An island just off the coast of a hugely popular tourist destination has been taken back by local residents. The 17-acre islet was the setting for some real-life grim goings-on across history, but now it is hoped it will become a haven away from some of the busiest streets in Europe.
The deserted island was once a quarantine area and over the years became home to thousands of plague victims – and it’s thought that there are mass graves on the piece of sea-fringed land. The island has been abandoned for nearly 60 years, but was more recently a hospital for people suffering from mental health issues, until the 1960s. Poveglia is an island just off of Venice – and now the historic piece of land is set to become a public park, an escape from the crowds for the nearby city’s residents.
Venetian group ‘Poveglia per tutti’ (translated it means ‘Poveglia for all’) have just won a bid for the island – and will now oversee part of it, preventing private development.
‘Poveglia per tutti’ will now control some of the island’s green natural space under a six-year lease – and they plan to improve accessibility for anyone visiting.
These Venice locals want Poveglia to be a peaceful haven away from the millions of tourists who clog up the main city—an increasing issue that has sparked multiple protests from residents over recent years.
On the Facebook page for Poveglia per tutti, which has over 20k followers, a post reads: “11 years to reiterate that what belongs to all remains for all, when we stand together, our voices become more powerful.”
The long-abandoned island is south of Venice and has been partly closed to visitors for decades.
The Italian government sold the island for £400,000 over 10 years ago as part of a strategy to address its budget crisis.
At the same time, Venetians launched a campaign as they sought to protect the island from private commercial development.
11 years on, and the group has won control over the island on a six-year lease, even beating Venice’s mayor Luigi Brugnaro in the bidding.
Venetians donated money to the cause in a quest to prevent development as they want to turn it into a park and nature area away from the tourist-saturated city of Venice.
Patrizia Veclani, one of the founders of the Poveglia activist group, told the Times: ‘We woke up with a nest egg of €460,000 (£400,887) and a community full of high-level professional skills.’
The local group will pay about £871 (€1,000) a year for the renewable lease, but will nurture and do their best for the unspoilt islet.
The University of Verona is joining forces with the activists and will look to transform the northern part of Poveglia into a ‘lagoon urban park open to citizens and respectful of the ecosystem and the landscape elements that characterise the lagoon.’
The group certainly has a challenge on its hand to regenerate the island – currently no water or electricity is available on Poveglia nor a proper landing berth for boats.
