The Turchette Bridge in Dorsoduro in Venice

Near San Barnaba Square in Venice, in the Dorsoduro district, there is a bridge with a very special name: Turchette Bridge.

This name is linked to the centuries in which the Republic of Venice was at war with the Turks of the Ottoman Empire, and this meant that during the battles many men and women were taken prisoner. These women, Turchette in fact, were not immediately sold as slaves, as was the case instead for Christian prisoners, but instead remained in a house near the bridge for a period of two years, during which they were ‘re-educated' to become Christians.

If, after two years they repented, they were baptized with a Christian name, and could return to freedom, but if they did not want to give up their faith, they were sold as slaves. Of course, almost all of them converted, even though they often secretly remained tied to their religion.

However, the converted usually had an unhappy fate: easily recognizable by their facial features, they could only aspire to become servants, but more often than not they became prostitutes.