San Michele ( Cemetery Island)... by chrissyalex
San Michele ( Cemetery Island) this was formerly a 'prison island',but in the early 1800's, Napoleon's occupying forces told the Venetians that they should stop burying their dead in Venice and start burying them somewhere else. Though the cemetery is mostly Catholic, there are also small sections for Protestants and Greek Orthodox. The island is small and these graves are not permanent. The bodies can only stay there for 12 years!!!After 12 years, they are dug up and placed in metal boxes for permanent burial somewhere else.
