The San Michele Island is a sacred and particularly characteristic place, in fact it is the cemetery of Venice, visiting it can be exciting and at the same time a small cultural pilgrimage. Located not far from the historic center of Venezia, in fact, you can admire it from the Fondamente Nove, it is located along the road that, with the vaporetto, takes you to the island of Murano. Once this place was used by Venetian boatmen, who crossed the lagoon and found in this island a valid refuge, called at that time Cavana de Muran.

The first testimonies report the presence on these lands of the Camaldolese monks who, over the years acquired more and more importance in the cultural panorama of the time, attracting artists and intellectuals from all over the world, because within these walls they found the right inspiration to realize their works. Among the most famous stands out the work of Fra ’Mauro, who worked here on his cartographic studies and on the famous world map.

In the city it was customary to bury the bodies of Venetians around parish churches, in some fields or even inside the churches themselves. In 1806, following a decree by Napoleon, for reasons of hygiene and space, the corpses were destined for the islands of San Cristoforo and San Michele, which soon turned into real cemeteries.

When the cemetery began to expand in 1829, the friars who took care of the site filled the canal that connected the two islands, thus definitively joining them. The cemetery currently occupies most of the island of San Michele, is closed by high red brick walls and is all adorned with green cypresses.

Near the ferry landing point we find the church of San Michele designed by Mauro Codussi around 1469. This was the first church in Venice to be covered in Istrian stone and it was one of the most beautiful Renaissance buildings in the city. World-renowned writers and artists rest on the island.