San Francesco del Deserto is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, with a surface of some 4 ha. It is located between Sant'Erasmo and Burano. It houses a minorites convent.
The island was frequented since Roman times. In 1220, St. Francis landed here at his return from the Holy Land during the Fifth Crusade, and founded a hermitage here. After his death, the island was to the Minorites by the Venetian patrician Jacopo Michiel, a relative of the patriarch of Grado, Angelo Barozzi, to found a convent.
During the Austrian rule of Venice the island, abandoned due to its unhealthy characteristics, was used a powder depot. In 1858 it was donated to the diocese of Venice, who allowed the friars to refound a convent here.