Smolny Monastery, A Baroque Masterpiece of Serene Elegance

1 Rastrelli Square, St. Petersburg State University, Faculty of Economics, St. Petersburg, Russia

The combination of blue and white is very clean

4.4

Introduction

The Smolny Monastery, located on the banks of the Neva River in Saint Petersburg, consists of a cathedral and surrounding buildings, and is one of the most important Orthodox monasteries in Russia. Originally built for Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine I, who chose to become a nun after being forbidden to inherit the throne. In 1741, Elizabeth abandoned the monastic life and accepted the request to inherit the Russian throne after Ivan VI was overthrown in a coup. However, she continued to support the monastery. The central cathedral of the monastery was designed by Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who also designed Catherine Palace and redesigned the Winter Palace. This blue and white cathedral is considered one of his outstanding works.