This Small Island In Italy Was Used For Plague Victims And The Mentally Ill, Earning It A Haunted Reputation

Aerial Film Studio - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only
Aerial Film Studio - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only

One of Italy’s darkest secrets is the haunted island of Poveglia. The small island has a tragic history, having been used as an area of quarantine for plague victims and an asylum for mentally ill individuals.

The first inhabitants of Poveglia arrived in the 7th century. Throughout the years, it grew into a peaceful community of farmers and fishermen who avoided interaction with the Italian Peninsula.

In the 14th century, the Chioggia War led to the abandonment of the island. The Chioggia War was a conflict between Genoa and Venice.

It wasn’t until the 18th century that Poveglia was put into use once more. This time, it served as a place of storage for the Republic of Venice. When the Black Death broke out across Europe, the site was repurposed as a quarantine station for ships headed to Venice in an effort to prevent the plague from spreading further.

Due to its distance from the mainland, it was believed that Poveglia was the best location for keeping the highly contagious and deadly disease contained.

Those who were thought to be ill were sent to the island for treatment. The patients were housed in large communal buildings, where they were separated by gender and the severity of their symptoms.

The buildings were often overcrowded, which meant they were unsanitary and poorly ventilated. These conditions made it easier for the plague to spread. The herbal remedies that were used to treat the disease were also ineffective.

As a result, many plague patients never got the chance to leave Poveglia. It is estimated that over 160,000 people died between the 18th and 19th centuries. Their bodies were buried on the island.

Eventually, workers resorted to burning the bodies or leaving them in piles to decay since the mortality rate was so high. They simply ran out of space and time to provide proper burials.

Aerial Film Studio – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only

Even after the plague finally came to an end, Poveglia remained a quarantine station for treating the ill.

During the 20th century, the island was transformed into a psychiatric hospital. Just like with the plague patients, the patients at the asylum were seriously neglected and had to undergo poor living conditions.

At the asylum, patients were restrained, beaten, and left in isolation for long periods of time. Additionally, inhumane medical procedures, including electroconvulsive therapy, were performed on them.

The treatment involved sending an electric current through the brain and causing a seizure to relieve symptoms.

Many patients died painful deaths and were buried with the thousands of plague victims who passed away a century ago.

Because of all the death, misery, and suffering that occurred on the island, it is believed to be haunted.

There have been a number of reports of ghostly sightings and strange sounds on the island. Some claimed to have been pushed or attacked by invisible forces.

After the asylum was shut down, Poveglia was abandoned. To this day, it remains mostly untouched, and it is closed to visitors.

All the structures have collapsed into rubble and nature has reclaimed the land. In recent years, there has been talk of developing the island into a tourist destination. Perhaps one day, people will be able to visit the island again.

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Emily  Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a ... More about Emily Chan

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