Poveglia (/poʊˈvɛliə/ poh-VEL-ee-ə; Italian: [poˈveʎʎa]) is a small island located between Venice and Lido in the Venetian Lagoon, of northern Italy.

For more than 100 years beginning in 1776, the island was used as a quarantine station for those suffering the plague and other diseases, and later as a mental hospital.

In 1776, the island came under the jurisdiction of the Magistrato alla Sanità (Public Health Office), and became a check point for all goods and people coming to and going from Venice by ship.

In 1793, there were several cases of the plague on two ships, and consequently the island was transformed into a temporary confinement station for the ill (lazaretto).

[6] Brugnaro initially fought the cancellation of the lease, but after he became mayor of Venice, he renounced any intentions to the island.

[7] In 2015, a private group, Poveglia per Tutti, was hoping to raise €25–30 million for a new plan to include "a public park, a marina, a restaurant, a hostel [and] a study centre.

An estimate published by National Geographic suggest that over 100,000 people died on the island over the centuries and were buried in plague pits.

According to a 2014 report by the Travel Channel, the doctor jumped from the bell tower in the 1930s after claiming he had been driven mad by ghosts.

That report, titled "Haunted History", also states that some restoration work had started recently but that "abruptly stopped without explanation".

In 2020 American author Silas J. Costello published their first gothic fantasy novel Lacrimore, the main setting of which is an island that bears strong resemblance to Poveglia.

His mission somewhat succeeded after he received some words in Italian on the radio including "leave", "incident", and "exploded", but he denied the existence of any ghosts.