Latest news with #PatriziaVeclani
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Locals in destination packed with tourists buy 'Island of Death' to escape
A group of Venetian locals seeking relief from their tourist-crowded city have secured a lease for an abandoned isle with a notably disturbing and tragic history Venetian locals seeking refuge from overtourism have taken possession of a long-abandoned island with a haunting history. The locals purchased the island just for themselves - the only catch? It's the site of a plague pit and former asylum. Poveglia is a spot of land between Venice and the Lido - which separates the Venetian lagoon with the Adriatic Sea. It is Poveglia that will become the haven for those who live in the tourist hotbed come August 1, 2025. Despite the harrowing history of the island, the locals had to beat out property developers to ensure Poveglia remained a public asset. Locals now have a 99-year lease from the Italian state and seek to change it into an urban park open exclusively to residents of the Italian city. The 7.5 hectare island was put on an auction list by the Italian State Property Agency in 2014. It was the activist group Poveglia per Tutti (Poveglia for Everyone) and its 4,500 members that managed to nab the island after raising €460,000 (£398,700) to secure the lease. The triumphant story of the locals stands in juxtaposition with the island's gruesome history. Known as the 'Island of Death', Poveglia was home to a psychiatric hospital after the Second World War with a rumoured 'mad' doctor. It is also estimated that around 100,000 people lost their lives on the tiny isle as the bubonic plague ravaged Italy in the 1700s. Legend says that you can still hear the cries of the plague victims from the quarantine station. Whether you believe the local legend or not, it's hard to argue that the island has a notably dark past. Landmarks like the San Vitale church were also destroyed when Napoleon Bonaparte passed through. Today, the church bell tower, deserted hospital and prison are among the few remaining structures. However, having been long abandoned, the structures are quite unsafe and thus the island remains closed to visitors. That said, because the island is state-owned, interested travellers can seek special permission from the Municipality to visit. Typically, such permission is granted for purposes like film crews, photography projects, or research. And again, after the restoration by Poveglia per Tutti, the island will only be open to other Venetian locals. According to the group, overtourism has necessitated a space for locals to reclaim their beloved home. Venice welcomes an estimated 30 million tourists annually and has taken increasing measures to reduce the offset the number of visitors. One such measure is the five-euro tourist tax implemented in 2024 during peak times. Another measure ensures that cruise ships can no longer dock close to the lagoon city. Patrizia Veclani, founder of Poveglia per Tutti, told CNN that her group sees this as a small victory in reclaiming Venice from overtourism. 'The island would never have been as popular as other places,' Veclani said, 'but keeping this small space just for Venetians is a victory.'
New York Post
4 days ago
- General
- New York Post
Locals buy ‘haunted' Venice island known for horrific experiments in plan to ban tourists
A group of more than 4,500 residents of Venice chipped in to buy a 'haunted' island that once housed an asylum and a hospital for quarantined plague victims — to keep tourists away. The local investors are now due to take over the 18.5-acre island of Poveglia on Aug. 1 with a 99-year lease that will turn it into an urban park for Venetians that is strictly off limits to foreigners visiting the historic city, according to a report by CNN. The spooky island sits on the southern end of the Venice lagoon. Advertisement 5 Poveglia island was once a Roman military outpost, and later housed an asylum and a hospital for plague victims. Getty Images 5 Once home to controversial experiments on the mentally ill, Venice's Poveglia Island is now believed to be haunted. Getty Images 'It wasn't just outrage, it was psychologically traumatic to realize that the city could be broken up and sold to the highest bidder, without a starting price, without even a plan,' Patrizia Veclani, who formed the group Poveglia per Tutti, or 'Poveglia for Everyone,' told the outlet. Advertisement 'It's as if Rome were to decide to sell the Trevi Fountain,' Veclani said. 'The island would never have been as popular as other places, but keeping this small space just for Venetians is a victory.' Poveglia's haunted history dates back to 421 AD, when it served as a Roman military base. It was later a farming and fishing community before it was used to house victims of the bubonic plague when it broke out in the 18th Century, the report said. 5 Over the years Poveglia was also a farming and fishing community before it became a hospital and asylum. De Agostini via Getty Images 5 A group of 4,500 Venetians chipped in to buy the island to keep it away from private developers and tourists. Getty Images Advertisement At least 160,000 plague victims are believed to be buried there. In the 19th Century, the island was converted into an asylum for the mentally ill — and experimental treatments and abusive conditions reportedly ran rampant, the outlet said. Poveglia has been uninhabited since the asylum shut down in 1968, and today it is heavily overgrown with brush and woods with a large rabbit population surrounding 15 abandoned hospital buildings. Ghost hunters have since dubbed the island haunted, and it was featured in TV's 'Ghost Adventures.' Advertisement However, the island was put up for auction in 2014, and recent rumors suggested a private developer would end up buying it and adding yet another tourist attraction in a city weary of tourists. 5 Poveglia's new owners said they will turn the haunted island into an urban park exclusively for Venetians. Getty Images Alarmed, Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro organized a group to buy the island for $600,000, but their effort failed to get approval from the state and Poveglia's fate remained in limbo. However, Veclani's group banded together and landed the lease for $539,000. 'The island was made famous by foreigners who were looking for something to exploit,' Massimo Pera, a member of the group, told CNN. 'The memories of the island are steeped in pain, but we will transform it into a place of joy.'
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Venice locals win bid to convert abandoned island into sanctuary
A small island near Venice once used as a plague pit is set to become a public park for the city's residents. Part of Poveglia, an island south of the Italian city, has been deserted and closed to visitors for decades, its dilapidated hospital buildings frozen in time, its imposing fort now abandoned and its rumored mass graves still hidden. Its grisly past covers both the countless unknown plague victims thought to have died on the island and the lobotomies reputed to have occurred there when the hospital served as a mental asylum in the 1920s. In 2014 the Italian government sold the island for £400,000 as part of an Italian government strategy to sell off unused property to address its budget crisis. But a group of Venetians launched a campaign to protect the island from commercial development, calling themselves 'Poveglia For Everyone' (PFE). Following a protracted battle, PFE won control over the island. The activist group won a six-year lease, beginning next month, beating competitors including Venice's mayor Luigi Brugnaro. The grassroots group asked Venetians to donate money to help preserve the island from development and turn it into an oasis for those wishing to escape the hustle and bustle of the tourist-laden city. Patrizia Veclani, one of the founders of Poveglia for Everyone, told the Times: 'We woke up with a nest egg of €460,000 (£400,887) and a community full of high-level professional skills.' Her group will pay little more than €1,000 (£871) a year for the renewable lease. PFE says it is joining forces with the University of Verona to transform the northern part of the island 'into a lagoon urban park open to citizens and respectful of the ecosystem and the landscape elements that characterise the lagoon.' The group faces an uphill battle to regenerate the island, however, as there is currently no water or electricity, nor is there a proper pier. Earlier this year, furious Neapolitan locals attempted to crowdfund the purchasing 'back' of a tiny island in the shadows of Mount Vesuvius after it was listed for sale at over £8million. The island of Punta Pennata, which spans an area of just 70x500 metres, lays a mere 100 meters offshore the town of Bacoli in the Gulf of Naples. Despite being a favorite fishing retreat of locals for decades, the rocky peninsula was put up for sale by luxury auctioneers Sotheby's. Residents and officials from neighboring towns are not simply accepting the island's sale though, with Bacoli mayor Josi Della Rangione leading the campaign to place Punta Pennata under the stewardship of the local community. Italy as a nation has already dealt with vast levels of overtourism and a plethora of foreign tycoons buying up similarly prime real estate from under local's noses. In a bid to stop Punta Pennata from falling into the hands of another exorbitantly wealthy businessperson or celebrity, Mr Della Regione drummed up support from all over Italy in the hopes that the local community can raise enough funds to 'buy back' the island.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘Haunted' Venice island to become a locals-only haven where tourists are banned
A view of the 19th-century asylum on Poveglia is pictured. (Marcovia CNN Newsource) The abandoned Venetian island of Poveglia — site of a plague pit and former asylum — is about to take on a happier new identity. On August 1, a group of Venetians will take possession of the supposedly haunted island under a 99-year lease from the Italian state and embark on a project to turn it into an urban park open only to residents of the Italian city. The locals fought off stiff competition from property developers to ensure Poveglia remained a public asset. In 2014, the island, which is around 7.5 hectares (18.5 acres) in size and sits in the southern part of the Venice lagoon, was put on an auction list by the Italian State Property Agency, opening it up to developers tempted by its peaceful but convenient location just three miles from St. Mark's Square. Several consortia raised money to buy it, including one tied to Luigi Brugnaro, the current mayor of Venice, whose group raised 513,000 euros (US$600,000) but failed to gain approval from the state. Horrified at the prospect of the island being sold to a private buyer, Patrizia Veclani formed a group, Poveglia per Tutti (Poveglia For Everyone), to try to save the island and others like it that are on the government's auction list. The group, which has more than 4,500 members, managed to raise 460,000 euros ($539,000) and secure the lease. 'It wasn't just outrage, it was psychologically traumatic to realize that the city could be broken up and sold to the highest bidder, without a starting price, without even a plan. It's as if Rome were to decide to sell the Trevi Fountain. Venice and its Lagoon are one, inseparable,' Veclani said at a public forum last month, before the winning bid was announced. Veclani told CNN on Friday that her group sees this as a small victory in reclaiming Venice from overtourism, a longstanding problem. An estimated 30 million tourists visit the city every year, dwarfing the local population, which has now dwindled to less than 50,000, despite authorities' efforts to limit visitor numbers through measures such as a 2021 ban on cruise ships and a five euro ($5.86) charge for day-trippers introduced last year. 'The island would never have been as popular as other places,' Veclani said, 'but keeping this small space just for Venetians is a victory.' Poveglia island Italy A room inside the ruined asylum is pictured. (Marcovia CNN Newsource_ An overgrown woodland, a military fortress, 15 dilapidated hospital buildings and a rather large colony of rabbits are all that remain on the island, the group says. Poveglia's spooky history goes back to an outbreak of the bubonic plague in the 18th century, brought to Venice by fleas on merchant ships during a period when the city was an international trading hub. As the plague spread, the island was converted into a maritime quarantine dock for merchant ships arriving from abroad and for people with symptoms. Before that, it was inhabited by farmers and fishermen, having been founded as a Roman military base in 421 CE. The island's farm buildings and military barracks were transformed into dormitories, where the sick lived together and were subjected to primitive treatments, like bloodletting. As the plague spread, the dead were buried in mass graves. Venetian historians estimate that more than 160,000 people were buried on the island between the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 19th century, Poveglia became an asylum for mentally ill people, who were often restrained and subject to experimental treatments. The asylum closed in 1968, and the island has been uninhabited ever since. Poveglia's sad history led some to believe that it was haunted. Modern ghost-hunters, including U.S. television series 'Ghost Adventures,' have visited the island over the years, spreading the myths further. 'The island was made famous by foreigners who were looking for something to exploit,' Massimo Pera, a patron of the group, told CNN. 'The memories of the island are steeped in pain, but we will transform it into a place of joy.' The renovation of the island, which lacks electricity and running water, is being guided by the APsyM laboratory at the University of Verona's department of human sciences. Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN
CNN
7 days ago
- Business
- CNN
‘Haunted' Venice island to become a locals-only haven where tourists are banned
The abandoned Venetian island of Poveglia — site of a plague pit and former asylum — is about to take on a happier new identity. On August 1, a group of Venetians will take possession of the supposedly haunted island under a 99-year lease from the Italian state and embark on a project to turn it into an urban park open only to residents of the Italian city. The locals fought off stiff competition from property developers to ensure Poveglia remained a public asset. In 2014, the island, which is around 7.5 hectares (18.5 acres) in size and sits in the southern part of the Venice lagoon, was put on an auction list by the Italian State Property Agency, opening it up to developers tempted by its peaceful but convenient location just three miles from St. Mark's Square. Several consortia raised money to buy it, including one tied to Luigi Brugnaro, the current mayor of Venice, whose group raised 513,000 euros ($600,000) but failed to gain approval from the state. Horrified at the prospect of the island being sold to a private buyer, Patrizia Veclani formed a group, Poveglia per Tutti (Poveglia For Everyone), to try to save the island and others like it that are on the government's auction list. The group, which has more than 4,500 members, managed to raise 460,000 euros ($539,000) and secure the lease. 'It wasn't just outrage, it was psychologically traumatic to realize that the city could be broken up and sold to the highest bidder, without a starting price, without even a plan. It's as if Rome were to decide to sell the Trevi Fountain. Venice and its Lagoon are one, inseparable,' Veclani said at a public forum last month, before the winning bid was announced. Veclani told CNN on Friday that her group sees this as a small victory in reclaiming Venice from overtourism, a longstanding problem. An estimated 30 million tourists visit the city every year, dwarfing the local population, which has now dwindled to less than 50,000, despite authorities' efforts to limit visitor numbers through measures such as a 2021 ban on cruise ships and a 5 euro ($5.86) charge for day-trippers introduced last year. 'The island would never have been as popular as other places,' Veclani said, 'but keeping this small space just for Venetians is a victory.' An overgrown woodland, a military fortress, 15 dilapidated hospital buildings and a rather large colony of rabbits are all that remain on the island, the group says. Poveglia's spooky history goes back to an outbreak of the bubonic plague in the 18th century, brought to Venice by fleas on merchant ships during a period when the city was an international trading hub. As the plague spread, the island was converted into a maritime quarantine dock for merchant ships arriving from abroad and for people with symptoms. Before that, it was inhabited by farmers and fishermen, having been founded as a Roman military base in 421 CE. The island's farm buildings and military barracks were transformed into dormitories, where the sick lived together and were subjected to primitive treatments, like bloodletting. As the plague spread, the dead were buried in mass graves. Venetian historians estimate that more than 160,000 people were buried on the island between the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 19th century, Poveglia became an asylum for mentally ill people, who were often restrained and subject to experimental treatments. The asylum closed in 1968, and the island has been uninhabited ever since. Poveglia's sad history led some to believe that it was haunted. Modern ghost-hunters, including US television series 'Ghost Adventures,' have visited the island over the years, spreading the myths further. 'The island was made famous by foreigners who were looking for something to exploit,' Massimo Pera, a patron of the group, told CNN. 'The memories of the island are steeped in pain, but we will transform it into a place of joy.' The renovation of the island, which lacks electricity and running water, is being guided by the APsyM laboratory at the University of Verona's department of human sciences. Jack Guy contributed to this report.
