About 40mins or so by boat to the east of where Venice stands today lies Torcello the site of the original settlers in the Venetian lagoon who, in order to avoid the raids by barbarians on the mainland, fled to the islands. It is believed that around 1000BC the population had grown to an estimated 10,000 with salt its major source of trade. Today only a few buildings remain including the 12th century Church of Santa Fosca on this comparatively now quiet island. This building (pictured) is on the path to the water bus terminal, its old shutters surrounded by the fading paint seemed to echo the feeling of the place, punctuated by the two blocks of carved stone relics from an era lost in time.