Like this article? Don't miss "A Jewel of the Venetian Lagoon: Burano." The equally famous printing house, which these days confines itself to materials for the Armenian congregation, has now moved to the Punta Sabbioni, although the original printing presses are still kept on the island. The island is well known in academic circles having become famous for its polyglot printing press, established in 1789.
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There are rooms and corridors full of assorted priceless donated artefacts as well as a library of 200,000 books, including the first Armenian dictionary, and a fabulous collection of ancient manuscripts in a purpose-built air conditioned room. There was also a devastating earthquake in 1988 which killed half a million, yet they remain a proud and well educated people. They have been persecuted over the centuries, including the systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenians (1915-1917), mostly citizens within the Ottoman Empire. There are more Armenians scattered around the world (11 million) than in their own country (3 million) with the result that this monastery has become a focal point for the people to bestow their treasures. It is a small country bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, and Azerbaijan. Most of us find it difficult to place Armenia on a map. When I was there at the height of the summer season, there were only 10 in our English-speaking group, and about the same number in the other two. (€10) It seems to be off the tourist trail, hardly visited. Fortunately for the rest of us there are also tours in Italian and English. (Check the notice at the vaporetto stop.).Īt the monastery entrance a monk awaits to give a guided tour in Armenian. The number 20 vaporetto leaves from San Zaccaria and calls there, after the island of San Servolo, so if you want to visit San Lazzaro you need to catch the mid-afternoon boat which coincides with the guided tour on selected days of the week. Over the years the group of monks reclaimed land from the sea so that it is now square-shaped and four times the original area, but still a very small island, which can be visited, but only on certain days of the week.
In 1717 the pope asked the Republic of Venice to grant the monks the island of San Lazzaro, a former leper colony, and for the following century it was the only centre in the world which held the heritage of the Armenian people. It all came about following years of persecution when the Mekhitarist monks sought a place of safety after fleeing Constantinople. The answer is the tiny island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni in the Venetian Lagoon. What do Lord Byron, the Armenians, a leper colony and Venice have in common?
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