When Tsar Peter the Great founded the city of St. Petersburg in 1703, he famously declared it would be Russia’s Window to the West. Having traveled (incognito) to the Netherlands and Britain, the tsar quickly absorbed those countries’ advancements in the sciences, arts, maritime work, and architecture. What he perhaps did not envision was the degree to which his new city would adopt the European progresses, particularly in architecture, and create a uniquely Russian hybrid.
For 200 years St. Petersburg served as the capital of the vast Russian Empire, and the trait most common among all the Romanov rulers was their passion for building. Which is what brings us, and countless others before, to this land of stunning architecture. Architectural Digest’s first AD Access tour of St. Petersburg, a unique partnership between the magazine and Indagare, the luxury travel group, takes place from October 9 until October 14. Consider joining luxury travel group Indagare’s founder and CEO, Melissa Biggs Bradley and myself, an AD contributor and former design editor, as we explore the architecture and arts of the Wonder of the North.
To be in St. Petersburg is to be immersed in an architectural textbook. From the Petrine Baroque, Elizabethan Rococo, Catherine Classicism, Alexandrian Empire, and all the way though to Soviet Neoclassicism, we will absorb all aspects of the city's rich architectural past as we walk its streets and enter its many museums and palaces.
Our trip will include a private tour of the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoe Selo (Rastrelli and Cameron) including the famed Amber Room and the long-closed but recently restored Agate Pavilion, as well as the brilliant Cameron private apartments. Another outing will focus on architects Andrei Voronykhin and Bartolomeo Rastrelli, starting at the Stroganoff Palace (yes, that Stroganoff) on the Nevsky Prospekt. The palace, built by Rastrelli with interiors by Voronykhin following a fire, is a wonder after a 20-plus-year restoration. Voronykhin’s Mineral Cabinet and barrel-vaulted Picture Gallery are particularly fine, and Rastrelli’s ballroom is the only unaltered intact interior room of its kind in St. Petersburg. We will be guided by the Stroganoff curator and scholar Dr. Sergei Kuznetsov. This will be followed by a stop at the magnificent Kazan cathedral, the jewel of the Nevsky Prospekt, and also designed by Voronykhin. We then head to Pavlovsk Palace, arguably the finest neoclassical ensemble anywhere in the world. Designed by Charles Cameron with astonishingly beautiful interiors created by Voronykhin for the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. Pavlovsk’s Chief Curator, Alexey Guzanov, will be our guide. Best of all, perhaps, is that the palace will be closed to the public during our trip.
The wonders don't end there. The Peter and Paul fortress, and the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul (designed by Domenico Tressini), final resting place of the Imperial families, is next on our busy itinerary. It will be followed by the State Russian Museum (a personal favorite), housed in the Mikhailovsky Palace (designed by Carlo Rossi), with its extraordinary collection of Russian art through the ages, rarely seen in the West. The (first) St. Petersburg Fabergé Museum which is in the Shuvalov Palace and St. Isaacs Cathedral (designed by Auguste Montferrand) are also on order. We will crown this day with an after-hours private tour of the Hermitage Museum, open for us after closing to the public.
Still to come, touring the Carlo Rossi–designed General Staff Building, home to the Hermitage's contemporary art collection (including its renowned French Impressionist art). Yet, that's not all. A special treat will be a tour of the state-of-the-art Hermitage Storage Chambers. This facility contains vast works of art belonging to the Hermitage not seen by, or open to, the public. We will be lodging at the historic and beautiful Hotel Astoria, a RoccoForte property that faces on one side St. Isaacs, and on the other, the Mariinsky Palace. These are all but the major highlights of the trip. There is much more in store along with a lot of fascinating history accompanied by great storytelling.
For more information on the next AD Access trip to St. Petersburg, which will run from October 9 through 14, 2019, please visit: indagare.com/ad.
