Cemetery of San Michele, cemetery in the Italian municipality of Venice

Cemetery of San Michele is a burial ground on an island in the Venetian lagoon, consisting mainly of rows of graves, a Renaissance church, and several chapels. The grounds are organized into separate areas for different faiths and are marked by tall cypress trees and red brick walls.

The island was formed from two original islands that were joined in the early 1800s after Napoleon Bonaparte decided to create a new cemetery outside the city. The church was built between 1469 and 1479 by Renaissance architect Mauro Codussi and is considered one of Venice's earliest Renaissance churches.

The cemetery is divided into Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant sections according to the deceased's faith; Venice's Jewish cemetery lies on the Lido instead. The monumental 19th-century entrance, the emiciclo 22 in enclosure XI, is formed by 38 aedicules, several of them private family chapels of noble houses such as Salviati, Venier and Olivieri. In 2019 and again in 2025 a floating bridge let visitors walk to the island for the commemoration of the dead.

The cemetery is on San Michele island between Venice and Murano, reached by vaporetto at the San Michele Cimitero stop at the entrance. A floating bridge linked Venice to the cemetery on foot from 31 October to 10 November 2019, and again from 30 October to 9 November 2025 for the Catholic Jubilee. The island is divided into Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant sections, so check the section before searching for a grave.

Notable figures like Igor Stravinsky, Ezra Pound, and Joseph Brodsky are buried here, yet their graves are scattered across different sections and sometimes hard to locate. These hidden memorials reveal the deep bond between artists and Venice across generations.