Great Italians in St. Petersburg
In the 18th century, the Italian states produced an excess of extraordinary creative talent. Impoverished and politically weak, however, they lacked the resources to support the work of their artistic citizens. Russia from the reign of Peter the Great onwards increased its power and the immense wealth of its ruling class with incredible rapidity, becoming in less than a century one of the great empires of Europe. In culture, however, it lagged far behind its rivals to the west. Lacking the necessary educational institutions to develop native talent in all fields of the arts, for a century Russia imported its artists. Thus developed an almost perfect symbiotic relationship, with scores of Italians finding fame and fortune at the Russian court in St. Petersburg, and leaving an indelible mark on the country's nascent high culture.
Chariot of Victory on the arch of the General Staff Building built by Carlo Rossi
Foremost among them were the great architects of the Imperial capital, including Francesco Rastrelli, designer of the Winter Palace, and Carlo Rossi, whose grand Empire-style designs gave the city its formal face. Not far behind them in terms of significance were painters and sculptors, many of whom taught at the newly established Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, and composers who introduced musical theatre to St. Petersburg, laying the groundwork for the great flowering of Russian national ballet and opera in the 19th century.
While some of these figures have never achieved the international fame that perhaps they deserve, their contribution to the establishment of St. Petersburg as a cultural capital is inestimable, and to them first and foremost can be laid the responsibility of creating this extraordinarily hybrid city, nurturing the classical ideals of the Enlightenment in the cold flat lands of northern Russia.
The first of a string of great Italian architects to work in St. Petersburg, Trezzini helped Peter the Great establish his new city, working on the Peter and Paul Fortress, where he designed his masterpiece, the Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral. »»»
The designer of the Winter Palace and the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo, Francesco Rastrelli was unquestionably one of the greatest architects ever to work in St. Petersburg, and a master of the sumptuously decorative rococo style. »»»
One of the first Italian artists to find fame in St. Petersburg, Carlo Rastrelli, the father of architect Francesco Rastrelli, was a monumental sculptor from Florence who worked at the court of Peter the Great, producing several statues of the Tsar. »»»
A proponent of early, severe neoclassicism, Antonio Rinaldi was court architect to Catherine the Great, for whom he designed the charming Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum, and then to her favourite Count Grigory Orlov, who commissioned him to build the splendid Marble Palace. »»»
An intriguing figure who owed his career to his ability to satisfy the particular tastes of Emperor Paul I, Vincenzo Brenna did not build widely, but was responsible for St. Michael's Castle, one of St. Petersburg's most unusual buildings. »»»
The great master of Empire-style architecture in St. Petersburg, the Italian-born Carlo Rossi was responsible for many of the city's greatest public buildings, and planned the layout of much of the city centre in his extraordinarily prolific career. »»»
A proponent of the late baroque style, Michetti worked in St. Petersburg around five years from 1718, and served as chief architect of the city. His surviving works include several fountains at Peterhof and Peter the Great's Kadriorg Palace in Tallinn. »»»
A Swiss-born baroque architect whose major works in Russia were commissions from Peter the Great's confidant Alexander Menshikov, Fontana worked on the Menshikov Palace in St. Petersburg and the Grand Palace at Oranienbaum. »»»
One of the great baroque architects to work in Dresden, Chiaveri spent ten years in St. Petersburg as a young man, and his major contribution to the city was his work on the Kunstkammer, where he redesigned the central tower. »»»
A Swiss-Italian who rose from the position of mason to Quarenghi and Felten to become a court architect, Rusca worked throughout Russia, and built numerous neoclassical buildings in the St. Petersburg. »»»
A portraitist who worked in several major European cities, Rotari found particular fame and fravour in St. Petersburg, where he painted the court of Empress Elizabeth and scores of portraits of Russians in national costume. »»»
A rococo painter who became popular in Germany and Poland, Stefano Torelli came to St. Petersburg to teach at the Academy of Fine Arts. He painted court portraits and wall paintings at the Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum. »»»
A painter, poet and musician, Salvatore Tonci spent six years in St. Petersburg painting Romantic portraits of royals and nobles. He then eloped with a young princess, and went on to found a architectural school in Moscow. »»»
Born in Germany, Alessandro Molinari found fame in Russia as a painter of portrait miniatures. He travelled extensively to paint the country's nobility, and later established a confectionery shop on Nevsky Prospekt. »»»
Famed as a painter of frescoes, Antonio Vighi came to St. Petersburg in 1799 to help decorate St. Michael's Castle. He remained in Russia for the rest of his life, working with Carlo Rossi on palaces, churches and public buildings. »»»
A Neapolitan composer of opera who influenced Rossini and Mozart, Giovanni Paisiello worked in St. Petersburg at the court of Catherine the Great for eight years as kappelmeister, and wrote some of his most famous operas there. »»»
The Venetian Baldassarre Galuppi was one of the greatest opera composers of the 18th century. He served as kappelmeister to the court of Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg from 1765 to 1768, writing operas and sacred music. »»»
Kappelmeister at the court of Catherine the Great from 1768 to 1775, Tomasso Traetta was an Italian opera composer of the Neapolitan school whose works were influenced by French composers, especially Jean-Philippe Rameau. »»»
A peripatetic opera composer from Naples, Domenico Cimarosa served as court kappelmeister in St. Petersburg towards the end of Catherine the Great's reign, and is best known for the Requiem in G minor he wrote there. »»»
The last Italian composer to serve at the court of Catherine the Great, Giuseppe Sarti was also probably the most celebrated. As well as composing operas, he taught several Russian composers and worked on the scientific study of music. »»»
A key figure in the development of Russian ballet, Domenico Angiolini worked for 15 years at the court of Catherine the Great, choreographing ballets that incorporated innovatively serious dramatic themes and elements of Russian folk dances. »»»
Invited to the court of Empress Elizabeth, Giuseppe Valeriani spent twenty years in St. Petersburg, painting sets for numerous opera productions, decorating royal palaces, and teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts. »»»
An Italian scene painter working at the court of Empress Elizabeth, Antonio Peresinotti was responsible for decorating the Winter Palace theatre, and became the first teacher of perspective at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts. »»»
One of the greatest Venetian painters of his age, Francesco Fontebasso spent eight years at the court of Catherine the Great, paining several frescoes in the Winter Palace. His works can be seen in the Hermitage and the Russian Museum. »»»
A scene painter who revolutionized his medium, Pietor Gonzaga spent nearly 40 years in St. Petersburg working at court and public theatres. He also designed the recently restored Gonzaga Gallery at Pavlovsk. »»»
The most famous of a family of Italian decorative painters working in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 19th century, Giovanni Scotti worked with architects including Carlo Rossi, Luigi Rusca and Vincenzo Brenna. »»»
Born in Milan, Fidelio Bruni spent most of his life in Russia. An Academicist, he was highly successful in Russia and Italy, becoming Rector at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg and decorating the interiors of St. Isaac's Cathedral. »»»
A child prodigy in his native Venice, Catarino Cavos fell in love with St. Petersburg and spent over half his life in the city, working for the Imperial Directorate of Theatres and laying the foundations for the development of Russian national opera. »»»
Kappelmeister at the Court of Empress Anna Ionnovna, Francesco Araja was the first of a string of Italian opera composers to work in S. Petersburg, and also the author of the first opera in the Russian language. »»»
Giovanni Locatelli was a key figure in the development of musical theatre in Russia, bringing professional Italian ballet and opera companies to perform for the court and the public in St. Petersburg and Moscow. »»»
A successful dancer who worked in St. Petersburg for six years at the Imperial Ballet School, Giuseppe Canziani did much to develop the discipline of ballet dancing in Russia and also choreographed several ballets. »»»
The most prolific and one of the greatest composers of ballet music ever, Cesare Pugni worked with Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa in St. Petersburg, although his prodigious musical ability was matched by his appetite for drink and gambling. »»»
After a hugely successful career as a lead dancer, Enrico Cecchetti became a teacher in St. Petersburg, counting Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky among his pupils. The teaching method he established is still popular throughout the world. »»»
A trick rider who proved to be a skilled businessman, Gaetano Ciniselli built St. Petersburg's beautiful circus on the Fontanka River, and inspired a passion for circus art among Petersburg high society in the late 19th century. »»»
Born in Milan, Giulio de Litta served the Knights of Malta in Russia as a naval commander and an ambassador, before adopting Russian citizenship and rising to the top rank of government servants in St. Petersburg. »»»
The coach of FC Zenit from 2010 to 2014, Luciano Spalletti took the St. Petersburg club to the top of the Russian Premier League in two successive seasons, overseeing the most successful period in the club's history. »»»
