Architecture · Faith · Moscow · Museums · Heritage

At the Shchusev Museum of Architecture an exhibition has opened that will become a new part of the permanent display: three halls have been given over to the restored frescoes of the 15th-century Trinity-Makaryev Monastery at Kalyazin, blown up and floode

At the Shchusev Museum of Architecture an exhibition has opened that will become a new part of the permanent display: three halls have been given over to the restored frescoes of the 15th-century Trinity-Makaryev Monastery at Kalyazin, blown up and flooded in 1940 during the construction of the

Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Heritage · Education

Memorial plaque to Iosif Kobzon appears on the Shuvalova House of the Gnessin Institute

A memorial plaque to Iosif Kobzon has appeared on one of the buildings of the Gnessin Institute of Music and Pedagogy. I pass the music salon of the Shuvalova house, which is now the correct name for this building, almost every day, and yet I am seeing the commemorative plaque

Architecture · Art · Cinema · Moscow · Observations · Heritage

Sculptor Alexander Burganov and his statue of the Marquis de Sade at Lacoste castle in Provence

As a native of Khamovniki, I find the name of the sculptor Alexander Burganov stirs mixed feelings in me: I recall his ungainly studio in the lanes off Prechistenka, but also, on the other hand, some of his remarkable works. Several of them adorn the ruined château of Lacoste in

Books · Museums · Observations · Heritage · Society

Fundraising to open a Gumilev family museum in Bezhetsk, Tver Region

A campaign is under way on Planeta to raise funds for opening a museum of the Gumilev family in the town of Bezhetsk, in the Tver Region. The project is run by the Foundation for the Development of Small Historic Towns, and so far less than 250 thousand of the

Architecture · Faith · Heritage · Society

The concert hall of the Kaliningrad Regional Philharmonic will sound anew: the building is to be renovated and given a new multifunctional, as is now the fashion, cultural space with new lightsoundvideo equipment and venues for…

The concert hall of the Kaliningrad Regional Philharmonic will sound anew: the building is to be renovated and given a new multifunctional, as is now the fashion, cultural space with new lightsoundvideo equipment and venues for lectures, masterclasses and other activities. Curiously, the reorientation of the Philharmonic's premises

Architecture · Moscow · Heritage · Society

Demolition of the Chernikov apartment house of 1914 on 2nd Neopalimovsky Lane in Moscow

This is how Chernikov's house on 2nd Neopalimovsky Lane looks now, although formally the demolition, the result of fraudulent dealings by a band of black-market developers, was not due to begin until the second half of September. The comrade swindlers are in a hurry to destroy an

Architecture · Heritage · Society · Rome

French cannonball of 1849 in the staircase of Cardinal Colonna's palace in Rome

A trace of the brief days of the Roman Republic in 1849: a cannonball lodged in the staircase of the Great Salon of Cardinal Girolamo Colonna's Baroque palace. The shots were fired at random from the Janiculum Hill into the centre of Rome, which the republicans had held

Museums · Heritage · Society

American Alliance of Museums warns a third of US museums may close by the end of 2020

Meanwhile, in the United States, 12,000 museums face closure. The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) believes that one museum in three across the States may shut its doors by the end of 2020, owing to the colossal crisis that has befallen Americans this year.

Archaeology · Museums · Heritage

Speaking of underwater finds, Greece has just opened an underwater museum of ancient antiquities, the "Parthenon of Shipwrecks"

Speaking of underwater finds, Greece has very recently opened an underwater museum of ancient antiquities, the "Parthenon of Shipwrecks". The exhibition can be viewed if you have diving skills, until 2 October, while the diving season lasts.

Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Heritage

After decades of neglect and ruin, the legendary Northern River Terminal, which, like many of our architectural monuments, was only a couple of years ago under threat of collapse, now looks like this: restoration work is in full swing…

After decades of neglect and ruin, the legendary Northern River Terminal, which, like many of our architectural monuments, was only a couple of years ago under threat of collapse, now looks like this: restoration work is in full swing, and they are preparing to open the building in time for

A golden metal star with a hammer and sickle set with gems stands on a support at a building site behind a mesh fence.

NB! · Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Heritage · Reportage

Completion of the 2.5 billion rouble reconstruction of the Northern River Station and the star for its spire

Came to see the completion of the reconstruction of the Northern River Terminal, at a cost of 2.5 billion roubles. The star will not be hoisted onto the spire today because of the squally wind. The gemstones of the hammer and sickle all seem to be in place

Archaeology · Art · Museums · Heritage

The discovery of the Riace bronze warriors by a humble diver (or, to be precise, almost simultaneously with the discovery of the same sculptures by four boys), though reckoned among the most precious finds, remains a rather mysterious one

The discovery of the Riace bronze warriors by a humble diver (or, to be precise, almost simultaneously with the discovery of the same sculptures by four boys), though reckoned among the most precious finds, remains a rather mysterious one. Even 47 years on, the circumstances in which the statues were