Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Isola di San Lazzaro degli Armeni
Once the site of a Benedictine hospice for pilgrims and then a leper colony, this island was
given to Armenian monks fleeing Ottoman persecution in 1717. The entire island is still a
working monastery, so access is by tour only. Take the 3.10pm
vaporetto
20 from San
Zaccaria.
MONASTERO DI SAN LAZZARO DEGLI ARMENI
MAP
MONASTERY
GOOGLE MAP
(
041 526 01 04; Isola di San Lazzaro degli Armeni; adult/student & child €6/4.50;
tours 3.25-5pm Sun;
;
San Lazzaro degli Armeni)
Tours start in the glittering
church
and are conducted by multilin-
gual monks, who amply demonstrate the order's reputation for scholarship. After passing
through the 18th-century
refectory
, you'll head upstairs to the
library
. In 1789 the monks set
up a polyglot printing press here and translated many scientific and literary works into Ar-
menian. Those works are still housed in the 150,000-strong collection alongside curios
from Ancient Egypt, Sumeria and India.
An Egyptian mummy and a 15th-century Indian throne are the rather quirky main fea-
tures of the room dedicated to the memory of Lord Byron, who spent six months here in
1816 helping the monks to prepare an English-Armenian dictionary. True to his eccentric
nature, he could often be seen swimming from the island to the Grand Canal.
Before leaving be sure to browse the shop, which is a great source of unusual gifts. Try
the Vartanush jam made from rose petals from the monastery's exotic gardens. Byron was
particularly fond of it.
Isola di San Servolo
Step off
vaporetto
20 from San Zaccaria amid the students of Venice International
University and you'll be struck by the island's balmy beauty. But despite the exotic palms,
San Servolo has long sent a chill down Venetian spines, serving as it did as the city's main
insane asylum from the 18th century until 1978.
Home to Benedictine monks since the 7th century, the island's medicinal flora saw it
granted an apothecaries' license in 1719 so the monks could better supply the Republic's
on-site military hospital. Not long afterwards, in October 1725, San Servolo's first 'in-
sane' patient, Lorenzo Stefani, arrived, starting a trend among aristocratic families to have
their afflicted relatives committed. At its peak the asylum held hundreds of inmates, a
