The Italian Grotto (also known as the grotto "Ruins", pavilion-ruin "Grotto") is a memorial and decorative structure in the Alexander Garden at the foot of the Middle Arsenal Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. The grotto was built by architect Osip Bove in 1821 in memory of the Moscow devastation of 1812. The building got its name — "Ruins" — due to the fact that during its construction fragments of buildings destroyed by French troops were used.
In 1820-1823, work was underway on the construction of a memorial
park near the walls of the Kremlin — the Alexander Garden. In 1821, an
Italian grotto (or grotto "Ruins") was built at the foot of the Middle
Arsenal Tower, designed by Osip Bove, symbolizing the rebirth of Moscow
after the devastating fire of 1812. The grotto is embedded in an
artificial hill — bastion (bolverk), which was filled in during the
preparation of the Kremlin for defense against a failed Swedish attack
during the Northern War.
Artificial caves were a frequent element
of 19th century landscape architecture. In addition to the memorial, the
grotto also performed entertainment functions and served as an ornament
to the Alexander Garden. According to historians, in the XIX century a
pavilion was built above the grotto, in which an orchestra played on
holidays.
During the coronation events, the Italian Grotto was
decorated along with the Middle Arsenal Tower. For example, during the
coronation of Alexander III, the building was illuminated with sparklers
and various illuminations, and a fountain worked nearby.
The monument is an artificial cave formed by a stone vault and four
white Doric columns. On the architrave of the squat colonnade there are
bas-reliefs with symbols of military glory and images of hippocampuses,
mythological horses with fish tails. The grotto is made in the form of a
semicircular arch made of red brick and black granite, and parts of
Moscow buildings dismantled after the fire are embedded in its walls.
Fragments of pedestals, columns and stone cores were also used as
decorative decoration. Lion figures are placed above the grotto.
The romantic silhouette of the grotto visually breaks the single line of
the Kremlin walls. According to historian and local historian Peter
Sytin, "the imitation of decaying antiquity, creating a visual image of
the passing time, should have given the building a sad charm in the
spirit of theatrical romanticism of the garden and park ensembles of
that time." Built in the shape of a white stone shell, the grotto became
the last example of Russian classicism in the Kremlin ensemble.
Conceived as a memorial to the city destroyed in 1812, the grotto
symbolizes the rebirth of Moscow from the ashes. Researcher Oksana
Makhneva-Barabanova examines the idea of contrasting simplicity and the
"game of the masses" with an "artfully crafted" order in the context of
the works of Claude-Nicolet Ledoux.
Details of Moscow buildings
destroyed by the French in 1812 are embedded in the walls of the cave.
However, local historian and historian Alexandra Smirnova considers this
a legend. Fragments of pedestals, columns and other building materials
were also used as decorative decoration. So, among the debris, it is
easy to notice details with the decoration of the nearby Arsenal
building. The most amazing detail is a medieval stone core with a
diameter of 60 centimeters.
At the top of the grotto there is an
observation deck decorated with two sculptures of lions. The entrance to
the site is located in the southern part of the monument.
As of
2022, the grotto is closed to the public. Fencing and warning signs
about video surveillance have been installed.
In 2004, the restoration of the grotto in the Alexander Garden was
carried out. According to the official website of the Moscow Kremlin,
urgent repairs were caused by the poor condition of the building and
vandalism — the arches, columns and figures of lions were painted and
painted. Archaeologists of the Moscow Kremlin Museum-Reserve
participated in the work, who were especially interested in studying the
filling of the supporting structures of the arch and the area between it
and the Kremlin wall.
It is known that the territories of the
second above-floodplain terrace on the left bank of the Neglinnaya River
have never been inhabited, therefore archaeologists did not expect to
make significant finds. Nevertheless, the analysis of the land used in
Peter the Great's time for filling bolvarka gave unexpected results and
contained the material of urban culture of the XIV—XVIII centuries.
Among other things, archaeologists discovered human remains of the XV
century (perhaps part of the land was taken from the old cemetery),
tiles, dishes, fragments of a 17th-century pot with a noticeable
presence of vanadium. Archaeologists have linked the increased content
of this metal to the cooking of fly agarics, apparently as a
hallucinogenic agent. It is currently impossible to establish exactly
from which parts of the city the land was taken. The found
archaeological artifacts are stored in the funds of the Moscow Kremlin
Museum—Reserve.