“Isola di San Lazzaro”
2017
Media: acrylic on board
Size: 102x 102 cm
Even in 1185 the island, dedicated to Saint (Pope) Leo, was destined to be used as a hospital. It offered shelter to those with leprosy who were thought then to benefit from the sea air, and changed its name to Saint Lazarus, the leper in the gospel. The hospital was under the aegis of the Bishop of Castello until 1479, when the island was abandoned due to the diminishing number of cases of leprosy.
In 1717 the island was donated to the Armenian followers of Mechitar, a priest and scholar, who found refuge from the Turks in Venice. The Armenians restored the monastery and in 1789 they set up a printing press which produced literature in almost all of the Eastern languages. The island was the only one to escape destruction by Napoleon at the beginning of the 1800s as it was considered a literary academy. Still today the church and monastery house illustrious works by Francesco Zugno, Sebastiano Ricci, P. Novelli and a painting by a young Tiepolo. One room is dedicated to Lord Byron, English poet, who spent quite some time there. The legendary printing press is still in use, producing publications about Venice as well as ancient texts.
