Wender·Vista
Poveglia
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileItaly
in the Venetian Lagoon, between the Lido and Venice itself

Poveglia

— — the island the city kept at arm's length.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Poveglia is a small island in the southern lagoon, closed to the public for most of a century. A quarantine station in plague years, then a long-stay hospital, now a scrub of brick ruins and cypress under the low Adriatic sky. The vaporetti pass without stopping. The bell tower still stands on the far end. — from the studio

from the studio
Poveglia
— bring it home

Poveglia, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Poveglia

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Poveglia is a small island in the Venetian Lagoon, sitting in the channel between the southern tip of the Lido and the Giudecca-facing edge of Venice. It is divided by a narrow canal into two parts, with a 12th-century octagonal fortification at the southern end and the ruins of a hospital and bell tower on the northern half. The island covers roughly seven hectares. It has been uninhabited since 1968 and is closed to the general public, owned by the Italian State Property Agency and let only under special permit.

— informed by Wikipedia — Poveglia
— the stone

The standing stone on Poveglia is the bell tower of the 12th-century church of San Vitale, which survived after the church itself was demolished in 1806. The tower was later folded into the lighthouse-keeper's quarters and then into the hospital that ran on the island from 1922 to 1968. Most of the rest of the brickwork is hospital fabric — pavilions, a morgue, a small chapel, all roofless now and overgrown. The octagonal fort at the south end dates from the Republic of Venice's lagoon-defence programme of the late 1300s.

— the visit

Poveglia is not open to visitors. Casual landings are not permitted, and the public vaporetto lines pass it without stopping. Permits to land are issued occasionally to research groups and to the volunteers of the Poveglia per Tutti association, which has held a long-running campaign to open the island as a public park. Private boat charters out of the Lido sometimes pass close enough for a clear view of the bell tower and the southern fort. The best light is the long Adriatic dusk, May through September.

— informed by Poveglia per Tutti
— where
Italy · Venice, Veneto
— position
45.3811° N · 12.3311° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
2 km E
Lido di Venezia
barrier island
5 km N
Venice
historic city
4 km NW
Giudecca
island
N
Poveglia
Lido di Venezia
Venice
Giudecca
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Poveglia — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Poveglia sits in the southern Venetian Lagoon, in the channel between the Lido and central Venice. It is about seven hectares in size and split into two parts by a narrow central canal.

Not casually. The island has been closed to the public since 1968 and the public vaporetti do not stop there. Landings require a permit from the Italian State Property Agency.

From 1793 to 1814 it served as a quarantine station for ships entering the lagoon. From 1922 to 1968 it housed a long-stay hospital. Before both, a small medieval village stood on the island.

The 12th-century bell tower of the former church of San Vitale and the brick shells of the early-20th-century hospital pavilions. A 14th-century octagonal fort survives at the southern end.

The Italian State Property Agency owns the island. The Poveglia per Tutti citizens' association has campaigned since 2014 to open it as a public lagoon park.

Its long medical and quarantine history made it the subject of local stories, and it has become widely cited as one of the more atmospheric abandoned places in the Venetian Lagoon. The bell tower is the visible silhouette.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. For Venetians and for lagoon-lovers, Poveglia carries a specific local weight — the island everyone knows but cannot land on. It reads differently than a Rialto or Campo San Marco piece.

It sits well in moody-traditional, library-modern, and dark-academic interiors. The brick rose, cypress green, and silver-lagoon palette pairs with walnut, brass, and aged plaster walls.

Yes. The piece reads as ruin and silence rather than as travel poster, which is the centre of the dark-academic and quiet-gothic direction. A Medium in a study or hallway works.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large or a 4-tile Mural reads cleanly from across the room. For a console table, a Medium centred at eye level is the steady choice.

Yes. Order it in the Dura Satin or Matte finish for wet rooms and backsplashes. Both are scratch-resistant and the colour stays in the surface.

A soft microfibre cloth and warm water. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so it does not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Reid Wender curates the atlas and no images are licensed in from outside.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.
— a collection

The Italian Dolomites,
painted slow.

The valleys between Cortina and Val Gardena, the tarns you walk an hour to see, the towers that turn the colour of a banked fire just before dark. Wander the collection by valley, by season, or follow the path Reid walked.

Tre Cime
Braies
Misurina
Sorapis
Cinque Torri
Sassolungo
Marmolada