The Summer Garden

The Coffee House

Carlo Rossi built the Coffee House in 1826 at the place of a dilapidated Grotto. Using the foundation and partially the walls of the old building, Rossi created a garden pavilion in the Classical style. The decorative mouldings on the facades and interiors – sculptural masks, relief garlands, wreaths and floral ornamentation – were designed by Vasily Demut-Malinovsky.

In 1827 Alexandrovsky Iron Foundry had moulded six cast-iron vase tripods. Nowadays two of them are near the Rossi Pavilion, and four are on the stone terrace near the Swan Canal.

Right after the re-building of the Grotto, the Coffee House was lent to Piazza, a famous Italian in St Petersburg for his confectionery. The building was then called a “Coffee House”, and this name is still extant. At the present time in the Coffee House different art exhibitions are held.