The Haunted (Maybe) Island of Poveglia

There is an interesting article by Ransom Riggs in "Mental Floss" about an island a stone's-throw from Venice that is rumored to be haunted.  The article has numerous pictures of the location.

The island is believed to have been one of three islands initially established in the Middle Ages as quarantine zones.  In fact, Ransom Riggs actually credits our use of the word "quarantine" from the Italian words involving the length of time that merchant visitors to Venice were sequestered from the city:  Quaranta giorni, or "forty days."

Venice has been pinpointed as one of the primary sources of the spread of the plague, the vectors being the fleas infesting the rats that boarded the ships while they harbored in infested ports.  Outbreaks followed the trading routes out of Venice and other major trading ports into mainland Europe. Venice was no stranger to outbreaks of the plague, experiencing twenty-two outbreaks between 1361 and 1528.  No surprise, then, that the city took strict measures to try and protect itself.  Unfortunately, since knowledge of germs and diseases and how they spread was incomplete or incorrect, these measures were only partially successful.  The outbreak in 1576-1577 killed 50,000 people in Venice, a third of it's population at that time.  Mortality rates were even higher inland, where quarantines were not established.  In 1680 another outbreak occurred, and in the course of 17 months, 80,000 Venetians died.

Back to the island of Poveglia.  It is believed that Poveglia was one of the islands where incoming travelers were quarantined, and during plague outbreaks, an island to where citizens exhibiting early symptoms of the disease were deported.  The island has never been officially explored, although other quarantine islands have been, and mass graves have been discovered there. 

Why hasn't Poveglia been the site of any archaeological activity?  Perhaps because the island has served other purposes throughout the years, including being the site of an insane asylum.  The institution, which Venetian officials deny was an insane asylum, was closed down in 1968, and the island has been essentially abandoned ever since.

The fact that the island has been ignored, and probably because it's difficult to find anyone willing to take casual visitors there, has excited the imagine of ghost enthusiasts.  The mystique of the island is also possibly exacerbated by the fact that Venetian officials downplay the more lurid portrayals of Poveglia's past.  I hope that someday archaeologists will at least survey the island, because it's obviously a part of Venice's history.   To see the photos of Poveglia, and read Ransom Riggs' article, click here.