Poveglia Island

It is my first time to heard about this place. So let’s get a deeper look now beyond the secrets within the black owl…

History

Poveglia is a small island floating in the lagoons of Venice.

The island was first referenced in chronicles in 421 AD, when people from Padua and Este 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 the Camaldolese 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 island was used 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. 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 a Venetian retirement homes. This went on until 1968, when the retirement homes were no longer used, 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.

Legends and Paranormal Activity

Its darkened shores are strewn with polished human bones. It is supposed to be so scary that no tourists are ever allowed to set foot on it.

As the Black Death spread through Europe the island was used as a lazaretto and plague pit. Living victims, including children and babies, were taken to the island and thrown into the pits with the rotting corpses and left to die. Over 160, 000 people died on the island throughout history. There is still a layer of ash covering the island, the remains of the burned bodies. The locals report seeing strange things and strange sounds can be heard coming from the island.

In 1922 a mental hospital was built on the island. Patients immediately started reporting seeing the ghosts of rotting plague victims and hearing strange whispers. Nobody believed them because they were thought to already be insane. Legend says that the doctor tortured and butchered many of his patients in the bell tower, before going mad himself. He liked to experiment on live patients trying to discover why they were insane. After years of torturing his patients, the doctor began to seeing the ghosts himself. It is said that these ghosts rose from the grave and dragged him to the bell tower and forced him to jump to his death. He survived the jump but as he was lying on the ground, a fine mist came up around him and entered his body, choking him to death. His ghost remains in the bell tower and on a quiet night the bell can still be heard tolling across the bay.

The hospital has since closed down, and the island is uninhabited. It is not open to tourism, and its ashy beaches remain deserted. Recently a family sought permission to visit the island, hoping to buy it cheaply and build a vacation home. The left before the night was over and have refused to comment on the reason for their abrupt departure, the only fact known is that their daughter’s face was ripped open by something and needed twenty stitches. 

A few people have gotten past the light police patrol that guards the island, and all have sworn never to return. They say the moans and screams that reverberate around the island are unbearable. There is a feeling of the most intense evil, and one thrill-seeker, upon entering the deserted hospital, was told, leave immediately and do not return.

The soil on the island, combined with the charred remains of some of the bodies, formed a layer of sticky ash on the land. The top layer of ash has dried in the sun to form a fine dust that swirls in the breeze and catches in lungs. Part of the island core consists of a layer of human remains. Fishermen avoid this area, as the chances of catching a body part or two are high.