Italyanskaya Street
Interactive map of Italyanskaya Street | |
| Native name | Итальянская улица (Russian) |
|---|---|
| Location | Tsentralny District, Saint Petersburg, Russia |
Italyanskaya Street (Russian: Итальянская улица, romanized: Ital'yaskaya ulitsa, lit. 'Italian Street') is a street located in the Tsentralny District of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It runs parallel to Nevsky Prospect between the Griboyedov Canal to the Fontanka, intersecting with the Arts Square and Manezhnaya Square, as well as the Mikhailovskaya, Sadovaya, Malaya Sadovaya and Karavannaya streets.
The Italyanskaya Street was named after the Italian Palace, built in 1739 for either Empress Catherine I or Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna (the wife and daughter of Peter the Great, respectively) on the opposite side of the Fontanka, and demolished in the early 19th century. The Catherine Institute was built in its place, and the current building belongs to the National Library of Russia.
Between 1871 and 1902, the street was called Bolshaya Italyanskaya ("Big Italian"), while the modern Zhukovskogo Street was called Malaya Italyanskaya ("Small Italian").