Casino degli Spiriti

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Casino degli Spiriti (House of the Ghosts)
Fondamenta Gasparo Contarini, Cannaregio
Venice, September 2013

“This house experienced different stories. According to some, it belonged to an intellectual jovial fellow and he made it an artistic and literary place. But the house was on the way of San Michele’s funeral processions and it was maybe used as a an autopsy theatre. Corpses used to stay here the night before they were buried. For some others, it was used as a warehouse by smugglers, that spread those legends to keep people away. There is also a long and tedious story with a three-person household including a defunct flirt and a jealous husband. Nowadays though it is not secluded anymore, the Casino degli Spiriti seems to be still haunted. Some pretend they heard strange noises. Some others say its lugubrious aspect is enough to scare you. The house was bought by English that re-decorated it richly (in a strange way though : a bathroom was papered with black tapestry only). Nowadays the ghost story slightly died away but its name survived. But a few years ago two criminal gondoliers (today in jail) robed a lady, murdered her, cut up her body, put into a bag and threw it into the canal, near this tragic and gloomy house.” (James Morris, Visa to Venice)