Antonio Rinaldi

The Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi (1709–1794) came to Russia in 1752. He was the only representative of the Rococo style in Russian architecture; his works show a remarkable transition from Baroque to Classicism. Rinaldi designed for Tsarskoye Selo a number of notable monuments glorifying triumphs of the Russian army: the Orlov Gate, Chesme and Morea Rostral Columns, Kagul Obelisk, and several others. All of them were created with a high regard for the classical antiquity standards imitated during the Classicism era. A connoisseur of Rococo and its concomitant Chinoiserie (“Chinese-like”), Rinaldi also designed the Chinese Village, the Chinese Theatre, and smaller pavilions (summerhouses).