Poveglia: the spookiest island - Discover the island where 50% of the soil is composed of human remains!

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Location - Poveglia is a small island situated between Venice and the Lido on the Venetian Lagoon, in the north of Italy.

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Territory - Lido has a fine sandy beach. The island stretches approximately 12 kilometers, forming a natural barrier between Venice and the open sea.

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Canal - A small canal divides the island into two parts.

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 "The island of no return" - Visits to the island are forbidden nowadays. Venetians call it "the island of no return".

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 "The island of no return" - The island is not buffeted by violent waves or storms, but it is spooky for the charred human remains which come from its terrible past.

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Walls - At just 17 acres across, the island has walls from an ancient fortification that was built in the 14th century to prevent Genoese invaders.

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Walls - Later, during the Napoleonic Wars, the structure was used by British soldiers to ambush the French.

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Various uses - Poveglia served various purposes. Discover what they were...

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Quarantine - One of the greatest problems of Medieval Europe was the spread of infectious diseases, most famously the plague, especially in large trading centers such as Venice.

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Quarantine - Sanitation was very bad and people isolated the sick to avoid epidemics.

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Quarantine - These places of isolation were called 'lazarettos' and Poveglia was once one of them.

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Quarantine - People suspected of having a disease were forced to remain in the lazarettos for a period of 40 days before being released.

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Quarantine - However, the disease was getting worse and many people died. Thousands of bodies were buried in common graves, and later, in the absence of space, burned.

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Quarantine - The island served as a refuge for over 160,000 patients who were left on the island to spend their final hours there.

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Legend - Legend has it that these people were haunted by the ghosts of those who had perished before them.

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End of lazarettos - The lazaretto was closed in the 19th century.

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50% - So many people died in Poveglia, that today it is believed that 50% of the soil is composed of ashes and human remains.

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Rest home - In 1922, a retirement home for the elderly was installed in Poveglia.

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Mental patients - According to witnesses and strong evidences that still exist on the island, instead of serving as a rest home for the elderly, the institution was actually used to shelter old homeless people and the mentally ill.

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Torture - It is said that one of the institution's doctors carried out sinister experiments, torturing and killing several of the patients.

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End of the asylum - The asylum was closed in 1968, and the ruins still lie in Poveglia.

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Haunted program - An American TV presenter went into the abandoned hospital to record a program for the 'Travel Adventures' channel. He said he felt like he had been possessed by a ghost inside.

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Unused - After the insane asylum closed, the island was left unused.

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Luxury hotel - After this, the Italian government had the idea of turning the island into a luxury hotel, and put it up for auction.

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"Poveglia per tutti" - After the auction, residents set up a non-profit organization called "Poveglia per tutti", and the place was opened to the public.

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Luigi Brugnaro - Italian businessman Luigi Brugnaro ended up buying Poveglia for about $500,000.

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Public use - The new owner has not yet decided what he will do with the island, but he says he would like it to have some kind of public use.

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Construction - According to estimates, restoration will cost over $16 million. Meanwhile, access to Poveglia remains restricted.

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Closely guarded secrets - The island's secrets are locked away from the public and continue to attract the attention of paranormal investigators and ghost hunters.

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