"The Island of Ghosts" near Venice. It hides the remains of 160k people
"The Island of Ghosts" is located between Venice and Lido. In its soil lie the ashes of over 160,000 cremated human bodies. Poveglia Island was abandoned 55 years ago. Only a few brave souls dare to visit it.
The small Italian island of Poveglia, is located between Venice and Lido in the north of the country. It remains closed to visitors, unless they get special permission - reports "The Sun".
In 1968, a psychiatric hospital located on the island was closed. The now abandoned building has been overgrown by wild vegetation.
Mysterious Italian island
The island is divided into two separate parts, with a small canal flowing through its center. One side is heavily overgrown, and on the other are the ruined buildings of an old hospital.
Experts claim that over 50 percent of the soil consists of human ash from cremation. There is also a large cemetery on the premises.
In the buildings, you can still find many left behind items. This includes hospital beds, cutlery, and other furniture.
In 1776, the island of Poveglia was used as a checkpoint for goods and people entering and leaving Venice. However, many of those who stayed there fell ill with the plague, and quarantine was carried out on-site.
In an effort to combat the spread of disease, the dead were cremated en masse, and their bodies were buried in the ground.
In this way, a legend was created about the mortally ill Venetians waiting for death, only for their spirits to return and haunt the island. In 1922, the existing buildings there were converted into a psychiatric hospital.
There was supposed to be a doctor working there who conducted brutal experiments on his patients. He used tools such as hand drills, which can still be found there today. Legend has it that the doctor claimed that the killed souls haunted him, which is why he jumped from the bell tower.
