Venice islands: San Clemente
San Clemente was transformed from a hospice for pilgrims directed to the
Holy Land into a monastery; a monastery and hospital had already been built
in 1152
During the Venice Republic the Doges usually went there to meet important personalities, but from 1630 when San Clemente was hit by pestilence, the island was used as a military deposit.
During the French and Austrian occupations of Venice (1797-1866) the island of San Clemente was turned into a hospital.
A decade ago, the island was a sanctuary for down-and-out cats, which received daily Italian fresh pasta from some charitable venetian woman.
In 2003, the roughly 17-acre island has been transformed into a five-star resort: the San Clemente Palace.
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