Carlo di Giovanni Rossi (; – ) was an Italian architect who worked in Imperial Russia. He was the author of many classical buildings and architectural ensembles in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and its environs.

Biography

Carlo Rossi was born in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

(his stepfather was the famous ballet artist Charles le Picq) and was brought to Russia in his childhood when his mother Guertroude Rossi-Le Picq, a well-known

ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancer ...

, was invited into Russia to perform. From youth he was connected with the world of the arts. He trained in the studio of architect Vincenzo Brenna. In 1795 he entered the service of the admiralty board of architecture; as the assistant to Brenna, together with whom, it is assumed, he participated in the construction of

Saint Michael's Castle Saint Michael's Castle (, ''Mikhailovsky zamok''), also called the Mikhailovsky Castle or the Engineers' Castle (, ''Inzhenerny zamok''), is a former royal residence in the historic centre of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Saint Michael's Castle wa ...

in Saint Petersburg. From 1802 to 1803 Rossi studied in Italy. In 1806 he obtained the title of architect and an office. In 1808 he was dispatched to the Kremlin archaeological expedition in Moscow, where he built St. Catherine's Church of the

Ascension Convent Ascension Convent, known as the Starodevichy Convent or Old Maidens' Convent until 1817 (), was a Russian Orthodox nunnery in the Moscow Kremlin which contained the burials of grand princesses, tsarinas, and other noble ladies from the Muscovite ...

and the theater at Arbat Square, which burned to the ground during

Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continent ...

. He was rewarded with the Order of St. Vladimir of IV degree. In 1814, he obtained the rank of Collegiate Councilor. In 1815, he returned to Saint Petersburg. In 1816, he was appointed to a position on the committee of structures and hydraulic works. The buildings of Rossi are characteristic of the

empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 duri ...

, which combines grandeur with noble simplicity. These include: the

Yelagin Palace Yelagin Palace (Елагин дворец; also ''Yelaginsky'' or ''Yelaginoostrovsky Dvorets'') is a Palladian villa on Yelagin Island in Saint Petersburg, which served as a royal summer palace during the reign of Alexander I. The villa was d ...

with the hothouse and the pavilions (1816–1818), the Mikhailovsky Palace, General Staff Building, the buildings of the Senate and Synod (1829–1833), the façade of the

Russian National Library The National Library of Russia (NLR, , ''РНБ''), located in Saint Petersburg, is the first, and one of three national public libraries in Russia. The NLR is currently ranked among the world's major libraries. It has the second biggest libr ...

that faces Alexandrinskaya Square, the pavilions of

Anichkov Palace The Anichkov Palace, a former imperial palace in Saint Petersburg, stands at the intersection of Nevsky Avenue and the Fontanka River. History 18th century The palace, situated on the plot formerly owned by Antonio de Vieira (1682?-1745), ...

, the arch of the General Staff Building, the Alexandrine Theatre and the buildings of the Board of Theaters and Ministry of Internal Affairs. In Pavlovsk, Rossi built the palace library. One of the last buildings of Rossi was the belfry of the Yurevskogo monastery near Velikiy Novgorod. On , he died of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

, according to available data - in complete oblivion and in poverty. His children were left with the responsibilities of his burial and debts, which they petitioned the Tsar for help with. The Tsar gave a small sum for the funeral and Rossi was buried in the Volkov Lutheran cemetery. During the Soviet period, he was reburied at the Lazarevskoe Cemetery of the

Alexander Nevsky Monastery Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alex ...

under the same tombstone.

Works

*The Mikhailovsky Palace and adjacent buildings *The

Alexandrinsky Theater The Alexandrinsky Theatre () or National Drama Theatre of Russia is a theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Alexandrinsky Theatre was built for the Imperial troupe of Petersburg (Imperial troupe was founded in 1756). Since 1832, the theatre ...

and adjacent buildings *The Rossi Street buildings, including

2 Rossi Street 2 Architect Rossi Street () is a building in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is located at the corner of Ostrovsky Square and Architect Rossi Street (also called just Rossi Street), which is named for the Italian architect Carlo Rossi who spent his wo ...

*The General Staff building *The Senate and Synod Buildings *A pavilion at Sobieski's Castle in Oława *"Coffee House" pavilion in the

Summer Garden The Summer Garden () is a historic public garden that occupies an eponymous island between the Neva, Fontanka, Moika, and the Swan Canal in downtown Saint Petersburg, Russia and shares its name with the adjacent Summer Palace of Peter th ...

* Rossi Pavilion and Rossi Bridge in the Mikhailovsky Garden *Pavilions in the garden of

*St. Catherine Church of the

and

Nikolskaya Tower The following is a list of towers of the Moscow Kremlin. The Kremlin Wall is a defensive wall that surrounds the Moscow Kremlin, recognizable by the characteristic notches and its towers. The original walls were likely a simple wooden fence wit ...

in Kremlin * Military Gallery of the

Winter Palace The Winter Palace is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov, previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum. The floor area is 233,345 square ...

*The façade of the

, which faces Alexandrinskaya Square. * St. Peter and St. Paul's Cathedral, Tallinn

Honours and awards

* Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class * Order of St. Anna, 2nd class with diamonds

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Carlo 1775 births 1849 deaths Architects from Naples Italian neoclassical architects Italian emigrants to the Russian Empire Russian neoclassical architects Italian expatriates in Russia Culture in Saint Petersburg 19th century in Saint Petersburg Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg) 19th-century Italian architects 19th-century architects from the Russian Empire