Island of San Secondo

San Secondo is a small island in the Venetian Lagoon. It is located between San Giuliano and Venice and is easily identifiable as it is located just 114 m to the left of the Ponte della Libertà for those heading towards Venice.

Initially the islet was called Sant'Erasmo because in 1034 the Baffo family built a church and a monastery of Benedictine nuns there to keep a sacred image depicting Saint Erasmus, much venerated by fishermen but until then exposed to any weather.

The current name was added to the first starting from 1237, when the relics of San Secondo d'Asti were brought there from Aosta.

"Later on, having abandoned the former, only the name of the latter was retained, and the island of S. Secondo was always subsequently called."

In 1533 the Dominicans succeeded the Benedictines, who carried out various restorations. Starting from 1569, following the fire of the Arsenale, the Serenissima decided to transfer the powder kegs to various islands of the Lagoon and so it was also for San Secondo. In 1576, after the religious had been removed, the island became a hospital for the plague victims and, upon their return, the Dominicans had to rebuild the monastery and rebuild the church, which was consecrated in 1608.

Two centuries later, underwent a first expulsion of a few months in 1797 due to the French occupation, following the Napoleonic edicts of 1806 the religious community had to be transferred to the convent of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (so officially, but in fact it was aggregated to the convent of the Gesuati alle Zattere) and the island was used as a military garrison.

Today there is no trace of the complex (already at the beginning of the nineteenth century the church had been demolished, leaving only the function of a powder magazine on the island) and currently San Secondo is abandoned and completely covered by vegetation.

Map: Island of San Secondo