung nach Mazzorbetto besteht nicht. Der westlichste Teil von Mazzorbo ist durch einen 12 bis 20 Meter breiten Wasserweg vom Hauptteil der Insel abgetrennt, aber durch zwei Brücken mit diesem verbunden.

 

Mazzorbo ist von Venedig aus mit öffentlichem Verkehrsmittel (Linie LN) erreichbar. Die heutigen Einwohner arbeiten teils in Burano (Tourismus) und pendeln teils nach Murano oder Venedig. Wie auf den anderen Laguneninseln San Erasmo oder Vignole, wird auch auf Mazzorbo Gemüse gezogen, bzw. ein wenig Weinbau betrieben.

 

Geschichte

 

Der Name Mazzorbo leitet sich vom lateinischen Maiurbium ab, das ‚größere Stadt‘ bedeutet und auf die frühere Wichtigkeit dieser Insel hinweist. Diese reicht womöglich bis ins 5. Jahrhundert v. Chr. zurück, in die sich Fragmente attischer Keramik datieren ließen. Reste von Palisaden und Fragmente von Terra sigillata aus dem zweiten und dritten Jahrhundert bei der Kirche S. Michele Arcangelo belegen menschliche Bewohner, jedoch lässt sich keine kontinuierliche Siedlung nachweisen. Vor allem war die Insel Zufluchtsort für Bewohner von Altinum.

 

Als im 6. Jahrhundert der Wasserspiegel anstieg – aus der Spätantike oder dem Frühmittelalter fanden sich Überreste eines Versuchs, die nordwestliche Uferlinie gegen den steigenden Meeresspiegel zu verteidigen –, errichtete man erste Uferbefestigungen und hob das Bodenniveau der Häuser. Diese Aufschüttungen setzten allerdings verstärkt erst zu Beginn des 7. Jahrhunderts ein. Ende des 8. Jahrhunderts begann der Meeresspiegel erneut zu steigen, worauf wiederum Bau- und Sicherungsmaßnahmen erfolgten. Sie fanden im 11. Jahrhundert ihren Höhepunkt, als das alte Malamocco überschwemmt wurde.

 

Neben einigen Häusern aus dem 16. und 17. Jahrhundert ist die Kirche Santa Caterina aus dem 14. Jahrhundert erwähnenswert, in deren Campanile die älteste Glocke der Lagune (1318) hängt.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Santa Caterina (italienisch Chiesa Santa Caterina di Mazzorbo, deutsch Kirche der heiligen Katarina von Mazzorbo) ist eine Pfarrkirche auf der Insel Mazzorbo in der nördlichen Lagune von Venedig. Die Kirche ist der heiligen Katharina von Alexandrien gewidmet, die in der katholischen und der orthodoxen Kirche als Märtyrerin verehrt wird. Die Kirche ist das einzige von zehn religiösen Gebäuden, die ursprünglich auf Mazzorbo entstanden. Sie ist nicht mit der gleichnamigen Kirche im Stadtteil Cannaregio in Venedig zu verwechseln.

 

Geschichte

 

Nach einer Chronik von Bernardo Trevisan, einem venezianischen Adligen, aus dem Jahr 1715, wurde Santa Caterina im Jahre 783 erbaut. Sie wurde zwischen 1283 und 1291 umgebaut und an ein Benediktinerkloster mit dem gleichen Namen angeschlossen. Das Kloster befand sich hinter der Kirche. Ihre früheste Erwähnung findet sich in den Akten einer Pfarrsynode, die 1374 vom Bischof von Torcello einberufen wurde. Das älteste Archivdokument ist ein Treueversprechen der Äbtissin des Klosters an den Bischof von Torcello aus dem Jahr 1398. 1432 wurden die Einnahmen des Klosters Santa Maria della Gaiada auf der Insel Tumba della Gaiada (die Teil der Siedlung Ammiana war) in die von Santa Caterina eingebracht.

 

1492 wurde das aufgelöste Benediktinerkloster San Nicolo mit Santa Caterina zusammengelegt. Der Klosterkomplex wurde 1712 von Pietro Tabacco restauriert, einem Adligen, der in der gleichen Zeit die Kirche Madonna del Rosario auf der Insel Madonna del Monte in Richtung Murano gründete. Um weitere Hilfe zu leisten, fusionierte der Bischof von Torcello Santa Caterina mit dem Kloster Santa Maria della Gaiada, das aufgegeben worden war. Das Kloster wurde 1806 während der napoleonischen Auflösung von Klöstern abgerissen. Die Kirche wurde in eine Pfarrkirche umgewidmet. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt war sie bereits im Niedergang begriffen. 1819 wurde sie die einzige Pfarrkirche in Mazzorbo. Große Restaurierungsarbeiten in den Jahren 1920 bis 1925 veränderten die ursprüngliche Struktur. Bei Restaurierungsarbeiten zwischen 2000 und 2002 wurde der alte und verfallene Innenputz beseitigt und die ursprüngliche Mauerwerksstruktur der Ziegelmauer wiederhergestellt.

 

Neben dem Glockenturm ist heute nur noch die Sakristei der Kirche erhalten, ein angrenzender Saal, ein Ort, von dem aus die Mönche das Heilige Abendmahl empfingen. Ferner ein Zimmer auf der linken Seite des Atriums, in dem sich der Concierge des Klosters befand, und die Zimmer, aus denen sich das kanonische Haus zusammensetzt. Die Kirche selbst hat einen einzigartigen Gang mit einer Decke, die dem Rumpf eines Schiffes aus dem 15. Jahrhundert ähnelt.

 

(Wikipedia)

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