As I realized during our last visit to San Servolo, when waiting for the vaporetto nr 20, that on the neighbor island San Lazzaro degli Armeni a daily guided tour is offered to the visitors, we decided to visit this former “leprosy-colony”.
History
San Lazzaro housed till 1182, when Uberto di Sant’Ilario was giving the island as a gift to the Venetian Leone Paolini, a Benedictine order. Paoline built a church (dedicated to Pope Leo) and a hospice that sheltered numerous lepers till the 15th century. The patron saint of the lepers is San Lazzaro: thus the name of the island and the word “lazzaretto” (military hospital/sick bay) in Italian.
The island has been deserted for a long period, precisely till 1717, when Mekhitar da Pietro and other Armenian monks came to Venice and received the island as a gift from the Senat of the Republic of Venice. They built a cloister and expanded the northwestern part of the island to it’s actual size of 3 hectares. San Lazzaro is one of the first and most important centers of the Armenian culture in the world and the mother house of the Mechitarist order (the other center is Vienna). Today, 20 monks are living on San Lazzaro, cultivating different types of roses and producing the Vartanush, a jam made of rose petals.
One of the most famous visitors of San Lazzaro is Lord Byron who, during his stay, used the library to learn the Armenian language.
The multilingual guided tours begin all at the same time (15.30). An Armenian monk and a tour guide will show you the church of San Lazzaro (where you find the tomb of Mekhitar da Pietro), the art gallery, the library and the refectory. Especially the art gallery and the library are the highlights of the guided tour as you’ll be able to see the mummy of Nemenkhet Amon (an Egyptian priest in Carnac) of the 7th century b.c. (one of the best preserved mummies in the world), the Armenian copy of a greek biographie of Alexander the Great (the original Greek version was destroyed in the fire of the library of Alexandria), a painting of Tiepolo, and lots of manuscripts and encyclopedias treating the Egyptian history (also first printings!) etc. Considering all those treasures hidden on this tiny island…incredible! At the end of the guided tour you have the possibility to buy some souvenirs in the Museum shop. My favourite: the jam made of rose petals (€7). (This jam is fabulous! The aroma, the taste: every time I open it and smell the intense rose aroma, I have got the feeling to be in a rose garden…incredible!)
How to get there
The vaporetto nr 20 leaves at San Zaccaria at 15.10 and arrives 20 minutes later on San Lazzaro. The guided tour starts immediately after your arrival at 15.30 (sure, you can also take an earlier vaporetto and have a walk around the island before) in the cloister and is held in three languages (French, Italian, English).
The guided tour costs €6/€3 (adults/children & students) and lasts 1.5-2 hours, thus until the departure of the vaporetto for Venice at 17.25.
Attention: The cloister can only be visited with the guided tour (groups with max 25 persons have to call and book the guided tour before), means that only the gardens around the cloister can be visited for free.
