Poveglia Island: The Isle of Death - Italy's Most Haunted Places

Poveglia Island is a small isle located off the coast of Italy, in the Venetian Lagoon, that is considered by many, locals and tourists alike, to be haunted by the restless, tortured souls of victims who previously inhabited the island. In the Middle Ages, the island was used as a Lazzaretto, a maritime quarantine facility, and a place of exile for those beyond repair plagued with diseases. Later, it was used as a mental asylum. The main doctor was rumored to have experimented and tortured the patients. It is estimated that over 100,000 people died there and today fifty percent of the soil consists of human remains.

Today the island is strictly off limits! This is a restricted where no one may live or even visit. The few living souls who have ventured to the island have returned with tales of disembodied screams, rings from an empty bell tower which no longer has a bell, and sightings of figures in Plague Masks. Having been abandoned, Poveglia is in a state of morbid disrepair. The few images of the haunted lazzaretto corridors are enough to send a chill down your spine and bring the mad screams to your ears. 

We were recently in Venice and wanted to see if there was any way we could visit Poveglia Island. The locals thought we were crazy for even entertaining this idea. To our dismay, the authorities stated that visiting Poveglia Island is not possible for tourists and even for locals without special permission from the Municipality of Venice. The reason being the island is closed to the public due to safety concerns and its dilapidated state. All the buildings are in ruins, with collapsed stairs and ceilings, and the area is overgrown with vegetation. 

Legend and lore surround the island. The locals in Venice all have tales about what happens on the island. People started inhabiting the island in the 7^th century, but by the 14^th century the Poveglia was abandoned. Starting in 1776, the island began to be used as a lazzaretto for plague victims. Venice had two other lazzaretti at the time, but both were overflowing with plague victims and a third was desperately needed.

When used as a lazzaretto, the island was a place of hopelessness, despair, and death. Because so many met their untimely end on that very island, ditches, named ‘Plague Pits’, had to be dug to accompany the many dead bodies or ashes. Sometimes rocks were placed in the mouths of the plagued, which were believed to prevent the corpses from rising from the grave as vampires. Because Venice was a popular destination for ships, any boat with a passenger carrying an illness was sent first to Poveglia Island. This increased the number of unfortunate people who lost their lives on the tiny island. As well as a quarantine facility, it was a mass burial ground - an undesirable and feared destination.

In the early 20th century, the lazzaretto on Poveglia was converted into a mental asylum. According to legend, the head doctor tortured and experimented on the patients. Around this time too, patients started seeing and hearing long deceased victims of the plague, which drove one of the doctor to madness, causing him to leap from the clock tower, falling into a mysterious fog which killed him. His ghost is said to still haunt the ruins. Another man was trapped in the tower in the act of ringing its bell. He starved to death in the tower, but rings are still heard from the island even though the bell in the tower has long since been removed. A patient who had his legs amputated used to race around the halls of the asylum. Some who have daringly ventured to the island say that they can hear his wheelchair. 

Unfortunately, none of these sightings or rumors can be confirmed, but the legends have the same unsettling effect. It has been given the titles of creepy, cursed, eerie, the Most Haunted Island, the Ghost Island, or the Island of Death. The mental hospital closed in 1968 and was then owned by the Italian government and restricted to visitors. In 2014, the Italian government auctioned off Poveglia to pay off debt. An Italian businessman, Luigi Brugnaro won with a bid of €513,000 (approximately £417,000). While Brugnaro now owns the lease, the island itself remains state property. Brugnaro has announced no plans for the island. So, for now the many restless, tortured spirits who have suffered at the hand of madness, illness, ghosts, and death still roam!