Northern Italy’s Venetian Lagoon has long served as a natural buffer for Venice, the capital of the Veneto region. This enclosed stretch of the Adriatic—also a UNESCO World Heritage Site—is home to Isola Santa Cristina, a secluded retreat once owned by Gernot Langes-Swarovski, great-grandson of Daniel Swarovski, who founded the Swarovski crystal empire in 1895.

Spanning 72 acres, the island’s privacy is one of the reasons Gernot bought it in 1986, to “create an oasis, while remaining within easy reach of the Swarovski headquarters in the Austrian Tyrol,” press materials state. Set within the lagoon’s so-called “garden islands,” an area prized for its tranquil natural settings, the estate is steeped in a traditional fishing culture. Now available for the first time in 40 years, the offering includes a stately villa, a farmhouse, a chapel, a swimming pool, organic orchards, and five boats—making it a rare, unusually comprehensive private compound. It is listed for $23 million with Venice Sotheby’s International Realty.

Gernot, a businessman who cultivated a personal passion for agriculture and sustainability, established a family trust ahead of his 2021 death to manage assets and provide for beneficiaries. Ownership of Isola Santa Cristina passed to the trust, which has maintained and invested in it as well as upheld Gernot’s eco-values across highlights like fish-farming on the isle that was redeveloped in collaboration with the Ca’ Foscari University in Venice.

“The time is now right for stewardship of Isola Santa Cristina to pass to a new custodian, who appreciates the uniqueness of the location and whose passion for ecology and the Lagoon will ensure its future,” says Dr. Christoph Volk, chair of trustees of SEGNAL Privatstiftung in a statement. It’s the “perfect retreat,” adds Anne-Marie Doyle, owner and managing director of Venice Sotheby’s International Realty, “to recharge, relax, and commune with nature, alone or with friends and family.”

Nine bedrooms and nine bathrooms are distributed across the 9,250-square-foot main villa’s four floors. Interiors by Studio Architetto Mar, balance historic character with refined updates, highlighted by two reception rooms, a formal dining room, and a spacious chef’s kitchen dressed in decorative wallpaper. A grand veranda extends the living space outdoors, while a traditional “altana”—a rooftop wooden terrace—offers open-air dining and sweeping, 360-degree views across the lagoon. 

The roughly 6,100-square-foot farmhouse adds two more bedrooms and bathrooms, along with its own kitchen, large reception room, and a self-contained apartment. The island itself incorporates lush gardens, a heated saltwater pool, and a pathway leading to the dock and boathouse. Five boats are included—three supporting the property’s business operations and two reserved for leisure—along with a helipad for easy access.

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The island’s energy is provided from the mainland, with a gasoline backup generator and supplemental solar capability in place. Water is sourced from three deep wells, supporting both daily living and agricultural use, and, to further modernize operations, more than $2 million is being invested in upgraded agricultural and technical infrastructure.

Those enhancements will continue to support a productive landscape that includes apricot and plum orchards alongside rows of Merlot, Chardonnay, and Cabernet vines. Vegetable gardens and beehives—producing distinctive saltmarsh honey—add to the island’s self-sustaining appeal.

Click here for more photos of the island estate near Venice.