St. Petersburg is a masterpiece of classicism. Like other European cities that were under the patronage of the Oldenburg clan. Considering the then influence of the Romanovs on world politics and the scale of their activities to "reformat" the Russian lands, which were turning into the Empire in their hands, it is difficult not to notice that this branch of the Oldenburgs set the vector for the whole of Europe.
Classicism in architecture has its own "bible" - "I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura" - "Four Books on Architecture" by Andrea Palladio:
Promotional video:
Pages * I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura *.
Palladio is not Andrea's real surname, but a pseudonym given, according to legend, by his "sponsor" Gian Jojo Trissino.
Pallas is an epithet for Athena. An interesting detail of the biography (possibly fictional), because it was to the image of Athena (Minerva) that Catherine II gravitated - the one who completely remade the cities of Russia (or built from scratch), for which a whole commission of the smartest architects and engineers was created. In principle, all "ancient" buildings and layouts in large cities of the country are its heritage. The same classicism, which began with the books of Palladio, for which the current was called "Palladianism" …
I. P. Prokofiev. Catherine II as Minerva (1782).
Catherine - Pallas - Palladianism - a coincidence?
Note the cover of the allegedly 1570 Venetian edition:
At the very top, a crowned person is depicted with an explanatory inscription “regina virtus”, which can be translated as “courageous queen” … Who are we talking about? About Athena or …
But since Palladio is just a bright pseudonym, what surname was hidden behind him? The answer is di Pietro!
Di Pietro … St. Petersburg, completely rebuilt in the style of di Pietro (moreover, "πέτρος" is a "stone" - the main material for construction) … Aren't there too many coincidences? …
Author: peremyshlin
