San Servolo Island, Venice

San Servolo

Venice, Italy

Exhibitions, University and the Museum of Madness

The island previously housed a monastery of benedictinian monks, later an asylum for the insane.

The island is now home to a museum, Venice International University and the prestigious International College of Ca’ Foscari University

About San Servolo Island

By dalbera from Paris, France – San Servolo (lagune de Venise), CC BY 2.0, Link

Monks & Military

Benedictine monks lived on this island from at least the eighth century. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Senate of the Republic of Venice designated San Servolo as the site of a new military hospital, needed due to the continuing war against the Turks.

Later the hospital was used to care for the mentally ill and in 1978, reforms of psychiatric treatment resulted in the closure of the hospital.

Venice International University was formed on San Servolo in 1995.

Flora

Also noteworthy is the rich flora of San Servolo, originally planted for the island’s pharmacy, which was used to supply medicine to the military.

Recently, San Servolo has started hosting an annual international artist residency and has become the site for numerous exhibitions, festivals and performances

Visiting San Servolo

Useful Information

By Didier Descouens – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

Location/Waterbus

Vaporetto Line 20

Buy vaporetto waterbus tickets | View timetables, routes & maps

Waterbus stop: San Servolo. Line 20 goes from San Marco/San Zaccaria to San Servolo, then San Lazzaro with the final stop being Lido (and vice versa).

Tickets/Tours

For Tickets/tours for the Museum of Madness see information below for their opening times and website

Museum of Madness

By dalbera from Paris, France – San Servolo (lagune de Venise), CC BY 2.0, Link

The small museum houses an exhibition charting the history of mental illness care over the past three centuries in Venice.

In the museum you will see chains, handcuffs and straitjackets – used to contain the mentally ill in the 19th century – and also instruments used to cure mental illnesses, such as electroshock machines, or examples of music therapy, which was tried for the first time at San Servolo by Cesare Vigna, the director of the psychiatric hospital and also a close friend of the composer Giuseppe Verdi.

A number of photographs are displayed showing daily life in the hospital, as well as a section of photographs of patients before and after their stay at San Servolo.

The Museum includes an 18th-century apothecary with original solid walnut shelves presenting an extraordinary collection of apothecary jars. There are over 200 jars of various shapes and sizes.

Visiting the Museum

The San Servolo Asylum Museum is open

Thursday from 14.00 to 17.30

Friday, Saturday and Sunday: from 9.45 to 16.30

Closing days: bank holidays

Every day (including Saturday and Sundays) it is possible to visit the Museum booking a guided tour (also in English) by calling 0418627167 (Monday to Friday 9am-1pm) or by writing to sanservolo@coopculture.it

PRICE

Museum €7 full, €5 reduced

For further information view the San Servolo website