“What’s important is that it is returning to the city, rather than becoming the umpteenth luxury hotel.”

An Island of Civility in Venice

A bidding war for Poveglia, an urban park offering a rare respite from the tourist crush, ends in victory for the city’s residents

By Philip Willan

A small island near Venice is to be converted into an oasis for residents seeking to escape the millions of tourists who descend on the city each year.

Part of Poveglia, which was once a plague pit and eventually abandoned in the 1990s, will be taken over next month by an activist group, Poveglia per Tutti (Poveglia for Everyone), and turned into an urban park for the Venetians.