Italian Garden at the Liteyniy

Behind the high walls of the houses of Liteiny Prospekt, there is a cozy Italian garden, a witness of the first years of St. Petersburg's existence. The entrance to it is between the houses 57 ("New Passage") and 55 (the former house of the Catherine's College).

Passing through the barrier, to the left along the alley, you will find yourself on a semicircular platform, from which five paths diverge. At the end of the alley, there are the long yellow walls of the building of the Russian National Library.

The history of the garden goes back to Peter's time when Peter I presented this site to Tsarina Catherine Alekseevna. For her, in 1712, on the bank of the Fontanka River, a wooden palace was built in the "Italian manner", followed by a large garden. Both were called "Italian". In the Italian garden, fruits and vegetables for the royal table were grown.

In 1804 the palace was demolished and in its place the building of the Women's College of the Order of St. Catherine was built, and a piece of the garden remained. Today, this is the only remaining remnant of the Italian garden of Peter's time.