Hidden among the graves in Venice's San Michele Cemetery lies a simple yet haunting inscription: До свидания, Нина "Dosvidania, Nina." Just two words—farewell, Nina—in Russian, but enough to spark curiosity and reveal a poignant story of love, loss, and the enduring allure of Venice.

Nina, or as her full name reveals, Anna Jakovlevna Sloutzky, was a young Russian noblewoman, born into a life of privilege as the daughter of a Siberian general. Yet her story took an unexpected turn, one that led her far from her homeland, to Venice. In 1885, Nina, then only twenty-five, arrived in Venice with her mother under a veil of secrecy. Theirs was not a leisurely tour of Italy but a journey with a purpose—one shadowed by whispers of love, scandal, and the hopes of a young woman daring to follow her heart.

The details of Nina’s life and death are sparse, but they paint a vivid image of her final days. She had come to Venice, perhaps in search of solace, to reunite with the man she loved—a Venetian whom she had met in Saint Petersburg. Their connection began in the glow of the city’s famed White Nights, a time when the northern sky never truly darkens, and romance seems inevitable. This man, captivated by Nina’s spirit, gave her the affectionate nickname she carried to her grave.

Their love, however, bore a heavy secret. Nina may have been carrying their child, a delicate circumstance for a noblewoman in the rigid social structures of 19th-century Russia. For a woman of her standing, conceiving a child outside of marriage was scandalous, and so she and her mother traveled to Venice—a city where foreigners often sought refuge, anonymity, and healing.

But tragedy struck. Nina’s pregnancy appears to have been fraught with complications, and she was admitted to the clinic of a fashionable German gynecologist. The clinic was located in Palazzo Barbarigo, a grand building overlooking the Grand Canal, far from the world Nina knew. There, in January 1886, just months after her arrival, she passed away at the tender age of twenty-five.

The phrase etched on her tombstone, “Dosvidania, Nina,” is thought to have been placed there by her lover, the young Venetian who had once called her his during those endless northern nights. In a final tribute, he said goodbye in her native Russian, marking her resting place with a farewell that echoed her homeland and their shared love. Perhaps he, too, felt like an outsider—a Venetian among Russians, carrying his own share of loss.

Venice, a City of Exiles and Eternal Love

Nina’s story resonates with the soul of Venice itself, a city that has long drawn people seeking sanctuary from the world’s harsh realities. From artists and poets to lovers and exiles, Venice has always been a place of retreat and romance—a city where the canals seem to carry away secrets, leaving only whispers and shadows behind.

Nina’s grave is one of many in San Michele, the cemetery island where generations of exiled lovers, artists, and expatriates lie side by side, each bringing their own tales of love and loss to this unique resting place. Venice, with its timeless beauty and labyrinthine streets, has a way of wrapping these stories in mystery, preserving them for those willing to listen to the silence between the gondoliers’ songs.

A Love Beyond Borders

Nina’s final resting place, inscribed with a Russian farewell, reminds us of the distances she crossed, the love she risked, and the loss that marked her short life. Her grave at San Michele stands as a testament to the beauty of human connection—despite the vast differences in language, culture, and geography. Her story, like many others in Venice, is a reminder of how love can bridge the impossible and endure beyond our mortal lives.

So the next time you find yourself in Venice, consider taking a boat to San Michele and wandering among the tombs. Search for the inscription that reads “Dosvidania, Nina” and let her story remind you of the city’s history of secrets and shadows. It is a city where people from every corner of the world have left pieces of their souls, and Nina Sloutzky’s tale is just one of the countless stories that make Venice a city of eternal romance, mystery, and farewells.