🖼 Marble Palace

Миллионная ул., 5/1

Rinaldi's palace, faced with marble and granite in dozens of shades, with the Marble Hall and Russian Museum exhibitions.

The palace was built in 1768–1785 for Grigory Orlov, but Catherine II's favourite died in 1783 before it was finished.
It was the first building in Petersburg with natural stone façades — hence its first name, the "Marble House".
The pilasters are made of pinkish Tivdia marble from Karelia, with bluish-grey Ruskeala marble between them.
Until the end of the 19th century Quarenghi, rather than Rinaldi, was mistakenly thought to be its architect.
The last king of Poland, Stanisław Poniatowski, lived and died here in 1797–1798.
The ceiling painting of the Marble Hall, "The Wedding of Cupid and Psyche", was painted by Stefano Torelli in 1775.
From 1940 to 1992 an Austin-Putilovets armoured car stood in front of the palace — it was a branch of the Lenin Museum.