Poveglia, the Forbidden Island
A small island in the Venetian lagoon, once a quarantine station, is said to be soaked in the dead of the plague.
What was reported
Poveglia is a small island between Venice and the Lido. From the late 18th century it was used as a quarantine station for ships, and later as a hospital and care home, which closed in 1968. It has stood empty since.
Legend says thousands of plague victims were buried or burned there, and that a doctor at the hospital did cruel things to patients before falling from the bell tower. Visiting is forbidden.
Explanations offered
Historians say Venice's main plague islands were others, such as the Lazzaretto Vecchio, where mass graves have been excavated, though Poveglia did serve as a quarantine station. The story of the doctor has no record behind it and grew mostly through ghost-hunting shows in the 2000s. In 2014 the island was offered for lease, and a citizens' group campaigned to keep it public.
- When
- Empty since 1968
- Where
- Poveglia, Venetian Lagoon, Italy
- Witnesses
- Venetians, and television ghost hunters
- Status
- Partly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.