Poveglia was constructed on a permanent fortification built by the Venetian government and from 1793-1814 was used as a plague quarantine station, or “lazaretto”—one of many in the Venetian lagoon. The tiny island is said to have hosted over 160,000 infected souls living out their final days and hours there—so many that there are whispers that 50 percent of the soil consists of human remains.

Recently, mass graves have been found on the nearby islands of Lazaretto Nuovo and Lazzaretto Vecchio containing the remains of thousands of plague victims. Poveglia has yet to be fully investigated. Finding the location of Poveglia to be small and easily missed, Napoleon also used the island for a darker purpose, storing weapons there. The location was discovered, and many small battles took place as the island claimed even more lives.