St. Petersburg is one of the greatest cities of Russia, which many travel agencies have suggested it on their tour to Russia program. Though Russia has many tourist destination cities with lots of attractive places, St. Petersburg has the top spot on many tourists and travel agencies list because of the number of attractive places and the opportunity it offers.
St. Petersburg is the capital of art and culture in Russia, which allows you to learn about history, art, culture, and society of Russia, and many people have done many services to make this city as it’s now, including many foreign figures who have helped to create that atmosphere.
Though St. Petersburg is now one of the most well-known cities in the world, it didn’t exist until the 18th century. When Peter the Great became the emperor, he had decided to move the capital into his newly founded city, which was St. Petersburg, and unlike his predecessors, he was open-minded about western culture, so he had invited several foreign artists from all over Europe to help him build his new capital. He had also invited several artists to improve Russian art and culture. Many people with different expertise were invited to Russia from all over Europe, including architects, painters, composers, and choreographers; though people came to Russia from various countries, Italian artists came to Russia from the beginning of the foundation of St. Petersburg. While we can’t name all the great people who have helped to build the cultural capital of Russia, we can name a few of those who made major changes in St. Petersburg, such architects who literary helped to build St. Petersburg.
Domenico Trezzini
One of the first architects who were very close to Peter the Great and designed multiple significant attractions of St. Petersburg, including Peter and Paul Fortress, the Twelve collages, and Summer Palace of the Peter the Great was Domenico Trezzini; Trezzini was the founder of Petrine Baroque architecture style, which was named after Peter the Great. He came to Russia in 1703 and soon became the chief architect of Peter’s court, who had designed Peter and Paul Fortress, which was one of the first structures in St. Petersburg, and Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral inside the fortress was reasonably his most notable work in Russia. Though he had designed some of the major attractions of Russia tour, he also managed to help St. Petersburg by designing the layout of Kronshtadt, most of Vasilivsky Island, and Alexander Nevsky Lavra. While most of his structures were replaced because they were made out of wood, he also established the school of architecture in St. Petersburg, which trained some of the top Russian architects, such as Mikhail Zemtsov. You can visit some of the significant works of Trezzini on your tour to Russia if you include St. Petersburg tour on your travel plans.
Francesco Rastrelli
When you visit St. Petersburg on your travel to Russia, Francesco Rastrelli’s works are probably the most striking structures that you’ll get from the architecture of St. Petersburg; however, he had lived long enough to see that other architecture styles have replaced his style. Francesco Rastrelli, who was Carlo Rastrelli’s son, had arrived in St. Petersburg with his father in 1716. Although he had returned to Europe in the 1720s to study, he received his first commission in St. Petersburg in 1721. As the last Baroque style architects who had worked in St. Petersburg, he had created the Winter Palace and the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, and became the chief architect of Imperial court twice, did several works in Kyiv, and reconstructed several structures, including the Grand Palace in Peterhof. He fell out of favor when he was working on his Baroque-style masterpiece, Smolny Convent, which Vasiliy Stasov had eventually completed. When Catherine the Great succeeded the throne, she dismissed Rastrelli from his post as chief architect, which resulted in his return to Courland. It’s not clear when he had returned to St. Petersburg, but he died two months after he accepted a teaching role at the Academy of Art in 1771. You can still find several of his work on your tour to Russia, and especially on your St. Petersburg tour.
Antonio Rinaldi
When Catherine the Great succeeded the throne, Russia was on the transition phase from Baroque architecture style to neoclassic style, and Antonio Rinaldi was one of the first architects from the era who became the chief architect of Peter III and Catherine the Great. One of the reasons behind Rinaldi’s success was the fact that the Empress had massive admiration for neoclassicism. Though it was the beginning of the neoclassicism, Rinaldi had done multiple notable works in St. Petersburg and its suburban area, including Peter III’s Palace and Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum, several churches, such as Catherine Church on Nevsky Prospect, the Grand Palace of Gatchina, and the most significant work of him the Marble Palace, which you can visit on your Russia tour if you travel to St. Petersburg. Though Rinaldi has done multiple major works in St. Petersburg, he was mostly admired because of his interior design.
Vincenzo Brenna
Though Vincenzo Brenna was not as successful as his fellow architects in St. Petersburg, he managed to gain Emperor Paul I’s trust and built several structures during Paul I’s short reign. While Brenna mostly did interior design, such as Pavlovsk’s grand palace, when Emperor Paul I succeeded the throne, he had the opportunity to express his architectural mind in St. Petersburg, where he had designed the St. Michael’s Castle, one of the most unusual building of St. Petersburg with the help of his assistant Carlo Rossi. Brenna’s architectural mind perfectly matched with Paul I’s taste, but after Alexander I succeeded the throne, he also left St. Petersburg and went to Dresden, where he had continued his work in painting. You can still find St. Michael’s Castle on your tour to Russia, which is undoubtedly one of the highlights of your travel to Russia.
Carlo Rossi
While Brenna was only able to build a few buildings in St. Petersburg, his assistant Carlo Rossi had single-handedly changed entire St. Petersburg architecture. Rossi was first traveled to St. Petersburg when he was only a child with his mother, who was a ballerina; he had worked and studied with Vincenzo Brenna before returning to Italy to continue his study in architecture. When he returned to St. Petersburg, he was accepted as a member of the Committee for Building and Hydraulic Works, and he reconstructed the Anchikov Palace. Though he had worked on several projects along the way, his first significant project was Yelagin Palace. For the next ten years of his life, he was not only constructed multiple masterpieces, including Mikhailovsky Palace, General Staff Building, and Alexanderinsky Theatre, but he also created the area around these places, including the Art Square, Palace Square, and Senate Square. His works in St. Petersburg was so extensive and vital, that Theatre Street's name was changed to the Street of Architect Rossi, in honor of him and his works; he also got a box in Alexanderinsky Theater near the Emperor's box, which he granted to the highest bidder on every show; when Emperor Nicholas I found out about it, he took his name off of the box; Rossi was disappeared from St. Petersburg after that event. His efforts in St. Petersburg are a significant part of the Russian tour attractions, which you will see on your tour to Russia.
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