Стильно оформленное подарочное издание, представляющее собой богато иллюстрированный альбом в футляре. Издание дополняет трехсторонний золотой обрез. The name of St Petersburg brings to mind the White Nights, world famous ballet company, renowned bridges and unsurpassed fountains of Peterhof. However anyone who knows even little of it can never doubt the fact that it is primarily the city of fabulously rich palaces which are most comprehensively and in a variety of aspects are represented in this edition, first of its kind. The present art book covers a brilliant galaxy of palatial structures, including royal and ducal residences, stately houses of the high aristocracy, mansions of the nobility and bourgeois. The authors describe not only urban palaces but those located in the suburbs which are in no way inferior or less interesting. The focus is less on their architectural characteristics but more on what took place inside them, behind their magnificent facades, in their state halls, luxurious sitting rooms and studies which often served as sites of political discussions and negotiations that influenced the situation in the whole of Europe and dramatically changed the history of Russia. The book offers stories of their owners" private lives, descriptions of customs and everyday routine and family chronicles. It tells of pompous receptions, balls and fancy dress parties held in those residences and features as its protagonists tsars and tsarinas, their favourites, grand dukes, high military commanders, illegitimate children of the Imperial family members, dazzlingly beautiful ladies of the court, dethroned kings and enormously rich owners of gold mines, to name just a few.