Abandoned island in Venice to become a haven for locals seeking escape from tourism

Venetian activists will transform part of an abandoned island into a public park, where locals can escape the millions of tourists that visit the city each year.

The grassroots group, named Poveglia per Tutti (Poveglia for Everyone), said it had received permission from the Italian government to transform the island of Poveglia into a public lagoon park from 1 August.

Residents and supporters across Italy have campaigned for more than a decade to save the historically significant but decaying island from neglect and privatisation.

Campaigners say the project aims to create a “public lagoon park open to all,” managed collectively through “practices of subsidiarity and active participation.”

Patrizia Veclani, one of the founders of the group, has told local outlet Altreconomia earlier this year that Poveglia per Tutti would prioritise building an “accessible and safe landing place” and creating “a way to reach the island without overtaking it with tourism”.

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They hope this model could serve as an alternative vision for Venice, where locals say they are struggling to cope with overtourism. The city has recently introduced measures like entry fees to curb tourist pressure, while residents warn of losing public space and a strain on local infrastructure.

Cruise ships have been banned from entering the Venice lagoon and main Giudecca Canal since August 2021 – a move welcomed by Unesco after repeated warnings that the large vessels were damaging the iconic city.

But after a brief trial last year, Venice also recently reintroduced its day-tripper tax, charging tourists not staying on the islands €5 to visit. From April this year, tourists are now charged €10 for that privilege unless they book at least four days in advance.

Poveglia was once used as a quarantine site for people with plague and other infectious diseases. It was later converted into a mental hospital.

The hospital shut its doors in 1968, and the island has remained abandoned ever since.

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Poveglia per Tutti has set aside around €300,000 for the first phase of the project and plans to seek further funding.

It has also partnered with the University of Verona to study the social impact of redevelopment, aiming to create a blueprint for community-led management of public assets.

The group said in a statement that the success of the project is due to “thousands of members, supporters, associations and organisations” who backed the vision, even from afar.”

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They urged people to volunteer, spread the word and help turn Poveglia into what they call “a symbol of a new idea of managing community assets.”

Venice’s historic centre had more than 170,000 residents in 1954, according to city authorities. Last year, they were down to just over 49,000.

Around 30 million tourists visit Venice in a typical year, with about seven out of 10 (or 21 million) staying only for the day.