Catherine Palace - Table of Contents ............... Architecture Around the World

Grounds - Catherine Palace
Pushkin, Russia, 25 km south-east of St. Petersburg, Russia

Bartolomeo Rastrelli, Chief Architect of the Imperial Court, was instructed to completely redesign the building on a scale to rival Versailles. The Italian architect Bartholomeo Rastrelli (1700-1771) came to Russia with this father in 1716  to work for Peter the Great. His rich Late Baroque (Rococo) style became highly fashionable and he was appointed Chief Court Architect in 1738. During Elizabeth's reign, Rastrelli designed several buildings, including the Winter Palace and the Palace of Tsarkoe Selo (Catherine Palace). Unlike Elizabeth, Catherine the Great preferred Classical (Neoclassical style) simplicity and Rastrelli retired in 1763 after she came to power.

"Hercules"

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