In 1836, two wealthy Armenians from famous families from India Samuel Mkrtich Murad (Moorat) and Eduard Rafael financed the establishment of an Armenian college in Venice. It was named Moorat Rafael College in their honor.
The college is located in the Baroque-style Palazzo Ca’ Zenobio which was built in 1690. The order has owned Palazzo Ca’ Zenobio since 1850.
The Zenobio family ordered a well-known artist to paint the ceiling of one of the halls. Today, the artist’s painting (called “Peace and Justice”) is in the collection of the Armenian Order of Mekhitarists on the island of San Lazzaro.
The Moorat Rafael College provided education that met high academic requirements and had an authoritative staff of teachers. Its graduates were distinguished by their aristocratic stature. Patrons paid great attention to the education of Armenian youth and maintained close ties with the Mekhitarists. Famous Armenians, including William Saroyan, have frequented the college.
Today, the palace building is annually provided for the Venice Biennale, as well as Armenian exhibitions and events.
How a promise made to genocide survivors was traded away for peace with Ankara —…
A Fragment That Traveled Across Continents The gilt-silver medallion shown above — two richly dressed…
Few episodes in ancient Armenian history capture the imagination quite like the tradition that Hannibal…
Five angles of one small bronze figure — and what emerges is not an abstract…
Introduction Among the successor states that emerged from the fragmentation of the Achaemenid-derived Orontid (Armenian:…
Article based on the explanations and interpretive observations of Angela Terian, with additional archaeological and…