Poveglia

The history and the legend

In the Venetian lagoon lies an isle where in the past people who were affected by the plague were brought by plague doctors to die. Legend says that in the dawn of the 1900' s, a psychiatric hospital was built where patients claimed to hear the haunting voices of the plague victims who had perished there many years before.

The Plague doctors

A plague doctor was a medical physician who treated those who had the plague. They were most of the times not professionally trained or experienced physicians, and often were second-rate doctors or young physicians trying to establish themselves. These doctors rarely cured their patients. Most doctors wore a beak-like mask, which was filled with aromatic items. The masks were designed to protect them from putrid air.