Poveglia, the island isolated from the Venetian lagoon, hides a dark history with thousands of incinerated bodies. Although access is forbidden, two British explorers have managed to get there and reported a haunting experience.
Poveglia, island isolated from the Venetian lagoon, forbidden to photo tourists: Archive
Compared to the coast of Venice is the Storage, considered one of the most frightening islands in the world. Frieved of three distinct sectors – an area with ruined buildings, a former military fort and a part almost completely swallowed by vegetation, the island is completely forbidden to tourists.
The Italian authorities do not allow access due to the danger that the old and unstable buildings represent. Only in rare cases, such as scientific research or authorized filming, visits are approved on this ghost island, notes The Sun.
160,000 victims of the plague, burned on the island
The stove was used in the eighteenth century as a quarantine area during plague epidemics. According to local legends, people suspected of being infected were forcibly transported to the island, in desperate screams. Many of them never returned.
It is estimated that about 160,000 victims of black death were burned there, and their ashes would be over 50% of the soil composition today. The island also served as a place of mass funerals, and the traces of those dark times are still visible.
Two courageous British stepped into the forbidden place
In 2020, British urban explorers Matt Nadin (40 years old) and Andy Thompson (54) managed to visit the island and filmed everything for their YouTube channel, Finders Beepers History Seekers, where they documents abandoned with a historic past.
Matt told experience in earthquake terms: “It was very, very strange. You would have said that the driver of the boat was also scared, not just by the police, but by the place itself, he could not leave quickly enough. The island is so full of dark history, a lot of people have died there and you really have a feeling of horrors that took place there while walking. They burned all the bodies and left them in place. The island was never properly cleaned, so everything was left there. “
The explorer also spoke about the period in which the island was transformed into asylum for mental diseases: “Later, when it was transformed into asylum, and because people were taken there, far from the eyes of the curious, they began to experiment on them, horrible things, horrible”.
A bizarre moment amplified the strange atmosphere: “While I was there, I heard the bell ringing and that was pretty scary, even scared me a little. It was like a sign or something. “
A movie atmosphere of horror
Although the buildings are ruined, Matt noted that the original architecture had a special charm: “You could figure out after tiles and arches that initially would have been a beautiful building“. However, degradation was obvious:”You could see that almost no one has set foot there for years, because there is no graffiti or something else, it is only natural degradation”.
Vegetable, the island seems overwhelmed by nature: “Nature has really taken control and was really typical for a horror movie with all the Lianas and vegetation. Certainly an experience I will not forget“He concluded.
