"A thread of silk and faith: Veneto and Armenia, an enduring bond: Luca Zaia in Armenia" by Carlo Coppola
https://www.bariconnessa.it/news/cultura/luca-zaia-dal-veneto-all-armenia-museo-genocidio/3243
A thread of silk and faith, woven across the centuries, binds the Veneto region to the Armenian nation: from the lagoon quiet of the Island of San Lazzaro, where since 1717 the Mekhitarist monks have safeguarded the Armenian language, memory, and culture, all the way to Yerevan. Here a new chapter of this relationship has opened with the institutional mission of Luca Zaia, President of the Veneto Regional Council, which began on September 21st and was carried out together with Secretary General Roberto Valente and a small delegation.
The trip took place on the occasion of the 15th Advisory Forum on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (September 23–25), dedicated this year to the theme "Routes through Time and Cultures: Education for Sustainable Heritage." For Veneto, this is a special edition: in May, the Via Querinissima — which travels from Venice to the Lofoten Islands, retracing the footsteps of the navigator Pietro Querini — was certified as a European Cultural Route, and it is in Yerevan that the corresponding diploma is to be presented. "We must turn this network into a true cultural infrastructure for Europe's future," Zaia declared as he opened the proceedings.
On September 23rd, the delegation paid tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide on Tsitsernakaberd hill, together with Italy's Ambassador H.E. Alessandro Ferranti. The delegation then met with Zhanna Andreasyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, and visited the Matenadaran, home to one of the most important collections of ancient Armenian manuscripts and a testament to the cultural resilience of the Armenian people.
The most powerful moment came at the Armenian Genocide Memorial and Museum, where Zaia paused for a long while in front of a photograph that struck him deeply, describing the place as one where "the silence is heavy with history and pain" and one that "compels reflection." The Metz Yeghern, which began in 1915 and was preceded by the massacres of the late nineteenth century, claimed the lives of approximately one and a half million Armenians.
"Memory, culture, identity, encounter between peoples" — this is how Zaia summed up the themes that ran like a common thread through the day. From Yerevan, then, Veneto reaffirms its vocation as a bridge between peoples, with a thought also extended to the Armenian community in Veneto.
Zaia's guide during the visit was Dr. Shushan Khachatryan, the institution's only Italian-speaking researcher, who welcomed him together with acting director Hrachya Tashchyan. At the end of the visit, Zaia was presented with the Italian-language edition of the Museum Catalogue, translated from English by Prof. Carlo Coppola and revised by Siranush Quaranta.
by Carlo Coppola
