Some visitors are still curious about the small island, that once hosted thousands of refugee black plague victims, serving as a quarantine island for those who were even suspected of harboring the bacteria. The island remains one of the most haunted places in Italy; and despite the fact that it is illegal to visit Poveglia, thrill-seekers continue to consider it a cool, albeit creepy destination; however, everyone who has taken the chance of stepping foot on the island has left with absolutely no desire to ever return. Read on to learn more about this haunted island in Italy.
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Poveglia is a small island located between and in northern Italy. A small divides the island into two separate parts. The island is first mentioned in chronicles of 421 when people from and fled there to escape the barbarian invasions. In the 9th century the island's population began to grow, and in the following centuries, its importance grew steadily, until it was governed by a dedicated. In 1379 Venice came under attack from the Genoan fleet; the people of Poveglia were moved to the Giudecca. The island remained uninhabited in the subsequent centuries; in 1527 the offered the island to the monks, who refused the offer. From 1645 on, the Venetian government built five octagonal forts to protect and control the entrances to the lagoon. The Poveglia octagon is one of four that still survive.
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The Italian island of Poveglia has gone back thousands of years. During the Roman Empire, the island was used to house victims of the plague in order to protect the rest of the country, forcing inflicted people to live and die in isolation. Dead bodies quickly began to overcrowd the island and thousands were dumped into large, common graves. In many cases, the bodies were burned. Some overly cautious Italian communities even got into the habit of shipping away anyone who showed the slightest signs of illness. Many of those people had not actually been infected with the plague at all and were literally dragged to Poveglia and dumped atop piles of rotting corpses. The ghosts of the victims of disease are said to haunt the island and its buildings. Voices and screams are often heard, and visitors have reported seeing dark, fleeting shadows. Many visitors say they begin to feel an oppressive evil feeling as soon as they step on the island.
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