Venice is a city composed of no less than 118 small islands, and most have their own unique history and feel. Such an abundance of locations within the city gave me a wealth of choice when it came to situating the action in my novel The Echoes of Love, and my heroine Venetia travels to several islands beyond central Venice, such as Torcello, famous for its mosaics, and Murano, known internationally for the exquisite glass produced there. She admires the ancient cypresses of the tiny Isola del Deserto, and goes to a nightclub on Giudecca. But one island that Venetia does not visit – that no one visits with an eager, happy heart – is Poveglia, the ‘island of death’.

Initially, this tiny island, situated between the city and Lido, was a place of sanctuary: in the year 123 AD people made their homes on the island to escape persecution by barbarians. But come the late eighteenth century, the island’s purpose had evolved from protection to segregation: it was designated a place of quarantine for sailors suffering from the contagious plague, a lazaretto. Countless people were confined on the island; for many, it was the last home they’d ever know. Some 160,000 people are believed to have died there. Supposedly ever since fishermen have steered clear of the waters surrounding the island for fear of netting the bones of their ancestors, and the soil of the island is black and ashy from the pyres on which they burned the many bodies.

Come the twentieth century the island was still being used as a place of exile to separate off a section of society: the mentally and acutely ill. According to legend, one doctor of the hospital established on Poveglia tortured his patients before having a breakdown and leaping from the bell tower to his death – a fall he survived, only to be overcome by a mysterious mist. The bell tower has long since been dismantled, but some say they hear still distant tolling from the island.

Today, the island is abandoned, and the buildings on it lie derelict and still. Given its haunting history, Poveglia is now something of a mecca for ghost hunters, and has featured in books and television shows on the theme. But before you grab your ectoplasm detector and charter a boat to take you to the island, be aware that it is closed to any visitor.  Because the buildings on the island are condemned? Or because the rumours of a darkness on the island are true?

Either way, I’m sure you can see why I did not send my heroine to Poveglia – then I’d be writing a ghost story, not a romance.  That is not to say, however, that no mystery, no darkness, no ghost exists in The Echoes of Love. But I wouldn’t dream of elucidating on that here and ruining the ending of the book…

If you are interested in Poveglia, there’s an interesting article here, and the following video offers a glimpse of the island:

A simple YouTube search also brings up clips from ghost-hunting television shows, if you like that sort of thing!