Today the presentation of a catalog in Armenian and Italian called The Saint Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church in Naples took place at the Italian Embassy in Armenia. It is a result of cooperation between the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia and the Italian Embassy in Armenia. The book was first presented last December 14 in the framework of an exhibition in Venice called Armenia: Stamps of Civilization.
In the catalog, one can find photos of 17th century famous Italian artist Luca Giordano’s engravings in the St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church in Naples. The photo exhibition of engravings took place last October at the Italian Embassy in Armenia in the framework of 10th Week of the Italian Language in the World.
Italian Ambassador to Armenia Bruno Scapini attached importance to publishing the catalog, saying that the project was small, but of big importance. The Ambassador stated that it was a wrong impression that the Armenian traces in Italy were only on St. Lazarus, he found new mentions and traces of Armenians every day. One of those is the St. Gregory the Illuminator Church in Naples, where, according to the ambassador, the remains of St. Gregory, which reached Naples thanks to Armenian nuns, are kept.
While talking about Armenian cultural and spiritual treasures, Mr. Scapini said that he was aware of the Armenian literature, Charents’s poetry in particular, to some extent. He regrets that he cannot read books of the Armenian authors in the original due to not knowing the language. As ambassador put it, it is the center of power, on which the Armenian-Italian relations are based.
Gohar HAKOBYAN
