God Preserves All

These words once again ring out as a summons to believe in eternal truths.

…8

The Empress’s Whim

Raphael’s fantastic world is beautiful, bright and clear. The viewer plunges with delight into the fairy-tale he created.

…16

Was There Really a Rurik?

For 30 years already Petersburg archaeologists have been conducting excavations on the legendary Rurikovo Gorodishche near Novgorod.

…26

Three Lines from Signor V

The Valentino boutique is just beginning its story in St Petersburg. In May the Maestro himself intends to come here…

…38

Gastronomical Revelations at the Taleon Club

A few culinary gems for those who appreciate the finer points of the meat menu.

…40

"Filled with the resilient Russian spirit"

Nor could he himself explain what had led him to set off to wander the American continent, a land which had seemed more mythological than real from the distance of Russia.

…48

Guilt by Association

Love, firmness of character and spiritual ardour caused her to endure torments that she did not deserve alongside her husband. Nor could a young girl of sixteen who had grown up in the lap of luxury imagine what life in exile meant.

…62

The Downcast Apostle of the "New Renaissance"

To this day no-one has ventured to state unequivocally whether Ezra Pound was a villain or an errant genius.

…78

Mysterious and Perfect

Extracts from Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects, devoted to Leonardo da Vinci.

…88

Tales of Derring-Do

Re-enactors demonstrate their right to belong to the knightly fraternity at tournaments with weapons in their hands.

…92

Russian Show Jumping in St Petersburg

Today high-class equestrian sport is undergoing a revival in Russia.

…102

A Grave Obsession

You can judge by the state of a cemetery how sensible an attitude a society takes to the experience of its ancestors.

…108

National Florimania

Perhaps it is the chronically overcast St Petersburg skies that account for its citizens’ long-established general love for both real and artificial blooms.

…120