Description of the attraction
San Lazzaro degli Armeni - The Armenian island of St. Lazarus is a small island in the southern part of the Venetian lagoon next to the island of Lido. It is entirely occupied by the monastery of the Mkhitarist order and for several centuries has been considered one of the world centers of Armenian culture.
The location of San Lazzaro at a considerable distance from Venice made the island an ideal location for the quarantine station, which appeared here in the 12th century. Then in its place was founded the leper colony of Saint Lazarus, the patron saint of lepers, after whom the whole island was named. In the 16th century, the island was abandoned by people for two long centuries, until in 1717 the Armenian Catholic monk Mkhitar Sevastiysky arrived here, who later became the founder of the Mkhitarist order. Together with a group of 17 followers, he fled the town of Morea, which in those years became the scene of hostilities between the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire. On San Lazzaro, the monks built a monastery, restored an old church and established a large library, and over time the island became a center for Orientalist research. The monks have increased the territory of the island to the current 30 thousand square meters, which is four times its original size. The monastery has published works on Armenian history and philology, works of Armenian literature and other relevant materials that have received recognition throughout the scientific world.
In 1816, Lord Byron visited the island and studied Armenian culture and language here. The room where the great poet stayed has now been turned into a museum. I must say that for tourists excursions are conducted by the monks themselves, who show a rich collection of oriental antiquities - over 4 thousand Armenian manuscripts and Arab, Indian and Egyptian artifacts. There is even a fully preserved Egyptian mummy among the exhibits. Also noteworthy are the monastery gardens with their peacock population.
