Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Italy Venice Isola di San Michele

Isola di San Michele

Venice's island of the dead.

Venice, Italy

Added By
Annetta Black
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Isola San Michele Funeral gates.   Annetta Black/Atlas Obscura
Inside the walls.   Annetta Black/Atlas Obscura
Mauro Codussi’s Renaissance Church.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Venezia_...
San Michele.   Annetta Black/Atlas Obscura
View of the whole island.   Annetta Black/Atlas Obscura
  quodnunquam / Atlas Obscura User
Isola di San Michele.   talkinmonkey / Atlas Obscura User
Isola di San Michele.   talkinmonkey / Atlas Obscura User
Alice Harriet, a sinking tombstone on the island.   jeremybrooks / Atlas Obscura User
Isola di San Michele.   rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
Isola di San Michele.   talkinmonkey / Atlas Obscura User
Isola di San Michele.   talkinmonkey / Atlas Obscura User
Isola di San Michele.   wurzeltod / Atlas Obscura User
Isola di San Michele.   wurzeltod / Atlas Obscura User
Isola di San Michele.   wurzeltod / Atlas Obscura User
Isola di San Michele.   talkinmonkey / Atlas Obscura User
Isola di San Michele.   wurzeltod / Atlas Obscura User
Isola di San Michele.   petrolwife / Atlas Obscura User
Isola di San Michele.  
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
Isola di San Michele.   petrolwife / Atlas Obscura User
Isola di San Michele.   petrolwife / Atlas Obscura User
  quodnunquam / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Across the waters from the Cannaregio district of Venice, a red-walled island houses the city's dead. New by Venice standards, the cemetery has been the only official Christian burial grounds since the early 1800s.

When the independent Republic of Venice fell to Napoleon in 1797, the residents were forced to endure the city changing-demands of the new Empire, which included removing the gates to the Jewish ghetto (which had previously been closed nightly), and by declaring that the dead could no longer be buried within the city. The existing tradition had been to bury the dead in the churches or below city paving stones, which was less than sanitary by the standards of most cities of the era, and most definitely a problem in a city which floods several times annually. In their defense, victims of Venice's many plagues were deposited on remote islands, often before they had actually expired.

The modern island is composed of two smaller islands, joined along the canal in 1836. It was named for the existing church dedicated to the archangel Michael designed in 1469 by Mauro Codussi, the famous architect who had his hand in many of the Venetian Renaissance churches and landmarks of the era, including the enormous clock tower in Piazza San Marco. The church and chapel are adjacent to the entrance to the island from the ferry landing. The entrance to the cemetery is past the cloisters of the old monastery. The burial areas are divided into categories, with the majority devoted to Catholic graves. Smaller sections are for Greek Orthodox, for foreigners, and for Protestants. Small sections are dedicated to childrens' graves and for gondoliers. Jewish residents were buried separately in the Lido.

The grounds are green and expansive, covered in rows of modern tombstones, and dotted with statuary, trees, and occasionally a small family chapel or mausoleum. Parts are clean and well attended, other corners have fallen into disrepair. Walls form the ossuary where bones are retired after 10 - 12 years in the ground. This is a place of modern burials, and it has been noted that there are not many famous names to be spotted, but the composer Igor Stravinsky and poet Ezra Pound still call it home. Every year on the Festa dei Morti, or All Soul's Day (Nov 2), locals say mass in remembrance of the dead, and visit the cemetery en masse, and the ferry is free. Small traditional pastries called Fave, or Fave dei Morte (for 'beans' or "Beans of the Dead" in Italian) can still be found to commemorate the ancient tradition of eating and distributing beans to the poor during All Souls.

Visitors to the island should bear in mind that many of the burials on the island are recent, and locals may be in mourning. Modest attire and quiet voices are appreciated. Maps may be available in the cloisters if they are open.

Related Tags

Memento Mori Catacombs And Crypts

Know Before You Go

Take the vaporetto number 41 or 42.Photography is forbidden within the cemetery walls, so be discreet. Also, beware of the seagulls.

Atlas Obscura Adventures

Flavors of Italy: Roman Carbonara, Florentine Steak & Venetian Cocktails

Savor local cuisine across Rome, Florence & Venice.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

Annetta Black

Edited By

jeremybrooks, talkinmonkey, wurzeltod, rbenn250...

  • jeremybrooks
  • talkinmonkey
  • wurzeltod
  • rbenn250
  • petrolwife
  • quodnunquam

Published

July 6, 2009

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • Venice
  • http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/16/travel/venice-s-isle-of-the-dead.html?scp=4&sq=venice%20michele&st=cse
  • Italy Heaven - San Michele Visitor Information
  • http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/veneto/venice/sanmichele.html
  • William Dean Howells, <cite>Venitian Life</cite>, 1883 (via Google Books)
  • Description of Venetian Funeral, circa 1880, pg 286
  • http://books.google.com/books?id=40MNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA286&dq=venice+funeral+tradition
  • <cite>Festivals for the Dead</cite>, New York Times, Dec 7 1881 (PDF)
  • http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9A02E2DF163DE533A25754C0A9649D94609FD7CF
  • Judi Culbertson and Tom Randall, <cite>Permanent Italians</cite>, (out of print but available used)
  • http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/to_die_in_venice.htm
  • Hugh Honour, <cite>The Companion Guide to Venice</cite>, 1997 - pg 243
Isola di San Michele
Venice, 30141
Italy
45.447005, 12.346573

Nearby Places

Scuola Grande di San Marco

Venice, Italy

miles away

Uncini della Fortuna (Hooks of Fortune)

Venice, Italy

miles away

Libreria Acqua Alta

Venice, Italy

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Venice

Venice

Italy

Places 34
Stories 14

Nearby Places

Scuola Grande di San Marco

Venice, Italy

miles away

Uncini della Fortuna (Hooks of Fortune)

Venice, Italy

miles away

Libreria Acqua Alta

Venice, Italy

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Venice

Venice

Italy

Places 34
Stories 14

Related Stories and Lists

The Winemakers Bringing Viticulture Back to Venice

wine

By Eric Millman

Related Places

  • Skulls and bones on display.

    San Martino della Battaglia, Italy

    Ossario di San Martino

    The skulls and bones of thousands of soldiers line the walls of this small Italian chapel.

  • Some of the skulls beneath St. Stephan’s.

    Leuk, Switzerland

    Leuk Charnel House

    For centuries no one knew there were hundreds of bones and precious artwork hidden beneath this Swiss church.

  • Rome, Italy

    Santa Maria dell'Orazione e Morte

    At the crypt of St. Mary of Eulogies and the Dead you are left alone to ponder mortality among piles of skulls.

  • Exeter, Rhode Island

    Grave of Mercy Brown

    The final resting place of New England's last "vampire."

  • Nazca culture mummies and skulls cemetry in Peru

    Nazca, Peru

    Chauchilla Cemetery

    Plundered and left asunder by grave robbers, this ancient necropolis has been painstakingly pieced back together.

  • Dargavs

    Dargavs, Russia

    Dargavs Village

    This ancient village and its adjoining cemetery have a beautiful history of death and remembrance.

  • Melník Chapel of Bones

    Melnik, Czechia

    Melník Chapel of Bones

    Underneath this small church are 15,000 bones, arranged by an obsessive academic.

  • Mural at the lot where the mass grave is located

    Brooklyn, New York

    First Maryland Regiment Mass Grave

    The mass grave of a heroic Revolutionary War regiment sits below an empty lot near the Gowanus Canal.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.