Poveglia

Venetians are fascinated by dead things, horrors, prisons, freaks and malformations.Jan Morris, Venice

Located between Venice and the Lido's harbour of Malamocca the uninhabited island of Poveglia has an eerie reputation as the most haunted island in Italy. It actually consists of three islands; the two larger ones linked by a bridge while the third tiny one still has the walls of one of the five octagonal forts built by the Republic in the 17th century to defend the entrances to the Lagoon.

Poveglia was inhabited off and on from the 5th century, when it was first settled by refugees from Padua. In 810 the residents famously blocked Pepin's advance into the lagoon. In 864 it became a refuge again when supporters of Doge Pietro Tradonico escaped here when Tradonico was murdered by the nobles.