Italy’s Island Of Death Reclaimed By Locals To Escape Over-tourism And Create A Private Sanctuary

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

In a bold move to combat nan overcrowding caused by tourism, a group of locals from Venice has successfully taken power of Poveglia Island, besides known arsenic nan Island of Death. This notorious portion of land, which has a chilling past, will soon go a backstage retreat for Venetian residents, offering them much-needed alleviation from nan pressures of over-tourism. Starting successful August 2025, nan land will nary longer beryllium a desolate, abandoned spot of humanities calamity but a sanctuary exclusively for nan group of Venice.

A Haunting Past

Poveglia Island has agelong been associated pinch a acheronian history. It is infamous for being nan tract of a ample plague pit during nan 1700s, wherever an estimated 100,000 group perished from nan deadly disease. The land besides served arsenic a psychiatric infirmary aft World War II, pinch unsettling stories surrounding a rumored huffy expert who allegedly conducted sadistic experiments connected patients. These grim associations person earned nan land its nickname, nan Island of Death.

Despite its unsettling past, nan land is located successful a premier spot betwixt Venice and nan Lido, separating nan Venetian lagoon from nan Adriatic Sea. Over nan years, it has remained closed to nan nationalist owed to its unsafe, deteriorating structures, specified arsenic nan abandoned infirmary and nan ruins of nan San Vitale church. Only those pinch typical permission, specified arsenic movie crews, researchers, aliases photographers, tin entree nan island. However, aft years of neglect, Poveglia Island is astir to acquisition a melodramatic transformation.

A Fight Against Over-Tourism

The island’s caller leaseholders, nan activistic group Poveglia per Tutti (Poveglia for Everyone), correspond a wished effort to conflict nan over-tourism that has agelong plagued Venice. With astir 30 cardinal visitors annually, nan city’s residents often find themselves pushed to nan sidelines, incapable to bask their ain location successful peace. Poveglia per Tutti was formed to unafraid nan early of Poveglia Island and supply a quiet refuge for nan city’s locals.

After raising €460,000, nan group successfully secured a 99-year lease from nan Italian State Property Agency, which had antecedently listed nan land for auction. This triumph came aft aggravated title from developers who were eager to profit from nan island’s premier location. With nan lease successful hand, nan group plans to toggle shape nan 7.5-hectare land into an municipality park, providing a serene abstraction for nan residents of Venice to flight nan changeless influx of tourists.

A Sanctuary for Venetian Residents

The determination to move nan Island of Death into a nationalist parkland is simply a nonstop consequence to nan pressures of over-tourism successful Venice. The city’s overcrowded streets and changeless influx of visitors person made it progressively difficult for locals to support a value of life. In an effort to combat this, Venice introduced a tourer taxation successful 2024 to thief negociate nan effect of tourism, and measures were besides taken to forestall ample cruise ships from docking adjacent to nan city.

By securing Poveglia Island, Venetian residents are taking power of their environment, reclaiming a portion of their metropolis that was erstwhile beyond their reach. The translator of nan land is seen arsenic a mini but important triumph against nan forces of commercialization and over-tourism. The extremity is simple: to supply a abstraction for locals to reconnect pinch their metropolis and find bid distant from nan changeless crowds.

The Significance of Poveglia for nan Locals

For nan residents of Venice, nan reclamation of Poveglia Island represents much than conscionable a consequence to over-tourism—it’s a measurement of protecting their measurement of life. Venice’s unsocial charm has made it a world attraction, but astatine what cost? The city’s residents often consciousness for illustration visitors successful their ain homes, overwhelmed by nan regular influx of tourists. Now, by turning Poveglia Island into a backstage park, locals will person a spot to retreat and reconstruct immoderate bid to their lives.

Patrizia Veclani, nan laminitis of Poveglia per Tutti, sees nan task arsenic a captious measurement toward preserving nan psyche of Venice. The group’s effort to unafraid nan land is simply a connection astir what it intends to protect section communities successful nan look of increasing world tourism. Poveglia for Everyone isn’t conscionable astir redeeming a historical site—it’s astir creating a abstraction wherever Venetian locals tin unrecorded comfortably without being suffocated by nan pressures of wide tourism.

Key Facts About Poveglia Island

• Location: Situated betwixt Venice and nan Lido, Poveglia Island separates nan Venetian lagoon from nan Adriatic Sea.
• History: Known arsenic nan Island of Death, it was erstwhile a quarantine position during nan bubonic plague and later became a psychiatric hospital.
• Recent Lease: The group Poveglia per Tutti secured a 99-year lease for nan land successful a bid to protect it from developers and move it into a parkland for section residents.
• Island’s Future: The land will beryllium transformed into a serene municipality park, accessible only to nan residents of Venice.

Conclusion

The translator of Poveglia Island from nan Island of Death into a backstage refuge for Venice’s residents is simply a powerful consequence to nan challenges posed by over-tourism. By securing nan island, Poveglia for Everyone has fixed Venetian locals a much-needed sanctuary distant from nan overwhelming beingness of tourists. This effort serves arsenic an inspiring illustration of really communities tin return power of their environments and protect their measurement of life successful nan look of outer pressures. Through this move, nan land will soon nary longer beryllium a spot of death, but a awesome of resilience, rebirth, and dream for nan early of Venice.