Venice. San Michele Island

San Michele is one of the islands of the Venetian lagoon, located in close proximity to the Venetian quarter of Cannaregio. Together with the neighboring island of San Cristoforo della Pace, San Michele was once a favorite stopover for travelers and fishermen. Today its biggest attraction is the Romanesque church of San Michele in Isola, built in 1469 by the architect Mauro Codussi, the first Renaissance church in Venice. It was built specifically for the religious order of the Camaldules. The building of the temple is entirely built of snow-white Istrian stone, which has acquired an ash-gray hue over time. Inside the church consists of a central nave and two side aisles with valuable decorations. Near San Michele in Isola there is a monastery that was used as a prison for several years in the past.

In 1807, it was decided to turn the island of San Cristoforo into a cemetery. This decision was made by the administration of Napoleon, who then ruled in Venice and believed that burials within the city could cause epidemics. The architect Gian Antonio Selva worked on the project of the new cemetery. In 1836, the channel separating San Cristoforo and San Michele was filled with earth, and the resulting island was subsequently called San Michele. The cemetery is still in use today. Celebrities such as Igor Stravinsky, Joseph Brodsky, Sergei Diaghilev and others are buried on it. Interestingly, in the past, the coffin with the body of the deceased was brought to the island on a special funeral gondola.

Another attraction of San Michele is the Cappella Emilian Chapel, built in 1530. Opposite it you can see the 15th century cloister, a covered gallery through which the entrance to the cemetery is made.

On the island of San Michele, a tourist is not a frequent visitor, although the island is located within sight - no more than half a kilometer separates it from Venice. In ancient times, there was a monastery of the Archangel Michael, and in 1807 Cimitero appeared - a city cemetery planted with cypress trees, which was surrounded by a red brick wall in the 1870s. Now it is the most famous "island of the dead" in the world. It is interesting for Russians because it is here that the ashes of several people, our compatriots, whose names are dear to Russian and world culture, are buried.

Entering through the portal, on which St. Michael defeats the dragon, at first you find yourself in the backyard of the monastery.

The cemetery of San Michele is divided into zones: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish.
Entrance to the first zone.

The local cemetery culture, of course, is very different from ours. Grooming, brightness, even some flashy color is striking. Most of the tomb photos show people smiling.

Tombstones are usually good, here are samples.

Lots of family tombs like these.

A separate area is allocated for soldiers and officers who died in the First World War.

Here is a general monument.

This is a monument to the crew of the lost submarine.
On the morning of August 7, 1917, 7 miles from the island of Brioni, near the naval base of Pola, during maneuvers, the submarine F-14 was rammed by the destroyer Missori while submerged. The boat sank at a depth of 40 meters. After 34 hours, she was raised, but 27 people of the boat's crew died 3 hours before lifting, suffocating with chlorine gas.

Some local ace.

Entrance to the Orthodox cemetery (Reparto Greco-Ortodosso).

Well-groomedness and chic are noticeably less here.

But it is it that is a place of international pilgrimage - because of the two graves located at the back wall.

On the left is Diaghilev's. According to the Italian composer Casella, in the last years of his life, Diaghilev "lived on credit, unable to pay for a hotel" in Venice, and on August 19, 1929, "died alone, in a hotel room, poor as he had always been." The funeral of the great impresario was paid for by Coco Chanel, a good friend of Diaghilev, who during the life of the maestro gave money for many of his productions.

The grave is decorated with the inscription: "Venice, the constant inspirer of our reassurance" (Diaghilev's dying words), ballet pointe shoes are right there.

To her right lie the ashes of Igor Stravinsky and his wife Vera.

Someone brought a chestnut to the maestro.

From the Orthodox cemetery we head to the Protestant one (Reparto Evangelico),

for it is here that one should look for the grave of Joseph Brodsky.
Here she is, between two cypresses.

Initially, they wanted to bury Joseph Brodsky in an Orthodox cemetery, between Diaghilev and Stravinsky. But the Russian Orthodox Church in Venice did not agree, as no evidence was provided that the poet was Orthodox. The Catholic clergy showed no less severity.

In fact, great poets usually do not make mistakes when talking about their fate. Brodsky was wrong.
Young wrote:

No country, no graveyard
I don't want to choose.
To Vasilyevsky Island
I will come to die.

Be that as it may, now it forever coexists with the grave of Ezra Pound - an outcast of Western civilization, stigmatized for collaborating with fascism, whose execution was demanded by Arthur Miller, Lion Feuchtwanger and other left-wing intellectuals.

Such is the black humor, which is hardly appropriate in the cemetery.

Entering through the portal, on which St. Michael defeats the dragon, at first you find yourself in the backyard of the monastery.

The cemetery of San Michele is divided into zones: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish.

Entrance to the first zone

The local cemetery culture, of course, is very different from ours. Grooming, brightness, even some flashy color is striking. Most of the tomb photos show people smiling.

Tombstones are usually good, here are samples.

A lot of family crypts like these

A separate area is allocated for soldiers and officers who died in the First World War.

Here is a common monument

This is a monument to the crew of the lost submarine

On the morning of August 7, 1917, 7 miles from the island of Brioni, near the naval base of Pola, during maneuvers, the submarine F-14 was rammed by the destroyer Missori while submerged. The boat sank at a depth of 40 meters. After 34 hours, she was raised, but 27 people of the boat's crew died 3 hours before lifting, suffocating with chlorine gas.

Some local ace

Entrance to the Orthodox cemetery (Reparto Greco-Ortodosso)

Well-groomedness and chic are noticeably less here.

But it is it that is a place of international pilgrimage - because of the two graves located at the back wall.

The grave is decorated with the inscription: "Venice, the constant inspirer of our reassurance" (Diaghilev's dying words), ballet pointe shoes are right there.

To her right lie the ashes of Igor Stravinsky and his wife Vera.

Someone brought a chestnut to the maestro.

From the Orthodox cemetery we head to the Protestant one (Reparto Evangelico),

for it is here that one should look for the grave of Joseph Brodsky.
Here she is, between two cypresses.

In fact, great poets usually do not make mistakes when talking about their fate. Brodsky was wrong.
Young wrote:

No country, no graveyard
I don't want to choose.
To Vasilyevsky Island
I will come to die.

However, he never returned to Russia, to St. Petersburg. They say he had a deep conviction that you can not go back. One of his last arguments was: "The best part of me is already there - my poetry." I don't know, it doesn't sound very convincing to me.
Be that as it may, now it forever coexists with the grave of Ezra Pound - an outcast of Western civilization, stigmatized for collaborating with fascism, whose execution was demanded by Arthur Miller, Lion Feuchtwanger and other left-wing intellectuals.

Such is the black humor, which is hardly appropriate in the cemetery.

The legend about the transportation of the souls of the dead along the River Styx to the Kingdom of Hades, known from school, has been a real embodiment for some time now. Not far from Venice, on the island of the same name in the Gulf of Venice, there is an island-necropolis - the famous cemetery of San Michele. Here, by water, on funeral gondolas, the bodies of the dead are transported to the place of eternal rest. On the way there is a statue of the Moscow sculptor Georgy Frangulyan. In a small boat rocking on the waves are the great Italian poets: Virgil and Dante. The author of the Divine Comedy points with his hand in the direction of the churchyard.

Historical reference

The island of San Michele is named after the Church of the Archangel Michael located on it. The building that has come down to our times was erected at the end of the 15th century. The architect Mauro Codussi (Coducci) embodied early Renaissance motifs in the building. Unlike most brick religious buildings of that time, the Church was built of white stone. The grace of decor and noble forms still amaze the eyes of tourists.

Near the Church of San Michele in Isola are the Emiliani Chapel and the brick bell tower. The domes of both buildings bear the imprint of oriental motifs. On the front of the chapel, you can also see columns and pseudo-antique sculptures.

In the Middle Ages, there was a monastery, a large library and a theosophical school on the island. There, in addition to theology, the humanities and philosophy were taught.

At the end of the 18th century, the territory surrounded by waters was ceded to the Austrians, and they set up a prison there for the true patriots of Venice. A little later, in 1807, by decree of Napoleon, the two islands of San Cristoforo and San Michele were given over to the city cemetery. The channel separating them was filled up, and already in the 70s of the 19th century a wall of red brick was built along the perimeter. Inside, along the fence, a whole series of cypresses grows.

This decision was timely and justified. Previously, burials were carried out wherever necessary: in basements, private gardens, in churches. Because of this attitude to burial in Venice, epidemics often arose.

Zoning

The Venetian churchyard is divided into Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish and Protestant quarters. For those who died at a young age, there is a children's cemetery.

On the territory of the necropolis there are wailing walls, where bodies are buried in separate crypts. Near each memorial plate there is a pot where plants are planted. If desired, the body can be reburied from the crypt to the grave at any time.

Russian graves in the cemetery of San Michele

The most famous compatriots at the San Michele cemetery are Igor Stravinsky with his wife, Sergei Diaghilev and Joseph Brodsky. A special sign leads to these graves, and they are usually distinguished on the guidebook diagram for ease of finding.

Grave of Stravinsky

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky is considered the greatest representative of the musical culture of the 20th century. The outstanding composer, pianist and conductor gave many tours around the world, but he decided to find his last refuge with his wife in the “city on the water”. Although the musician himself briefly stayed here, after his death in New York, the authorities of Venice allowed the remains of Stravinsky to be transported here.

Diaghilev's grave

No less remarkable is the grave of the famous Russian theater impresario Sergei Diaghilev. It is located to the left of the Stravinsky couple and is always decorated with pointe shoes - it has become a tradition for graduates of ballet schools to leave their shoes here. This is how they honor the memory of the founder of the World of Art and the father of Russian Evenings. Thanks to Sergey Pavlovich, people in Russia learned about the work of British and German watercolorists, got jobs in the Imperial Theaters Serov V.A., Benois A.N., Vasnetsov Al.M., Korovin K.A. Later, after his dismissal from the magazine "Yearbook of the Imperial Theatres", Diaghilev was actively promoting Russian artists on European stages.

Recent years have been extremely unfortunate for the impresario. He often lived in debt due to failed productions and progressive furunculosis. His death happened in a hotel in Venice. The organization of the funeral was taken over by Misia Sert and Coco Chanel.

Brodsky's grave

The first burial of the body of Joseph Brodsky was in the niche of the wailing wall in the cemetery of Upper Manhattan. It was there for a year and a half, covered with a tombstone. The place of reburial was chosen by his wife Maria. From the point of view of geography in Venice, the poet was at an equidistant distance from his Fatherland (Russia) and the country that sheltered him (America).

When the decision was made to bury the body of Joseph Brodsky, Catholic and Orthodox priests flatly refused to accept his ashes on their side of the necropolis. The solution was burial on a site allocated for Protestants. Many friends and acquaintances of the great man came to the ceremony itself. Boris Yeltsin personally handed over the mourning wreath.

A modest and sophisticated tombstone in the antique style was created according to the sketches of the artist Vladimir Radunsky. The epitaph in Latin reads "Nothing ends with death." Visitors often drop letters addressed to Brodsky into the mailbox located near the monument.

Next to the Nobel laureate is the grave of Ezra Pound, an American poet who actively supported the Mussolini regime.

How to get to the "Isle of the Dead" You can swim to the Venetian necropolis on a vaporetto - a river bus. No. 41 and No. 42 go to the islands of San Michele and Murano. A one-time ticket will cost 6.5 euros (i.e. 13 round trip), and a subscription for 12 hours - at 16.

In the warm season (from April to September) the cemetery is open until 18:00, in the cold season - until 16:00. Open from 7:30 am daily.

You might be interested:

The main attraction of the island is the only city cemetery in Venice. Moreover, if sometime there were some others, then information about them still did not reach us. This cemetery is interesting for a Russian tourist, first of all, because the ashes of several of our famous compatriots are buried here at once: choreographer Sergei Diaghilev, composer Igor Stravinsky, journalist and writer Vail and, of course, the poet Joseph Brodsky.

A bit of history

Once San Michele was, firstly, two islands at once, and secondly, there was no cemetery there, but only a church and a monastery. This church, San-Michele-in-Isola, was built more than 500 years ago - this is during the heyday of the Venetian Republic, or rather, shortly before its decline.

The monastery housed an extensive library. And then times changed, a prison was organized on the site of the monastery.

And until now, the island is surrounded by a brick wall around the perimeter.

Cemetery of San Michele

The eternal problem of the Venetians is the lack of living space. And not only in life: for long centuries, even after death, they had to deal with a lack of territory. The Venetians buried their dead relatives wherever they could: some near churches, some right in gardens and cellars. Ironically, in order for the inhabitants of the city to finally get the opportunity to find eternal rest in a more organized and environmentally friendly way, the power itself had to die - only in the 19th century, by order of Napoleon, who conquered the Republic of Venice, a place was allocated in the city for an official cemetery, banning all these spontaneous funerals where necessary. And at the same time they also increased the area of the territory for future burials, filling up the channel and connecting the two islands into one.

It helped for a while, all the problems still did not solve. Today in Venice they continue to die (in any case, more people die than are born), and not everyone has enough places for burial. To some, this may seem cynical, to others, on the contrary, a reasonable and effective business decision, but the bare facts are as follows: every 10 years, the Venetians exhume the remains to make room for the new deceased, unless the relatives of the deceased decide to “extend” it for a new term. Relatives have to pay extra just to keep the bones quietly and peacefully smoldering in the ground. This applies to ordinary people whose tombstones are not historical monuments, and who are not lucky enough to be a famous person. For celebrities, there are usually funds that pay for the stay of their mortal remains in a permanent place.

If you do not know all these ambiguous facts or try to successfully forget them, then in fact, when you first meet San Michele, you are pleasantly surprised. And not only at the first. I stopped by here almost every time I was in Venice. The island has always brought a fresh stream of variety to the busy schedule of walking through the Venetian labyrinths. For all its fabulousness, Venezia Serenissima can sometimes tire you with its stones, steps, narrow passages and crowds. In such a case, there is always a cozy corner of San Michele, located very close to the big noise and tourist madness. Breaking out into the expanse of the open sea, breathing in the fresh breeze and feeling the salt spray on our faces, we arrive here and find ourselves in an unusually green quarter for Venice. It is quiet here, it is easy to breathe here, even at the height of daylight hours and even in the most “hit” seasons there are very few people. The atmosphere is not depressing, because, oddly enough, it is not at all a cemetery on the island. Much more the area resembles a suburban park.

So, we arrived at the Cimitero (San-Michele) stop. From the vaporetto pier we pass through the gate behind the wall. Behind them will be a courtyard with neat lawns and an expressive semicircular building.

Having passed in a straight line through this courtyard, we get to the entrance to the cemetery itself.

Where to look for famous graves

Finding the burials of interest to us is not so difficult. It is enough to understand the structure of the cemetery. There are three main departments:

Catholic,
Orthodox (Reparto Greco),
Protestant (Reparto Evangelico).

Well, shall we look for Brodsky? But they didn’t guess ... Brodsky lies with the Protestants, because they didn’t want to accept the atheist poet into the Orthodox department, and the Catholics didn’t really need him.

The name, surname and years of life are briefly indicated on the stone, and who all this is already known, especially those for whom the inscription is embossed in Cyrillic. On the opposite side of the tombstone is an inscription in Latin: Letum non omnia finit, which in translation means: "Not everything ends with death."

An unexpected location and a contradictory proverb - this is not a complete list of paradoxes that accompany our great disgraced poet on his last journey (who, even during his lifetime, was not inclined to go with the flow). If you want more, please: the conspicuous neighboring grave of his “brother in the shop”, the American Ezra Pound, who lived in Italy, whom the poet himself could not stand and with whom he did not long to lie next door, helps to find a place of refuge for Brodsky. Iosif Aleksandrovich even specifically asked about this during his lifetime, but, as you know, a person assumes ... I had not heard of Pound before and learned about this author only in connection with his posthumous neighborhood, but when I read a little about his life, this person also seemed rather unsympathetic. And most of those who read my text are unlikely to like it: Pound's views were openly fascist and anti-Semitic. In the 40s. he supported Mussolini, and after the war ended up in a lunatic asylum. But now what is left of him can serve as a good guide for posterity.

As for the landmarks, in order to make it easier to figure out where what kind of grave is located, you can use the diagram. They say that this card can be taken on the spot at the cemetery administration. To be honest, I never went into the administration myself, so in this case - only from the words of other tourists. And here's the diagram:

To make it even clearer, I am also attaching a view of the island from a height from Google Earth. Match the map and the photo and you'll figure it out pretty quickly.

The diagram immediately shows that from the burial of Brodsky to Stravinsky and Diaghilev is within easy reach. As a matter of fact, when you go towards the Orthodox and Protestant branch, you will see a large list on the sign: Ezra Pound,Diaghilev,Stravinsky(that's right, yeah ... Ezra Pound nevertheless outdid our poet with posthumous fame - either his work was still of some value, or, more likely, we have here the effect of Herostratus's glory in its classical manifestation; however , okay, let's leave the Venetians themselves to choose whose names to put on the tablets, and let's not once again meddle with our charter on the territory of other people's monasteries and cemeteries).

If Brodsky's grave is mostly filled with letters with their own and other people's poems, then Diaghilev's pedestal is strewn and hung with ballet shoes, which are left here by balletomanes from all over the world.

But Igor Stravinsky lies not alone, but together with his beloved wife Vera.

These graves are of less interest to me. I love music, including classical, but not in the genre of ballet, I am also very mediocre with the work and biography of Stravinsky, alas.

In the Orthodox part of the cemetery, you can find many other Russian names, albeit not so loud. Nothing surprising.

Of the celebrities who are not associated with Russia (except for Ezra Pound), the physicist Christian Doppler, the discoverer of the effect of the same name, the French football player Helenio Herrera and many others are buried on the territory of San Michele.

Still, emotions after visiting this place remain rather bright and positive, and this despite the fact that there are so many dead people around, and despite the fact that we now know about the commercialism of the Venetian authorities, who even after death do not allow people to sleep peacefully and without unnecessary ceremonies "evict" non-payers.

But there is, perhaps, one place on San Michele that evokes truly sad thoughts. This children's cemetery (Recinto Bambini). It is located on the way from the entrance to the Protestant and Orthodox sections. Most of all, the numbers on the stones are depressing: very short segments ... There is even a grave of a girl who lived in the world for 3 days. In any case, it was before. She must remain, since ten years have not yet passed since her short life.

Opening hours

Entrance to the cemetery is free. It is open from early morning:

in the spring-summer season (April-September) - 7:30–18:00;
in the autumn-winter season (October-March) - 7:30–16:00.

What else to see

In defiance of traditions, having started for the repose, I will end for health. Yes, of course, the main thing for which many Russians usually go to San Michele is the tombs of great countrymen. However, there are many interesting and beautiful places on the island. I would even venture to say that they are more interesting and more beautiful, but this, of course, is not for everybody.

Church with a chapel

The most notable of the other attractions is the already mentioned Church of San Michele in Isola And Emiliani Chapel. The chapel looks like a typical Venetian building: it is made of red brick, as befits most buildings of that time. The church itself, although very ancient (1469), is already built of white stone. Architect - Mauro Codussi.

How to get there

The map shows a mini-route around the cemetery:

Frankly, my beloved woman and I are drawn to this island not for the sake of stones, bones and names, and not for the sake of domes either (after all, central Venice is also full of cathedrals). What we like most in San Michele is the area between the pier and the cemetery, the semi-circular square and the inner courtyard of the church.

If immediately from the vaporetto stop, entering the gate, do not stomp towards the graves, but turn left from that very square with a semicircular building, then you can get into the courtyard at the church of San Michele. This is a beautiful enclosed courtyard with columns. It reminds of something ancient, although, of course, it was not created before the church itself.

Once it was possible to leave this courtyard through an arch directly into the sea.

And to the left of the exit it was possible to sneak up to the white-stone church from the side of the water.

On our last visit (Venice Carnival 2017), having escaped the crowds and bustle of St. Mark's Square, we chose these places on the island of San Michele for romantic solitude in our mysterious masks and costumes.

But that arch with access to the sea turned out to be closed during the carnival period ... Unfortunately, I don’t know if this is temporary or permanent.

Dante and Virgil

Well, there is another famous attraction that cannot be left unsaid when talking about the island of San Michele, although it is not located on it. The fact is that almost certainly you will not be able to slip past this attraction on the way to the island. It is located ... right in the sea. This monument to Dante and Virgil.

Here we can dream up and imagine that the boat is sailing across the Acheron River, and travelers are moving right through the afterlife to meet the souls of the dead. In a sense, this is true, because the prow of the boat looks just at the island of San Michele.

He erected a monument in the middle of the Venetian waters, which is interesting, again, our compatriot Georgy Frangulyan (although originally from). Whatever one may say, but speaking of the island of San Michele, every now and then you come across a Russian trail.

Why you will not be able to avoid this monument on the road to San Michele, I will tell you right now, that is, in the next section.

How to get to the island

Access is only possible by water. You can take a water taxi, but it's expensive. The best way is vaporetto - Venetian passenger river trams (if you are in Venice for more than one day, then most likely you have already bought the corresponding tourist card). You can learn more about vaporetto, routes and tickets from.

San Michele is the stop Cimitero(and it is translated - "cemetery"). Vaporetto no. 4.1 and no. 4.2 stop here. You can sit at any stop through which these two routes go.

If you are somewhere away from their trajectory, then it is optimal to get through large interchangestation Fondamente Nuove(Fondamente Nove / "New Embankment") there you will definitely catch No. 4.1 or No. 4.2. Fondamente Nuove is easily reached by another flight. In some central areas, it is even easier to walk to the embankment. For example, from the Rialto Bridge or from the train station by land is faster than by water.

There are a lot of piers on Fondamente Nuove, you need to land on berth B, on the scoreboard we catch the word Murano - this is exactly the direction of the boats we need, towards the island. From here go one stop.

Infrastructure

Where to eat on the island? If in a nutshell: not here.

If you want to walk around the island longer, stock up on dry rations in advance or eat hearty elsewhere. In this one on our website, you can learn in detail about the different places in Venice where you can dine: from inexpensive eateries to chic restaurants.

Naturally housing on San Michele also no, so here, in any case, you have to sail on a vaporetto. Well, how else, for the endless waters everywhere we love Venice. And where in Venice to stay for the night, read.