In the 1920s in Italy, famous Armenian symbolist poet Hrant Nazarian gathered 150 Armenians, survivors of massacres of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey, and founded the village of Nor-Araks (Armenian: “New Araks”) near the city of Bari.

This village exists to this day (photos attached). The city itself is located on the shore of the Adriatic Sea.

A small carpet weaving factory was opened in the village, and the sale of the carpets ensured the existence of the whole community.

The initiative of Hrant Nazarian (on the first photo) was implemented with the assistance and personal protection of Benito Mussolini. The costs of electricity, water, medical service, and medical supplies were taken care of by the government.

In 1938, Mussolini sent Hieromonk Vahan Hovhannisyan from the Congregation of Mkhitarists to Ethiopia with the mandate to open an Armenian school in Addis Ababa.