Is Attila The Hun's Throne actually located in The Veneto?

Upvote:5

Of the parts of the legend mentioned in your question, one part is probably false while the other is almost certainly false.

Is the stone chair Attila the Hun's throne? As T.E.D. noted in his comment, Wikipedia's page Attila's Throne asserts it isn't. The source for this seems to be this article (which also gives no sources). Wikipedia says the stone is most likely a podesta or bishop's chair.

Was Attila the Hun actually enthroned on Torcello Island? This is almost certainly false as the evidence suggests Attila never visted the island. John Man, in 'Attila the Hun' states that

Aquileia’s surviving inhabitants fled from the Huns to found Venice, which was supposedly a secure haven because the Huns dared not ride their horses into the surrounding mud.

Similarly, Bonnie Harvey in 'Attila the Hun' says

Like Aquileia, Padua suffered great losses under the Huns. Many of Padua’s citizens fled before the approaching army. These 500 people later founded the city of Venice. The Roman historian Cassiodorus reported that “Many families of Aquileia, Padua, and the adjacent towns . . . found a safe, though obscure, refuge in the neighbouring islands [near present-day Venice]. . . .

As these fleeing inhabitants lived to tell the tale, it is fair to assume that Attila was not enthroned in what was their new home.

Upvote:6

No

This Venetian tourist site asserts not:

In reality the Hun [sic] never arrived in Torcello as their descent into North Eastern Italy was halted at Aquileia (UD) and being pastoralist people, they would have never reached an island from the sea.

Aquileia is at the head of the Adriatic, but on the mainland, and closer to Trieste than Venice. Actually, Attilla's next target was Padua, but in 452 Pope Leo I somehow persuaded him to stop.

Recall that the islands in the Veneto were settled by by people fleeing the various Gothic, Hunnic, and Lombard invasions near the end of the Western Roman Empire. Attilla was likely more interested in richer prizes (such as Rome) than pursuing a few soggy refugees into a swamp.

More post

Search Posts

Related post