Moscow’s legendary cathedrals are famous the world over, but St Petersburg’s colourful churches are things of equal beauty. With ornately-decorated onion domes and vibrantly coloured exteriors, they’re an architectural feast for the eyes. Join us as we explore St Petersburg’s most beautiful churches.
St Isaac’s Cathedral
A grandiose edifice, St Isaac’s Cathedral was built under the order of Tsar Alexander I. All towering columns, topped with a shimmering gilded dome, it was created in a Neoclassical style using pink and grey stone. Inside, a sculpted dove representing the Holy Spirit hangs suspended beneath the peak of the dome.
Church of the Saviour on Blood
With its green and gold-studded domes and intricately adorned walls, the Church of the Saviour on Blood looks like a fairytale creation. Echoing St Basil’s in Moscow, the imposing construction sits where Alexander II was fatally wounded in 1881. It contains a record-breaking 7,500 sqm of mosaics.
Chesme Church
Resembling a sugar icing confection atop a cake, Chemse Church’s eye-catching exterior is covered in candy-hued pink and white vertical stripes. Built by Yury Felten, Catherine the Great’s court architect, the tiny Gothic sanctuary sticks out like a sore thumb amid the surrounding greenery.
Smolny Cathedral
Painted a striking sky-blue and white, Smolny Cathedral is an architectural masterpiece designed by Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who created the Winter Palace. The Baroque cathedral with its elegant spires sits majestically on the banks of the Neva River.
Located opposite St Isaac’s Cathedral, the grand Hotel Astoria is a luxuriant base from which you can explore St Petersburg’s magnificent churches. Call +7 812 494 5757 or email reservations.astoria@roccofortehotels.com to book or enquire.
The Grand Tour has had its day, in the most fortunate way. What was once a rite of years is now within reach of anyone with the curiosity to make it. The prescribed list of sights has loosened too, leaving the traveller free to follow Goethe's original instinct, to stand where the present is being made as well as where the past is preserved. Today, our journey through Milan, Florence and Rome begins, as it always did, in the north…
In the 17th century, Artemisia Gentileschi emerged as one of the most compelling painters of her time. Her unflinching clarity and business acumen allowed her to flourish in a world dominated by men. In her hands, familiar subjects were transformed: heroines once cast as victims emerged instead as warriors. Her work gave voice to women too often silenced, not only on the canvas but in life.
Much like the island, the resort’s Rocco Forte Private Villas encourage a slower, more considered way of living. Designed by Olga Polizzi, each villa is thoughtfully arranged to bring loved ones together, while still allowing space for solitude
