Oh Venice. Famous for its beautiful San Marco square, its small alleys and endless canals. No busses, metro or trams but ferry boats and gondolas bring you around this unique city. Or to one of its magical islands. Commonly known are Burano and Murano, famous for their glassworks and colored houses. An amazing experience, as basically the whole world must have thought. With over 50 million tourists a year, it's by far the most overcrowded city in the world. However, there is a way to escape from the bustle. If you find the right watertaxi and you're willing to pay a bit more, you can asked to be dropped off at Poveglia Island, just 5 kilometers (3.1mi) South of the San Marco square. It's a ... uh ... different kind of Venice.
With officially 0 visitors a year, chances are you would be all alone on the island. However, it has no shortage of sightseeing: The 17-acre island contains a medieval church, a hospital, an asylum, a bell-tower and an old cavana (a typical Venetian covered shelter for boats). From a quarantine station, a dumping ground for plague victims to more recently a mental hospital, the tiny island hosts a rich but unpleasant history...
Poveglia Island, the ghetto of Venice
The Island, which belongs to the Italian state, is officially closed to the public. As it would be a dangerous place for several reasons, getting on the island is strictly prohibited, making it the perfect spot for the local youth to make it theirs. Over the years, since it was abandoned in 1968, the island became a place where people could flee the reality. Where youth could come together and where outsiders have no business. "The fact that most outsiders believe our intimidating rumors help with that obviously", as locals told us. "When we vividly tell them we personally experienced paranormal activity on the island, most pull out".
The first records of the island date back to the year 421. Named 'Popilia', it was habited by refugees from the neighboring cities of Padova and Este. They settled on the island in order to escape German invades after the fall of the West Roman Empire. In the 9th century, population grew and Popilia benefitted from financial advantages of Venice. The island, which hardly measures 11 football fields, even got its own podestà: An important mayor.
The Island of no return
A few hundred years later, things changed drastically. In 1379, Venice got attacked by the Genovese and the island became a strategic spot to protect the Venice lagoon. A pentagonal fortress was build in front of the Island and all habitants were evacuated to Giudecca, the island facing the center of Venice, and got abandoned.
In 1776, 400 years after the last habitant left the island, the island came under the rule of the ministry of health. It turned it into a check point (like Ellis Island) for all people and goods entering Venice by ship. At the same time, the plague broke out in the overcrowded center of Venice. The island operated as a Lazzaretto, where all ill people were brought together. It got the surname: The Island of no return, as the patients were gravely ill.
Between 168.000 and 250.000 people died on the island
While Venice controlled the plague pretty well, between 168.000 and 250.000 died on Poveglia. As the bodies kept piling up and the mass graves, on the second part of the island, couldn't it anymore, they started to burn the mortal remains in a pseudo-industrial way. Several ovens, which are still in place, were installed.
With the end of the plague, the usefulness of Poveglia in its existing form also came to an end. In 1922, after carrying out a few works, a sanatorium for severely mentally ill people was installed on Poveglia. It was the destination for everyone who deviated a little from the "normal". They were accompanied by nurses and a psychiatrist until they died.
Paranormal activity on the island
The patients on the island started reporting voices, shadows, touches, movements, ... and all sorts of other phenomena. The medical staff on the island classified this as an evolution of their mental problems, and the chief physician on the island lobotomized everyone who dared speaking about strange events. The sanatorium on Poveglia was far from civilization, so there was no immediate control. The psychiatrist therefore experimented joyfully on his patients, at a point where lobotomy was provided with various horrible variants. Although, little by little, information about these torture practices reached the mainland, no one thought twice ... they were people with mental issues and thus they let the doctor do.
However, one day the doctor himself began to see things, to hear voices and to feel touches. He first tried to hide the symptoms, but began to get so troubled that he was afraid of being subjected to a horrible lobotomy himself. In 1968 he committed suicide by jumping from the tower and this was immediately the end of Poveglia. The sanatorium was closed and the island has been abandoned ever since.
Poveglia for sale
If you were interested, the island could have been yours. In 2014, the Italian government decided to lease the island for 99 years to feed the state treasury. It organized an online bid where it was expected that it would yield 10 million euros. However, it turned out differently: There were only 2 bidders: Luigi Brugnaro, the CEO of Umana Interim, and the non-profit organization "Poveglia per tutti" (Poveglia for all).
The non-profit organization wanted to buy the island with gifts and give it back to the Venetians, with a public garden and a multipurpose room. The generous donations came from concerned Venetians who see their city more and more taken over by the tourists who, with their 50 million, visit the small lagoon where barely 90,000 people live.
Luigi Brugnaro, on the other hand, wanted to install a private clinic for people with eating disorders. Although Brugnaro offered more than the organization (515,000 euros versus 444,000 euros), the island was eventually sold to neither of them "because the state wanted at least 10 million euros." So unless the Italian government puts it up for sale again, Poveglia will stay a playground for urban explorers and ghost hunters...
If you want to stay updated with the newest articles & exclusive promotions, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter.
Comments