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Along the Winter Canal and running virtually the length of the Hermitage is a hall
called the Raphael Loggias. A loggia is an open sided gallery, especially one forming
part of a house and looking onto a court or garden. Upon first entering the hall,
B told L that the hall reminded him of one they had seen that the Vatican. Later
B found that he wasn't far from being correct.
In the 1770's Catherine the Great commissioned copies of a series of famous frescoes
painted by Raphael and his students in the loggias of the Vatican. That series of
frescoes has been called "Raphael's Bible." The eleven year constuction
and later incorporation into the Hermitage of this structure is an interesting story
in itself.
On the right is a pair of closed doors. Halfway down the hall on the right is a pair
of open doors. Click on the above photo and you can view some the paintings between
the two sets of doors. |
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