San Lazzaro degli Armeni

The Island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni is a small island in the Venetian lagoon, between Venice and the Lido. Famous for the convent founded there by the Armenian patriarch Mechitar and for the museum that collects evidence of the important Armenian printing house that was established to spread the literary and historical culture of the Armenian people in the West. You can visit the library, the manuscript room, Lord Byron’s room and the church with the delightful cloister. As for the manuscripts, the room has a particularity that recurs in every Armenian church, a circular ceiling. According to tradition, the priest, after having heard someone’s confession, must in turn confess; he then arrives in the centre of the room, where only he can hear the echo of his own voice.

The Armenian culture, still alive and present in Venice, is perfectly integrated into the social culture of the city. It is an island to discover, full of charm and knowledge.

Near San Lazzaro degli Armeni we find the island of San Servolo immersed in the greenery of a beautiful park of ancient trees. Island initially inhabited by the Benedictines and later, until 1978, it became a madhouse. Today, in addition to the church and the ancient Benedictine pharmacy, it is possible to visit the asylum museum inaugurated in 2006.