Poveglia

Poveglia as seen from Lido.
Description
Country	Italy
Coordinates	45°22′55″N 12°19′52″E
Terrain	Island
Owner	Italian government
Status	Off limits to locals and tourists

Poveglia is a small island located between Venice and Lido in the Venetian Lagoon, northernItaly. A small canal divides the island into two parts. It is off-limits to visitors.

History

The island first came to be referenced in chronicles in 421 AD, when people from Padua andEste fled there to escape the barbaric invasions. In the 9th century the island started to be intensely populated, and in the following centuries its importance grew steadily, until it was governed by a dedicated Podestà. There were many wars on Poveglia, as many barbarians still wanted the people who fled there. In many cases the Poveglians won these wars, but in 1379 Venice came under attack from the Genoan fleet; the people of Poveglia were moved to the Giudecca, and the Venetian government built on the island a permanent fortification, called "the Octagon," still visible today. The island remained uninhabited in the following centuries; in 1527 the doge offered the island to theCamaldolese monks, but they refused the offer. In 1661 the descendants of the original inhabitants were offered to reconstruct their village on the island, but they refused to do so.

In 1777 the island came under the jurisdiction of the Magistrato alla Sanità (Public Health Office), and became a check point for all goods and people coming to and going from Venice by ship. In 1793, there were several cases of the plague on two ships, and consequently the island was transformed into a temporary confinement station for the ill (Lazzaretto); this role became permanent in 1805, under the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte, who also had the old church of San Vitale destroyed; the old bell tower was converted into a lighthouse. The lazzaretto was closed in 1814.

In the 20th century the island was again used as a quarantine station, but in 1922, the existing buildings were converted into an hospital for mentally ill and long-term care. This went on until 1968, when the hospital was closed, and the island, after being shortly used for agriculture, was completely abandoned. Presently, the island is closed to locals and tourists and remains under Italian government.^[1][2]

Use by Napoleon

Poveglia island was used by Napoleon Bonaparte much to store weapons during the Napoleonic Wars. He used this location for the reason that it was small and insignificant to the Austrian Empire. Contrary to his belief, there were many small battles on this island as somehow the information of his weapons being there leaked to Austria.

Folklore

In recent times, some legends have arisen about the island. According to legend, during Roman times it was used to isolate thousands ofplague victims, and during the three occasions when the Black Death spread through Europe, the island was effectively used as a lazarettoand plague pit – it was considered an efficient way of keeping the infected people separated from the healthy. According to this version, over 160,000 people died on the island throughout its history.^[3] The island used in 1576 to accommodate those hit by the plague was not Poveglia, but Lazzaretto Nuovo.^[2]

Another legend surrounds a building erected in 1922 on the island, which was used for various purposes, including usage as a mental hospital.^[4] The legend states that a particular mental health doctor tortured and butchered many of the patients, before going "mad" and jumping to his death from the bell tower. According to that same legend, he survived the fall, but was 'strangled by a mist that came up from the ground'. Its ruins remain to this day.^[3] The institution in question has been described as a retirement home,^[1][2] but evidence on the island shows that despite the controversy, at least part of the building housed mental patients.^[4]

The island has been featured on the paranormal reality shows Death in Venice: Demon Doctor,^[5] Ghost Adventures and Scariest Places on Earth.