Messages

31

Palaces in St. Petersburg / Re: Palace of GDss Xenia Aleksandrovna

« on: June 23, 2005, 09:44:09 PM »

If memory serves me, it was Ksenya to whom, upon her marriage, Alexander III offered the Mikhailovsky palace to live in. Of course, Ksenya said that palace was too big, and indeed it is really huge. I wonder if Sandro shared his wife´s opinion...

32

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: The Pavillions at Peterhof

« on: June 23, 2005, 06:31:13 PM »

Hi Mike!

The photo is amazing so you must be quite quick with the camera.
Even if it looks lovely in the picture i think i shall be careful not to meet this kind of inhabitants of the Peterhof Park.
The first time i saw an otter "in person" i mistook it for an enormous rat, so i run away screaming, totally disgracing myself before my amused friends...
Thanks for posting the photo

Antonio.

33

Tsarskoe Selo Town / Re: Help with locations on map

« on: June 22, 2005, 06:46:26 AM »

Sorry Antonio,

The house is located a corner more at the south.

Anna Vyrubova's house is indicated as House of Teppere de Fergusson on the map.

Hello Reco!

Well, the house of Anna does always appear in Russian maps and books as the house of Teppere de Ferguson, linking it to the time when Pushkin visited it. Surely no one in soviet Russia would have preferred to name it "Anna Virubova´s house". Anyway, i can tell you for sure that this is the house of Anna, as i have visited it several times.

Antonio

34

Tsarskoe Selo Town / Re: Help with locations on map

« on: June 21, 2005, 07:08:20 PM »

Hello Scott!

My english is too bad when trying to explain locations, so i used your own map to mark the places. Hope this helps...

The blue point is marking the corner where Anna Virubova´s house is located.

The building you mention to the north of the Liceum is the church of Our Lady of the Sign.

The building to the southwest of the Llama pavillion is indeed the Elephant House.

I´ve put a green point where the Imperial Railway pavillion should be. It seems this plan is previous to the construction of the pavillion and additional railway, and i have also draw in deep red the railway line that was built for Nicholas and Alexandra´s private use.

I hope you understand my odd explanations

35

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: St. Petersburg imperial country residences new

« on: June 07, 2005, 08:44:54 PM »

Hello Vladimir!

Thanks as always for the wonderful news. Have you visited the exhibition? Could you tell us more about it? I really hope they´re selling a catalogue of this exhibition!

Antonio.

36

Forum Announcements / Grand Duchess Tataiana N.´s Birthday

« on: May 29, 2005, 06:20:57 PM »

Well, i´m not sure if this is the correct place to post this... but today is Tatiana´s birthday. I´ve checked the date several times as i found it very strange no one posted it before, and i´m not too good remembering birth dates...

37

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: The Pavillions at Peterhof

« on: May 27, 2005, 03:10:45 PM »

Hello Bob

The Tsaritsin pavillion of Olgin Pond is similar in design(both by Stakensneider), and i at first wasn´t too sure but this one is the Rose(Ozerky) pavillion, i checked that before posting.

BTW, last time i saw the Tsaritsin and Olgin pavillions(back in 2003) they were being restored so hopefully we´ll see the work finished soon...

38

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: The Farm Palace, in Peterhof

« on: May 26, 2005, 06:28:07 PM »

It seems many members of the imperial family had rooms at the Farm palace, even Ella. There´s a desk, supposedly from her room there, still preserved in Peterhof.

39

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: The Pavillions at Peterhof

« on: May 25, 2005, 06:30:31 PM »

It´s the Rose Pavillion, located in the Ozerky Park( I think it could be translated as the park of the lakes...).

40

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: Catherine Palace

« on: May 25, 2005, 02:42:23 PM »

Hello Brian

As always, you present us all with the most beautiful pictures!

These are the Lyon(first) and Arabesque(second) Halls. The Lyon hall´s chandelier and wall sconces, as well as some other things in this room were made of lapis and gilded bronze, after Ipolito Monigetti´s designs(all these things have been preserved).

41

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: St. Petersburg imperial country residences new

« on: May 15, 2005, 06:42:07 PM »

Thanks so much Vladimir for the information.

I asked to see those rooms that were being restored, and the curator show me Rastrelli´s antechambers that were about to be finished. When i asked her about the Arabesque, Lyon, Chinese, etc she told me there was nothing at all to see. I was then led to the Chapel, which was in very good shape even after the WWII damage. It´s too sad that they destroyed whatever remained of the decoration after WWII. I cannot tell for the Chinese or Catherine´s bedroom, tabatier, etc. but Maria Alexandrovna´s room, for example, was extremelly well preserved, so cannot imagine how they simply ripped out the decorative panels.

In the Arabesque room, after the WWII the restorers discovered traces of the wall paintings from before the room was somewhat altered in the XIX century.(those paintings can be seen in Hau´s famous watercolour of that interior) Kedrinsky´s restoration projects for the several of these rooms are amazing.

Anyway, at least they still intend to restore, though not now, these rooms. I hope i´ll live to see them restored as i especially love Cameron´s work!!

Antonio.

42

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: St. Petersburg imperial country residences new

« on: May 14, 2005, 09:54:04 PM »

Hello Vladimir,

How is that??

They will be opened as exhibition rooms??? Just that?? Sorry, but i´m totally astonished. The last i knew was that they were intended to be restored in due time.
Maria Alexandrovna´s bedroom, for example, had even after the WWII damage retained a lot of its decoration.
I cannot believe all of these rooms will be left unrestored. The Lyons room, for instance, they have all of its lapis decorative elements preserved. And Cameron´s Catherine II´s rooms were some of the most beautiful interiors the man has ever created.
I hope i simply misunderstood the post!!  

43

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: The Lower Dacha (New Palace), at Peterhof

« on: May 07, 2005, 12:28:22 PM »

Hello Bob,

I certainly agree with all and each of your words on this subject. I don´t like to say this, but i can imagine the Lower Palace restored much sooner than the A.P. May be, in part, because to see the A.P. restored would be (for me, at least) more than a dream. Also, during my last visits i´ve seing a lot of restoration work being done in Peterhof(both town and palaces), not to say in Strelna(!!).

Anyway, i would love to see the Lower Palace restored as soon as possible...

44

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: The Lower Dacha (New Palace), at Peterhof

« on: May 06, 2005, 02:48:45 PM »

Does anybody here know if the restoration work on the Lower Palace is being continued??

I know last summer they cleared and excavated the ruins, but have no information as far as its present state is concerned...

Thanks so much in advance!

Antonio.

45

Russian Noble Families / Re: Nadezhda Dmitrievna Wonlar-Larsky

« on: April 21, 2005, 01:34:47 PM »

A Million thanks Annette!!!

I´ve already sent you a p.m.

Antonio.