“Isola Madonna del Monte”
2013
Media: pastel on card
Size: 17,5 x 17,5 cm
In 1303 some Benedictine nuns built a convent dedicated to Saint Nicholas here, which explains the island’s former name of Saint Nicholas of Cavana. When the last of the nuns died, the abandoned convent became part of the convent of Saint Catherine of Mazzorbo. The island therefore remained deserted for about two centuries and the buildings crumbled. It then became the home of two hermits, followers of Saint Paul, and other lay or religious people seeking solitude. In 1712, Piero Tabaco was given use of the island by the Senate and permission to build a small church. This was built on the ruins of the ancient convent, and was dedicated to Saint Mary of the Rosary, whence came its new name, Madonna of the Mount. The church was consecrated in 1713 by the Bishop of Torcello, Marco Giustinian. Towards the middle of the 1800s, the religious buildings were completely demolished and replaced by a powder magazine whose ruins are still visible today. Madonna of the Mount was originally made up of two islands joined by a narrow strip of land. During the last war, a storm destroyed the link between the islands and the island was abandoned at the end of the war. It is currently in private owenership.
