Sant'Angelo della Polvere (originally called ''Sant'Angelo di Concordia'', later ''Sant'Angelo di Contorta '' and ''Sant'Angelo di Caotorta'') is an island in the

Venetian Lagoon The Venetian Lagoon (; ) is an enclosed bay of the Adriatic Sea, in northern Italy, in which the city of Venice is situated. Its name in the Italian and Venetian languages, ' (cognate of Latin ' ), has provided the English name for an enclosed, ...

, in the Contorta channel, not far from the

Giudecca Giudecca (; ) is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, in northern Italy. It is part of the ''sestiere'' of Dorsoduro and is a locality of the ''comune'' of Venice. Geography Giudecca lies immediately south of the central islands of Venice, from wh ...

and the island of San Giorgio in Alga. An Italian state property, it has a surface of 0.53 ha and is home to four buildings.

History

From 1060 it housed a church and monastery initially under the

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

, first male and then female; the latter dedicated the monastery to St. Michael Archangel, whence the name. In 1474 the nuns were forced to move to the monastery of the Cross in the Giudecca, due to their unruly behaviour, and from 1518 the complex was held by the

Carmelites The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

and

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

. In 1555 the island took its present name, when the Senate of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

decided to depopulate it due to its unhealthy air and to install in it a gunpowder depot. On 29 August 1689 lightning struck the island, destroying the whole complex. The island remained abandoned for several years. 18th century maps indicate the presence of some military installations, and it remained a military site until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; since then it has remained unused.

References

Sources

* {{authority control Islands of the Venetian Lagoon Uninhabited islands of Italy