Cats from Torcello {Italy}

When I grew tired of walking on Venice's main island, I decided to visit nearby islands using the regular boat service. On a one-hour ride to Torcello Island, we passed by Burano Island with its colorful houses standing side by side.

At Torcello, we disembarked and were led from a narrow walkway to a canal that flowed by two churches at the island's center. In the distance, I heard cowbells. 

I looked around for the source of the sound, but I could see no cows and no bells. Then, I noticed that a woman who had been on the boat was carrying a bell and ringing it methodically. She accompanied the clanging bell with shouted bits of song. Until we reached a small plaza, she continued singing and clanging. Suddenly, in the center of the plaza, a pack of stray cats appeared.

At the cats' arrival, the woman stopped singing and, working with a friend, offered food to the cats. After satisfying the large group, she again took up the bell, appealing to other strays to come to dinner and not miss their meal. At noon, the bells of the church joined those of the woman, tolling for noon and for the joy that the woman found in feeding her cats. As the bells peeled across the island, I too experienced a sense of happiness and well-being, knowing that there were people with the goodness to care for strays.

On the boat ride back, I thought about the cats and the mysterious bells. I felt as if both the cats and I were granted some release by the sound of the bells.

Text and photos: The Cats of Venice by Shin Otani