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San Francesco Del Deserto

San Francesco del Deserto is an island in the Venetian Lagoon between San Erasmo and Burano. It has an area of 0.02 sq. km.

History

This island has ancient origins dating back to Roman times. It takes its current name of the visit of St. Francis of Assisi on the island when he returned to Egypt.

In 1220 , when the island was then known as Island of The Vineyards, she was chosen to establish a benchmark where we could pray and meditate in peace and away from the mundane. After the death of Saint Francis of Assisi , Jacopo Michiel , owner of the island (belonging to the family of the Doge and namesake nephew of the Patriarch of Grado Angelo Barozzi), made an agreement with the Provincial Minister St. Antoine Padua to erect a church in honor of the saint. He bequeathed the island March 4, 1233 to the Franciscan Order of the Frari in Venice , who built a convent. In 1453, Pius II conceded Island Osservanti Minori , who restored the church and convent. They built a Renaissance cloister. In 1493, Clement VII installed there in Minori Riformati , who inhabited the island until 1806, when they were expelled by Napoleon. The brothers fled to the convent of San Bonaventura in Venice. The place was then subsequently for the establishment of a magazine but in 1858 the island was ceded by the Austrian Diocese of Venice and the brothers had refound the monastery which is still active today.