Hidden Venice & traditions • VOTIVE BRIDGE · WHEN CONFIRMED
San Michele Cemetery in Venice: the votive bridge, history and famous graves
Discover San Michele Cemetery in Venice, the temporary votive bridge from Fondamente Nove, the All Souls tradition, island history and famous graves.
Between Venice and Murano lies an island many visitors only notice from the vaporetto: San Michele, Venice’s monumental cemetery. Around the Commemoration of the Dead, the city has also revived an old tradition: a floating bridge from Fondamente Nove that, when installed, lets people walk across the lagoon directly to the cemetery.
Why Venice has a cemetery on an island
The modern cemetery grew out of Napoleonic rules that moved burials away from densely inhabited centres. In 1807 San Cristoforo della Pace was selected; in 1836 the canal separating it from San Michele was filled in, joining the two islands and enlarging the burial ground. Today San Michele remains Venice’s main monumental cemetery, described by the Municipality as an open-air museum.
The votive bridge from Fondamente Nove
The San Michele bridge is a temporary pedestrian link between Fondamente Nove and the cemetery’s monumental entrance. In the version reinstated in 2025 it was more than 400 metres long and built from floating modules. It is neither permanent nor automatically erected every year: the traditional bridge of boats continued until 1950, returned in 2019 and was installed again in 2025.
San Michele bridge in 2026: what is confirmed
As of 13 September 2026, the Municipality of Venice has not yet published an official confirmation that the bridge will return for the 2026 Commemoration of the Dead. We therefore do not publish unverified dates or opening times. For context, in 2025 the bridge was open from 30 October to 9 November; access was initially limited to residents and Venezia Unica cardholders through 2 November, then opened to everyone from 3 November. If a 2026 bridge is announced, this page will be updated with the official rules.
San Michele as an open-air museum
Among cypresses, cloisters and funerary monuments are graves connected with international cultural history. The Municipality highlights figures including poet Ezra Pound, violinist Olga Rudge, composer Igor Stravinsky and poet Joseph Brodsky. A visit can therefore be a journey through art and history, but San Michele is first and foremost an active cemetery.
How to visit respectfully
San Michele should not be treated as a macabre curiosity or an ordinary sightseeing attraction. Families and local residents come here to remember their dead. Keep voices low, respect ceremonies and graves, follow signs and staff instructions. The Municipality provides maps and material on historically and artistically important graves; organised group, school and university visits require prior authorisation.
How to get there from Marghera
From our apartments you can leave the car in the private parking area and reach Venice by bus or train. Normally San Michele is reached by vaporetto; when the votive bridge is officially installed, you can instead walk from Fondamente Nove. Always check current municipal notices before setting out, because access rules, bridge dates and weather-related closures depend on each edition.
Marghera Venice Apartments tip
If the bridge is confirmed, walking across it is an extraordinary way to understand how Venice turns even an act of remembrance into a physical relationship with the lagoon. Take your time and enter San Michele with the same respect you would show in a cemetery in your own city.
Official information
Programmes, times, availability and conditions may change. Always check variable information with the official source before your visit.
Municipality of Venice — San Michele Cemetery ↗A convenient base for Venice
Visiting Venice for this event?
Stay in Marghera with free private parking and convenient day-and-night connections to Venice.
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