St. Lazarus island: the venetian custodian of armenian culture
Venice, nicknamed Serenissima in Italian or Queen of the Adriatic in English, is made up of more than forty islands. About half the islands lie abandoned while others house the municipal cemetery, sanitariums, mental hospitals, prisons, market, gardens, medieval churches, a luxury marina and hotel. Just a mile away, but still within distant sight of St. Mark's Square, is St. Lazarus Island, locally known as San Lazzaro degli Armeni, the long-revered shrine of Armenians and its literati.