Latest news with #plaguepit
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Venice locals win bid to convert abandoned island into sanctuary
A small island near Venice once used as a plague pit is set to become a public park for the city's residents. Part of Poveglia, an island south of the Italian city, has been deserted and closed to visitors for decades, its dilapidated hospital buildings frozen in time, its imposing fort now abandoned and its rumored mass graves still hidden. Its grisly past covers both the countless unknown plague victims thought to have died on the island and the lobotomies reputed to have occurred there when the hospital served as a mental asylum in the 1920s. In 2014 the Italian government sold the island for £400,000 as part of an Italian government strategy to sell off unused property to address its budget crisis. But a group of Venetians launched a campaign to protect the island from commercial development, calling themselves 'Poveglia For Everyone' (PFE). Following a protracted battle, PFE won control over the island. The activist group won a six-year lease, beginning next month, beating competitors including Venice's mayor Luigi Brugnaro. The grassroots group asked Venetians to donate money to help preserve the island from development and turn it into an oasis for those wishing to escape the hustle and bustle of the tourist-laden city. Patrizia Veclani, one of the founders of Poveglia for Everyone, told the Times: 'We woke up with a nest egg of €460,000 (£400,887) and a community full of high-level professional skills.' Her group will pay little more than €1,000 (£871) a year for the renewable lease. PFE says it is joining forces with the University of Verona to transform the northern part of the island 'into a lagoon urban park open to citizens and respectful of the ecosystem and the landscape elements that characterise the lagoon.' The group faces an uphill battle to regenerate the island, however, as there is currently no water or electricity, nor is there a proper pier. Earlier this year, furious Neapolitan locals attempted to crowdfund the purchasing 'back' of a tiny island in the shadows of Mount Vesuvius after it was listed for sale at over £8million. The island of Punta Pennata, which spans an area of just 70x500 metres, lays a mere 100 meters offshore the town of Bacoli in the Gulf of Naples. Despite being a favorite fishing retreat of locals for decades, the rocky peninsula was put up for sale by luxury auctioneers Sotheby's. Residents and officials from neighboring towns are not simply accepting the island's sale though, with Bacoli mayor Josi Della Rangione leading the campaign to place Punta Pennata under the stewardship of the local community. Italy as a nation has already dealt with vast levels of overtourism and a plethora of foreign tycoons buying up similarly prime real estate from under local's noses. In a bid to stop Punta Pennata from falling into the hands of another exorbitantly wealthy businessperson or celebrity, Mr Della Regione drummed up support from all over Italy in the hopes that the local community can raise enough funds to 'buy back' the island.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘Haunted' Venice island to become a locals-only haven where tourists are banned
A view of the 19th-century asylum on Poveglia is pictured. (Marcovia CNN Newsource) The abandoned Venetian island of Poveglia — site of a plague pit and former asylum — is about to take on a happier new identity. On August 1, a group of Venetians will take possession of the supposedly haunted island under a 99-year lease from the Italian state and embark on a project to turn it into an urban park open only to residents of the Italian city. The locals fought off stiff competition from property developers to ensure Poveglia remained a public asset. In 2014, the island, which is around 7.5 hectares (18.5 acres) in size and sits in the southern part of the Venice lagoon, was put on an auction list by the Italian State Property Agency, opening it up to developers tempted by its peaceful but convenient location just three miles from St. Mark's Square. Several consortia raised money to buy it, including one tied to Luigi Brugnaro, the current mayor of Venice, whose group raised 513,000 euros (US$600,000) but failed to gain approval from the state. Horrified at the prospect of the island being sold to a private buyer, Patrizia Veclani formed a group, Poveglia per Tutti (Poveglia For Everyone), to try to save the island and others like it that are on the government's auction list. The group, which has more than 4,500 members, managed to raise 460,000 euros ($539,000) and secure the lease. 'It wasn't just outrage, it was psychologically traumatic to realize that the city could be broken up and sold to the highest bidder, without a starting price, without even a plan. It's as if Rome were to decide to sell the Trevi Fountain. Venice and its Lagoon are one, inseparable,' Veclani said at a public forum last month, before the winning bid was announced. Veclani told CNN on Friday that her group sees this as a small victory in reclaiming Venice from overtourism, a longstanding problem. An estimated 30 million tourists visit the city every year, dwarfing the local population, which has now dwindled to less than 50,000, despite authorities' efforts to limit visitor numbers through measures such as a 2021 ban on cruise ships and a five euro ($5.86) charge for day-trippers introduced last year. 'The island would never have been as popular as other places,' Veclani said, 'but keeping this small space just for Venetians is a victory.' Poveglia island Italy A room inside the ruined asylum is pictured. (Marcovia CNN Newsource_ An overgrown woodland, a military fortress, 15 dilapidated hospital buildings and a rather large colony of rabbits are all that remain on the island, the group says. Poveglia's spooky history goes back to an outbreak of the bubonic plague in the 18th century, brought to Venice by fleas on merchant ships during a period when the city was an international trading hub. As the plague spread, the island was converted into a maritime quarantine dock for merchant ships arriving from abroad and for people with symptoms. Before that, it was inhabited by farmers and fishermen, having been founded as a Roman military base in 421 CE. The island's farm buildings and military barracks were transformed into dormitories, where the sick lived together and were subjected to primitive treatments, like bloodletting. As the plague spread, the dead were buried in mass graves. Venetian historians estimate that more than 160,000 people were buried on the island between the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 19th century, Poveglia became an asylum for mentally ill people, who were often restrained and subject to experimental treatments. The asylum closed in 1968, and the island has been uninhabited ever since. Poveglia's sad history led some to believe that it was haunted. Modern ghost-hunters, including U.S. television series 'Ghost Adventures,' have visited the island over the years, spreading the myths further. 'The island was made famous by foreigners who were looking for something to exploit,' Massimo Pera, a patron of the group, told CNN. 'The memories of the island are steeped in pain, but we will transform it into a place of joy.' The renovation of the island, which lacks electricity and running water, is being guided by the APsyM laboratory at the University of Verona's department of human sciences. Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Venice locals win bid to convert abandoned island into sanctuary from millions of tourists who clog famed city
A small island near Venice once used as a plague pit is set to become a public park for the city's residents. Part of Poveglia, an island south of the Italian city, has been deserted and closed to visitors for decades, its dilapidated hospital buildings frozen in time, its imposing fort now abandoned and its rumoured mass graves still hidden. Its grisly past covers both the countless unknown plague victims thought to have died on the island and the lobotomies reputed to have occurred there when the hospital served as a mental asylum in the 1920s. In 2014 the Italian government sold the island for £400,000 as part of an Italian government strategy to sell off unused property to address its budget crisis. But a group of Venetians launched a campaign to protect the island from commercial development, calling themselves 'Poveglia For Everyone' (PFE). Following a protracted battle, PFE won control over the island. The activist group won a six-year lease, beginning next month, beating competitors including Venice's mayor Luigi Brugnaro. The grassroots group asked Venetians to donate money to help preserve the island from development and turn it into an oasis for those wishing to escape the hustle and bustle of the tourist-laden city. Patrizia Veclani, one of the founders of Poveglia for Everyone, told the Times: 'We woke up with a nest egg of €460,000 (£400,887) and a community full of high-level professional skills.' Her group will pay little more than €1,000 (£871) a year for the renewable lease. PFE says it is joining forces with the University of Verona to transform the northern part of the island 'into a lagoon urban park open to citizens and respectful of the ecosystem and the landscape elements that characterise the lagoon.' The group faces an uphill battle to regenerate the island, however, as there is currently no water or electricity, nor is there a proper pier. Earlier this year, furious Neapolitan locals attempted to crowdfund the purchasing 'back' of a tiny island in the shadows of Mount Vesuvius after it was listed for sale at over £8million. The island of Punta Pennata, which spans an area of just 70x500 metres, lays a mere 100 metres offshore the town of Bacoli in the Gulf of Naples. Despite being a favourite fishing retreat of locals for decades, the rocky peninsula was put up for sale by luxury auctioneers Sotheby's. Residents and officials from neighbouring towns are not simply accepting the island's sale though, with Bacoli mayor Josi Della Rangione leading the campaign to place Punta Pennata under the stewardship of the local community. Italy as a nation has already dealt with vast levels of overtourism and a plethora of foreign tycoons buying up similarly prime real estate from under local's noses. In a bid to stop Punta Pennata from falling into the hands of another exorbitantly wealthy businessperson or celebrity, Mr Della Regione drumme up support from all over Italy in the hopes that the local community can raise enough funds to 'buy back' the island.
