Although outside Venice proper, the beautiful island of Torcello is, by history and geography, inextricably linked to Venice. Torcello is the oldest permanent settlement in the Venetian lagoon; it was already a prosperous city when Venice was just an idea on the islands of the Rivo Alto (Rialto). Today only a few old buildings remain on Torcello, among them the elegant basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, erected first in the 8th century and rebuilt several times thereafter.
A Madonna della Misericordia by Tintoretto and his workshop can be admired on a side altar.

Other Cities

Many cities, especially in Northern and Central Italy, have representations of the Madonna della Misericordia: Verona, Siena, Parma, Cortona, Ancona, Sansepolcro, Vicenza (Monte Berico) among many others.

In the church of San Giovanni in Fonte, which is part of Verona's cathedral complex, a beautiful fresco  of  the Madonna della Misericordia graces one of the side altars.



The image of the Madonna della Misericordia is also benerated in Germany where it is known as the Schutzmantelmadonna (Sheltering-cloak Madonna). It can be found in Spain as well. In Seville it is known as Virgen de los Navegantes (Virgin of the Seafarers) and it was painted to commemorate the discovery of the New World. It can be admired in the Alcazar and in one of the side streets in the Santa Cruz or old Jewish quarter.



I was surprised to see it, however, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where it came not through the Spanish conquest but rather with the Italian immigration of the late 19th century.