Coming Up · Architecture · Moscow · Science
The People's Observatory in Gorky Park: once the leaves come out, it will not be so easy to spot. The first astronomical station was built on this site as early as 1929, the present building went up in the 1950s, and since 2015 two new telescopes, donated by
Archaeology · Architecture · Faith · Heritage
The relics stolen by the Venetians from Alexandria in the ninth century belong, according to the principal version, to Saint Mark, yet there is a stubborn legend that in place of the Evangelist's remains the thieves carried home those of Alexander the Great.
Architecture · Moscow · Heritage
Moscow City Hall has announced a new stage in the reconstruction of one of the seven famous Stalinist high-rises, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building on Smolenskaya Square. The façades of the central tower and of the 16-storey wings will be cleaned, the roof repaired and the plinth
Architecture · Observations · Humour
Other People: Listening to the Lecture and Watching the Lecturer's Facial Expressions and Gestures. Me: Gazing at the breach in the wall of the state drawing room of Princess Serebryakova's mansion. How did you come to be here, my dear, by what fortunes, and how long
Architecture · Art · Museums
Someone says "della Robbia", and you hear "Florentine glazed painted ceramics". This family gave the world a whole galaxy of notable maiolica masters. Vasari, indeed, directly names the eldest of the sculptors of the della Robbia family, Luca, of the fifteenth century, as the inventor of
NB! · Archaeology · Architecture · The East · Geography
Architecture · Faith · Heritage · Paris
5 years ago, on 15 April 2019, humanity nearly lost one of the greatest structures of our era, the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. They say that no more than half an hour remained before the masterpiece of a church was destroyed. The first stone of the Cathedral of
NB! · Architecture · Faith · Moscow · Observations
I am very fond of the Church of St Clement. Such a smartly dressed Roman lady, but in Zamoskvorechye
Architecture · Heritage · Mores · Paris
The French have a saying: to be married at the town hall of the 13th arrondissement. It means to live outside lawful wedlock. For until 1860 Paris had only 12 arrondissements. The 13th arrondissement appeared only in 1867, when construction of its town hall began. The building took 10 years
Architecture · Art · Moscow · Heritage
The work of the sculptor Pavel Bondarenko, with the architects Yakov Belopolsky and Fyodor Gazhevsky. The monument stands 42 metres high and was erected in 1980 for the Moscow Olympics. Gagarin is made of a special titanium alloy.
Architecture · Art
Frescoes by Agnolo Bronzino
Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Heritage
The beautiful Borovitskaya Tower has shown off its freshly restored crown. The progress of the restoration work is plain to see. It is, after all, hard to argue that the Moscow Kremlin is one of the most beautiful fortresses in the world. Every time I drive past, I look at