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| Poveglia: 'World's most haunted island' up for sale...is anyone brave enough to buy it? | |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| It's in one of the most popular tourism locations in the world, located between Venice and Lido in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. But Poveglia rarely sees any visitors. | It's in one of the most popular tourism locations in the world, located between Venice and Lido in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. But Poveglia rarely sees any visitors. |
| The uninhabited 17-acre island, was once a dumping ground for dying plague victims. More recently it was home to a mental hospital run by a cruel doctor who performed lobotomies on patients with crude tools like hand drills, chisels, and hammers. It is said to be haunted by tens of thousands of tortured spirits. | The uninhabited 17-acre island, was once a dumping ground for dying plague victims. More recently it was home to a mental hospital run by a cruel doctor who performed lobotomies on patients with crude tools like hand drills, chisels, and hammers. It is said to be haunted by tens of thousands of tortured spirits. |
| And now it's up for sale. | And now it's up for sale. |
| The Italian government is offering the macabre location for sale in a bid to reduce the country’s public debt. | The Italian government is offering the macabre location for sale in a bid to reduce the country’s public debt. |
| Variously described as the 'island of madness' and 'hell', it is arguably the most haunted place on earth. | Variously described as the 'island of madness' and 'hell', it is arguably the most haunted place on earth. |
| Any buyer would have to consider the island's chilling and stomach-churning history. During the 14th Century it was fought over by the the Venetians and the Genoese. It became a quarantine station in the 18th century before being sealed off and used to house plague victims. | Any buyer would have to consider the island's chilling and stomach-churning history. During the 14th Century it was fought over by the the Venetians and the Genoese. It became a quarantine station in the 18th century before being sealed off and used to house plague victims. |
| Things got no better in the early 20th Century. | Things got no better in the early 20th Century. |
| In 1922 the island became home to a mental hospital where a doctor experimented on patients with lobotomies. He later threw himself from the hospital tower after claiming he'd been driven mad by ghosts. | In 1922 the island became home to a mental hospital where a doctor experimented on patients with lobotomies. He later threw himself from the hospital tower after claiming he'd been driven mad by ghosts. |
| The island has remained closed to visitors in recent years with access strictly restricted by the Italian government. | The island has remained closed to visitors in recent years with access strictly restricted by the Italian government. |
| It has become a draw for supernatural investigators searching for signs of the rumoured spirits, the most famous of which is a plague victim called Little Maria, who it is claimed stands crying looking out across the lagoon towards her home. | It has become a draw for supernatural investigators searching for signs of the rumoured spirits, the most famous of which is a plague victim called Little Maria, who it is claimed stands crying looking out across the lagoon towards her home. |
| One of the visiting presenters of the Travel Channel series Ghost Adventures claimed to have been possessed on a visit to the island. | One of the visiting presenters of the Travel Channel series Ghost Adventures claimed to have been possessed on a visit to the island. |
| According to The Telegraph the plan for the decrepit building is to transform it into a luxury hotel, though a group of architects and planners have launched a campaign to buy the island in a bid to stop the further privatisation of the lagoon. | According to The Telegraph the plan for the decrepit building is to transform it into a luxury hotel, though a group of architects and planners have launched a campaign to buy the island in a bid to stop the further privatisation of the lagoon. |