San Lazzaro degli Armeni is a small island about twenty minutes by vaporetto from St Mark’s Square. It is home to the Monastery of the Armenian monks of the Mekhitarist Order who settled here in 1717.
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The Armenian community guards an impressive cultural heritage collected and produced over the decades. With an in-house printing press, a library still preserving rare manuscripts and a number of artistic works of enormous value donated by the faithful and devotees, San Lazzaro degli Armeni is a treasure chest of inestimable value that survived, by virtue of its exceptional scientific-literary production, even the monastic suppressions of the Napoleonic era.
Among the wonders not to be missed are canvases by Tiepolo, a candid sculpture by Canova, an unusual Egyptian mummy and the colourful rose garden where the monks collect the flower petals they use to make the fragrant vartanush, a rose-based jam.
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Opening times: by appointment only; there are three rounds of visits; telephone 0415260104 or email visite@mechitar.org