Ghosts in the Remer Square on the Grand Canal in Venice

Near the Rialto Bridge there is one of the most beautiful areas of Venice, a beautiful small square called Remer, as there used to be shops which made oars. This wonderful place, surrounded by buildings from the fifteenth century, was the scene of a terrible story.

In 1598 the Doge Marino Grimani was passing by with his guards when he heard a woman scream. He went to the square with his men and found his niece Elena trying to flee from her enraged husband, who accused her of adultery. The doge and his guards tried to defend her, but her husband who was mad with jealousy, grabbed a sword and beheaded the woman.

The horrified doge, sent the man to Rome with his wife's head in order for the pope to decide the punishment, but he did not want to know, and so the murderer returned to Venice. As he was being led to prison he managed to escape and found a place in which to keep his wife's head: conscience stricken he jumped into the Grand Canal with the head.

His body was never found and to this day, when the wind blows from the north, sometimes a body re-emerges in front of the Remer Square, still holding the head of the unfortunate Elena in his hands.