Maybe a boat tour in the Venetian lagoon is not what most people would think of first, if they’re in Venice around Christmas, but yesterday was a particularly beautiful winter day. It wasn’t too cold, the air was clear, and the sun was shining.
We started early, at 8am because the days are short. The first stop was the island of Poveglia some 10km south of Venice.
The island has acquired a reputation for being haunted, thanks to some American TV station. Their purely invented story started from the discovery of a stone on the island, marking the burial place of sailors and workers, who died of the plague in 1793.
A plaque, with the same text, has appeared on the island since my last visit.
Several YouTubers specialised in ghost stories have contacted me about visiting the island, and I suspect one of those found the real stone insufficiently photogenic, and made their own. I guess, if you make your living telling lies, you can just as well go full in.
The low winter sun-light was beautiful, though, ghosts or not.
We then went to see the MOSE project at San Nicolò, but I didn’t take any photos. While it might be interesting, it is not pretty, so I forgot. Here’s an older photo from another day in the lagoon.
The next stop was the fortress of Sant’Andrea, partly from the 1400s, partly from the 1500s, but in reality a military installation until quite recently.
It was a major show of force for the Republic of Venice, and the very last line of defence, should an enemy come that close.
That happened in April 1797, when the fortress shot at a French warship trying to enter the lagoon. These were the only shots fired in the defence of the Republic, and the commander of the island was only saved from Napoleon’s wrath because Bonaparte’s wife had a traffic accident.
At the time of the Venetian Republic, a chain was extended across the lagoon at Sant’Andrea in times of war. Three armoured barges were used to keep the chain suspended over the 300m span.
Those barges were called gaggiandre, and when not in use they were kept inside the Arsenale in some special buildings.
We went to have a look.
The lagoon is full of interesting places that nobody cares about.
Related articles
- Poveglia – more than ghost stories
- Ne Fodias – Do not disturb!
- The fortress of Sant’Andrea
- Chronology of the Fortress of Sant’Andrea
- Domenico Pizzamano
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