Cathedral of the Smolny Convent, 1744-57

Rastrelli’s masterpiece is the cathedral of the Smolny convent. It has a central plan layout with a high dome flanked by four domed towers that represent the most successful synthesis of a traditional Russian church with the motifs typical of baroque architecture. In keeping with the desires of the Tsarina Elizabeth, he inserted purely Russian elements in the articulation of the five onion domes.