A private island in the Venice Lagoon has gone on the market for €5.5 million, offering buyers the rare chance to own an entire island complete with a restored Napoleonic-era fortress.
Known as Crevan, the 5,700-square-metre island is located around 7.5 kilometres northeast of Venice, north of Sant’Erasmo. The property is being marketed by Lionard Luxury Real Estate and includes gardens, two boat moorings and a 215-square-metre former military fort that has been converted into a private residence.
The island sits at the southeastern end of the Burano marshes, at the meeting point of the Crevan canal, with views towards Venice, Murano, Burano and Torcello. According to Lionard, its position provides access to the lagoon while maintaining a secluded setting away from the centre of Venice.
Its most distinctive feature is the historic fortress. Lionard says Crevan’s origins date to French rule in 1806, when the site was developed to strengthen the northern shoreline of the Venetian Lagoon. Between 1832 and 1842, a redoubt with defensive barracks was built, while the fort was later extended by the Austrians with a blockhouse.
The military complex eventually changed purpose. After coming under the control of the Kingdom of Italy in 1866 and a subsequent period of abandonment, the fort and its associated buildings were converted for residential use in the mid-20th century. The private owners who acquired the island transformed the fort into a small villa, while maintaining the island’s gardens and other features.
Today, the restored residence retains the original layout and comprises four rooms and three bathrooms across 215 square metres. The property also includes gardens with fruit and ornamental trees, an internal canal with a private mooring and a dockyard. Lionard’s listing also mentions a helipad on the island.
An 1898 lugger is also moored in the marina, described by the estate agency as a “piece of naval history” that remains in good condition.
“Crevan offers something increasingly rare in Venice,” Dimitri Corti, founder and CEO of Lionard Luxury Real Estate, told Euronews Travel, describing it as a “possibility of being extraordinarily close to the city while experiencing an almost complete sense of separation from it.”
“Just a few kilometres from Venice, the island is a private fragment of the lagoon, accessible only by water or helicopter, surrounded by nature and overlooking Burano and Torcello,” Corti said.
The island’s appeal lies in its “combination of landscape, privacy and history,” he added. “Owning Crevan does not simply mean owning a residence, but becoming the custodian of an entire island and of a small part of the Venetian Lagoon’s heritage.”
The island is now listed for €5.5 million, with the historic fort forming the centrepiece of the property.
