UKRAINE: Italy to restore the cultural heritage of Odesa damaged by Russian shelling
What about France, Greece, Germany… which have also had historical links right from the foundation of that city?
See pictures HERE
By Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers, and Dr Ievgeniia Gidulianova
HRWF (24.02.2025) – Many pledges were made by EU countries to provide financial assistance to big cities of Ukraine for the restoration of their architectural heritage heavily damaged by Russia’s war but few of them have kept their promises.
Italy is an exception as far as Odesa is concerned, a city whose creation after 1794 was deeply influenced by Italian architects. Italy has started implementing an ambitious program of restoration of the historical center of the city damaged by Russia’s bombing since the beginning of the war.
France, Greece, Germany… have also played an important role in the city-planning, the construction of housing and cultural places but no state funding from these countries has reached Odesa for the rebuilding and restoration of such places and the cultural heritage of the city. Noteworthy though is the contribution of Leroy Merlin Solidarity Charitable Foundation, created by Leroy Merlin Ukraine to help victims of the war in Ukraine. Leroy Merlin Ukraine is a branch of a private French company, Leroy Merlin, a French gardening retailer doing business in several continents.
For three years of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, about 10 large-scale attacks have been carried out on Odesa and its buffer zone. As a result, about 170 of Odesa’s monuments which are part of the UWorld Cultural Heritage area protected by UNESCO, called the “Historical Center of Odesa”, have already suffered varying degrees of damage.
Italy’s contribution
A large-scale program for the restoration of historical and cultural monuments is being launched in Odesa with the support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). At working meetings with representatives of the agency, they discussed financing and technical aspects of the restoration of the city’s iconic objects.
In particular, the Italian funding will concern the following historic places:
- Odesa National Art Museum: Restoration of the building and modernization of the premises for the preservation of valuable artistic items.
- Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art: Large-scale repair and restoration works to open all exhibition halls and make the museum more convenient for visitors.
- Odesa Regional Philharmonic: Improvement of the equipment and the acoustics, which will allow holding world-class concerts.
- Odesa Literary Museum: Introduction of modern multimedia technologies and restoration of historical premises.
Italy – Odesa, a historic love story
Odesans lovingly call their city “the pearl by the sea”. And today the international aura of the city is confirmed by the official status of UNESCO, which includes the historical center of Odesa in the list of the world cultural heritage.
Throughout the 19th century, key buildings in the center of Odesa, most of which still adorn the city, were designed by talented architects from Italy, such as
Francesco Frapolli (1770 ca.–ante 1819)
Giovanni Frapolli (1775 ca.-1826), his younger brother
Francesco Boffo (1780-1867)
Alexander Digby (1758-1840)
Cayetano Dall’Acqua (…-1868)
Franz Morandi (1811-1894)
These famous architects shaped the face, the heart and the soul of Odesa. See a non-exhaustive list of their works in the Annex.
Since the beginning of the war, some of their constructions were partly destroyed by Russian missile strikes.
The main devastating attack took place on 23 July 2023, targeting 29 historic buildings and places Odesa, such as:
- The Orthodox Transfiguration Cathedral (1795-1808) 3 Soborna Square, Odesa (Architects: Francesco Frapolli, hired by the Duke of Richelieu, with P. Kharlamov, Glukhov, V.V. Vanrezant). The cathedral was destroyed in 1936 and subsequently rebuilt in 1999-2006 under the leadership of the outstanding Ukrainian architect Vladimir Meshcheriakov. The cathedral was (again) partly destroyed during Russian bombing on 23 July 2023.
- The Manuc Bey Mansion (1845-1846), (Architects: Cayetano Dall’Acqua and Alexander Shashin). Prominent Ukrainian novelist, short story writer, and playwright Mykola Hohol lived in the building in 1848. The facility was now used as a kindergarten.
- Kovalevsky’s House (1846) built in Italian Palazzo Strozzi style (Architects Cayetano Dall’Acqua and Alexander Shashin). The facility is used as a residential house. It was partly destroyed during Russian bombing on 23 July 2023.
- The House of Scientists (formerly the Palace of Count Tolstoy). It was built in the 1830s by architects Boffo and D. Torricelli and rebuilt in the 1850s by architects L. Otton and Cayetano Dall’Acqua
- Odesa National Art Museum (formerly the Palace of Countess Naryshkina). It was built in 1824-1828 by architects Francesco Boffo and Mesner. The building was damaged in a missile strike on July 23, 2023 and subsequently re-damaged in a missile strike on November 5, 2023.
Russia specifically targeted the UNESCO-protected historic center of Odesa, said Odesa Oblast military administration head, Oleh Kiper. “Everything that was created by great architects whose hard work is now being destroyed by cynical inhumans!,” Kiper noted.
On 31 January 2025, another Russian missile strike hit and seriously damaged 19 other prestigious buildings under UNESCO protection, including some built by architect Alexander Bernardazzi who belonged to a dynasty of famous architects from the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland :
- Odesa State Philharmonic (1894-1899), the former location of the New Merchant Exchange built in 1894-1899, 15 N. Strokatoy Street/Italian Street, Odesa (Architects: Alexander Bernardazzi with Vikenty Prokhasky).
- Bristol Hotel (1898-1899), 15 Italian Street, Odesa (Architects: Alexander Bernardazzi with A.B. Minkus).
- Building of the Mutual Credit Society (1901-1903), 10 Italian Street/18 Grecheskaya Street, Odesa.
- Residential building (1850s), 19 Italian Street, Odesa, (Architect: Franz Morandi).
The historical Italian presence in Odesa
After the foundation of Odesa in 1794, Italians started arriving in great numbers in the city. In 1797 they made up about 10% of the population. For more than a century the Italians of Odesa greatly influenced the culture, art, industry, society, architecture, politics and economy of the city. Among the works created by the Italians of Odesa it is worth mentioning the Primorsky Boulevard complex, consisting of two semi-circular buildings with a monument to the French Duke Richelieu, former mayor of Odesa (1803) and governor of the oblast (1805-1814) and the famous Potemkin Stairs as well as the Odesa Theater (burned down in 1873). The first troupe in the Odesa Theater was completely Italian.
Until 1864, the Italian language was taught as a compulsory subject in many schools in Odesa.
“By 1809, there were at least 10 Italian firms exporting grain. (…) The common commercial language, and very nearly the lingua franca of the city. At Odesa, the earliest street signs – and also those in many shops were in both Italian and Russian” (Odesa, A History 1794 – 1914, by Dr. Patricia Herlihy, 411 pages, Harvard University Press, pp 39 and 44).
“As the owners of the major trading houses and with strong family and business connections with the Mediterranean, Italians dominated city life, a recapitulation of their role when Genoese and Venetian trading centers ringed the Black Sea,” (Odesa, Genius and Death in a City of Dreams, by Dr. Charles King, Professor of International Affairs and Government at Georgetown University, p 68).
Until the 1870s, Odesa’s Italian population grew steadily. From the following decade this growth stopped, and the decline of the Italian community in Odesa began its turn. The reason was mainly the gradual integration into the Slavic population of Odesa, i.e. Russians and Ukrainians.
The Revolution of 1917 sent many of them to Italy, or to other cities in Europe. In Soviet times, only a few dozen Italians remained in Odesa, most of whom no longer knew their own language. They disappeared completely by WW II.
ANNEX
Italian architect Francesco Frapolli
In 1778. – The Neapolitan Francesco Frapolli under the leadership of F. Devolan began to work on the construction of the port and the city.
End of the 18th century – He developed a project for the development of the Greek Market Square, combining residential and trade and warehouse functions in the shopping arcades. On the same principle, he later built up the New Market Square.
End of the 18th century – The house of Felix Deribas (Odesa, Deribasovskaya, 22), a combat officer, diplomat and philanthropist who was the younger brother of the founder of Odesa, Joseph de Ribas. He was born in Naples (Italy) into the illustrious family of a Spaniard, Don Miguel de Ribas y Boyons, a renowned Spanish nobleman, and Margaret Plunkett, a highborn Irish woman.
1795-1808 – Odesa, Soborna Square, 3 – Odesa Transfiguration Cathedral (together with P. Kharlamov, Glukhov, V.V. Vanrezant, D. Frapolli). The cathedral was destroyed in 1936 and subsequently recreated in 1999-2006 under the leadership of the outstanding Ukrainian architect Vladimir Meshcheriakov. On July 23, 2023, the Cathedral was partly destroyed as a result of a Russian missile strike.
1798 – Odesa, 26 Deribasovskaya Street – Apartments of visiting officials (demolished in 1873)
Beginning of the 19th century – Odesa, Deribasovskaya, 23 / Krasny Lane – Pogolato Apartment House (demolished in 2015)
Beginning of the 19th century – Odesa, Nezhenskaya Street, 13/ Novobazarny Lane – Trade Shops
Beginning of the 19th century – Odesa, Greek Square, 8 / Ivan Lutsenko Lane, 7 – Kamkov’s Shops
Beginning of the 19th century – Odesa, Konnaya Street, 36 / Wilhelm Habsburg Lane – Zhevakhov’s Trading Rows (together with the Italian architect A.A. Digby).
The beginning of the 19th century – Odesa, 14 Ukrainian Heroes Avenue – Krasny Row (Zhebrak’s shop)
The beginning of the 19th century – Odesa, Torgovaya Street, 39 / Nezhinskaya Street, 35 / Malanova Lane, 18 – Trading Row.
The beginning of the 19th century – Odesa, 25 Deribasovskaya Street – Trading Rows (demolished in 1873)
1804 – Odesa, 13 Deribasovskaya Street – F. Frapolli’s House
1804-1808 – Odesa, 55 Evropeyskaya Street – Holy Trinity Greek Church
1804-1806 – Odesa, Pasteur Street, 5 – City Hospital (old hospital) (together with the architect J. Thomas de Thomon).
1804-1809 – Odesa, Teatralny Lane, 1 City Theater (burned down in 1873) (together with the architect J. Thomas de Thomon).
1804-1810 – Odesa, Grecheskaya Square, 4-6 / Ivan Lutsenko Lane, 3-5 – Tsikalioti’s Lavka
1804-1814 – Odesa, Grecheskaya Square, 15 – Lavka
1804-1814 – Odesa, Grecheskaya Square, 17 – Lavka
1804-1814 – Odesa, Krasny Lane, 16 – Shopping arcades of the Greek market
1804-1814 – Odesa, Grecheskaya Square, 19 – Poznyakov’s Lavka (demolished in 1893)
1804-1814 – Odesa, Grecheskaya Square, 23/Krasny Lane – Kislov’s Lavka
1805 – Odesa, 92 Bazarnaya Street/6 Uspensky Lane – House of D. Potylitsa
1805 – Odesa, Uspensky Lane, 6/Bazarnaya Street, 92 – House of the Assumption Church.
1805-1819 – Odesa, Evropeyskaya Street, 33 – Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (demolished in 1851)
1808 – Odesa, Sofievskaya Street, 7 – Mansion of Sofia Konstantinovna Pototskaya.
1808-1814 – Odesa, Krasny Lane, 16 – Museum “Filiki Etairia” of the Center of Greek Culture – former Greek row
1808 -1814 years – Odesa, Torgovaya Street, 28 / Novobazarny Lane – Trade Row of M. Gaikovskaya
1812 – Odesa, Bazarnaya Street, 22 / Marazlievskaya, 64 – House of Y. Oberth
1812 – Odesa, Svyatoslav Karavansky Street, 33 – The building of the Odesa Post Office (together with F. Wunsch).
1812 – Odesa, Pokrovsky Lane, 1 – The building of the Odesa Post Office (together with F. Wunsch).
1812 – Odesa, Sadovaya Street, 1 / Torgovaya Street – Trade Shops of F. Sicard
1812-1819 – Odesa, 32 Konnaya Street/Wilhelm Habsburg Lane – House with Shopping Arcades (together with the Italian architect A.A. Digby).
1812-1819 – Odesa, 11 Nezhinskaya Street/17 Konnaya Street/Novobazarny Lane – House with Shopping Arcades (together with the Italian architect A.A. Digby).
1812-1822 – Odesa, 11 Ukrainian Heroes Avenue – Church of the Intercession of the Virgin (demolished in 1936) (together with the Italian architect A.A. Digby).
1812-1819 – Odesa, 27 Torgovaya Street / 6 Malanova Lane – New Bazaar Lavka.
1812-1819 – Odesa, Torgovaya Street, 37 – Lavkas of K. Deere (together with the Italian architect A.A. Digby).
1820s – Odesa, Sadovaya Street, 1/Torgovaya Street, 19a – Fundukley Shopping Rows at the New Market
1822 – Odesa, 25 Bunin Street/European Street – House of J. Yeni (demolished in 1841)
Italian architect Giovanni Frapolli (younger brother of Francesco Frapolli)
Beginning of the 19th century – Odesa, Svyatoslav Karavansky Street, 39 / Ukrainian Heroes Avenue, 8-10 / Evreyskaya Street, 50 – Avchinnikovsky Rows
1795 – Odesa, 33 Grecheskaya Street / 23 Evropeyskaya Street – Prokopeus apartment building
1795 – Odesa, Rishelyevskaya Street, 1-3 – Volkonsky (Renault) House (on Rishelyevskaya)
1798 – Odesa, Deribasovskaya Street, 26 – accounting office
1811-1812 – Odesa, 8 Gogol Street / 2 Nekrasov Street – A. Schaller’s house
1812 -1819 – Odesa, Torgovaya Street, 37 – Lavki K. Dir
1816 – Odesa, 37 Kobleskaya Street / 17 Vsevolod Zmienko Street – M.M. Kiryakov House
1817 – Architectural complex of the port quarantine (with François Challe).
1819 – Odesa, 54 Italian Street – Giovanni Frapolli’s own house
1819 – Odesa, 45 Heroes of Ukraine Avenue / 110 Panteleymonovskaya Street – Parakonny’s Lavka
1820 – Odesa, Devolanovskaya Street – House of the Quarantine Paramedic
1820 – Odesa, Kanatnaya Street, 62 – S. Ignatenko’s house
1820 – Odesa, 12 Grecheskaya Street / 6 Kachinsky Street – apartment building.
1820 – Odesa, Troitskaya Street, 8a – residential to Bensjuliati
1820 – Odesa, 35 Uspenskaya Street / 42 Kanatnaya Street – A. Shenker House
1821 – Odesa – Church building on Peresip
1821 – Odesa – Drawing up planning drawings for the Old Bazaar
1821 – Odesa, Khersonskaya Street – reconstruction of the city hospital
1821 – Odesa, Vsevolod Zmienko Street, 25 – house of A. Shedever
1821 – Odesa, Koblevskaya Street, 36 – residential building
1822 – Odesa, 13 Gavannaya Street/20 Deribasovskaya Street – Tyuneev’s House
1822 -1823 – Odesa, Prymorska Street, 1 / Polsky Descent, 2 – Customs warehouse of Porto Franco (destroyed in 2021)
1823 – Odesa, Primorsky Boulevard, 10 – Valba House (in 1858 it was reconstructed for F. Rodokanaki by architects F. Morandi and I. Dallakva, in 2009-2002 – an attic floor was added)
1823 – Odesa – Barriers and outposts to establish the borders of Porto Franco around the city
1824 – Odesa, 1 Deribrsovskaya Street / 2 Kachinsky Street – F. Ilkevich’s House (demolished in 1845)
1824 – Odesa, 75 Italian Street / 61 Malaya Atnautskaya Street – I. Khrustitsky’s house
1824 – Odesa, Universitetskaya Street, 1 – apartment building (later rebuilt).
1824-1826 – Odesa, Primorsky Boulevard, 3 – Marini Mansion (was rebuilt at the end of the XIX century by the architect V. Kabiolsky)
1825 – Drawing up planning drawings for the New Bazaar.
1825 – Shopping arcades on Novobazarnaya Square; Stables and other economic and industrial buildings
1825 – Odesa, Soborna Square, 3 – the bell tower of the Odesa Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior (the cathedral was built together with Fyodor Shestakov and Francesco Frapolli, Francesco Boffo, A.I. Shostak, I.I. Krug) (was destroyed in 1936 and recreated in 1999-2006 under the leadership of the outstanding Ukrainian architect Vladimir Meshcheriakov.
1825 – Odesa, 22 Svyatoslav Karavansky Street / 17 Rishelyevskaya Street – F. Koble’s residential building
1825 – Odesa, 4 N. Strokatoy Street – residential building
1825 – Odesa, N. Strokatoy Street, 24 / European Street – Kumbari’s House.
1825 – Odesa, Grecheskaya Street, 32 – a residential building
1825 – Odesa, Preobrazhenskaya Street, 68 / Uspenskaya Street, 107 – I. Churilov’s house
1826 – Odesa, Torgovaya Street – shops.
1826-1827 – Odesa, Primorsky Boulevard, 6 – residential building of E. Sontag
1820s – Odesa, Heroes of Ukraine Avenue, 45 – residential building
1820s – Odesa, Rishelyevskaya Street, 76 – residential building
1820s – Odesa, Deribasovskaya Street, 3 – Ilkevich’s House
1820s – Odesa, Heroes of Ukraine Avenue, 16 – Krasny Row
1820s – Odesa, 20 Heroes of Ukraine Avenue / 13 Necheporenko Lane – Krasny Row
1820s – Odesa, Nechiporenko Lane, 7 – Krasny Ryad (Zhebrak’s house)
1820s – Odesa, Pokrovsky Lane, 8/Heroes of Ukraine Avenue, 15 – Protasovsky Row
1820s – Odesa, Pokrovsky Lane, 10 / Heroes of Ukraine Avenue, 17 – Protasovsky Row
1820s – Odesa, Pokrovsky Lane, 17 / Heroes of Ukraine Avenue, 19 – Protasovsky Row
1820s – Odesa, Pokrovsky Lane, 14/Heroes of Ukraine Avenue, 21 – Protasovsky Row
1820s – Odesa, 47 Evreyskaya Street/6 Pokrovsky Lane/13 Heroes of Ukraine Avenue – Protasiv Row
Italian architect Francesco Boffo (1780-1867)
Many outstanding architectural monuments that have survived to this day are associated with his name.
Among them:
Early 1820s – Odesa, Torgovaya Street, 17 – Fundukley’s Residential House. It was rebuilt by D. Mazirov
1821-1824 – Odesa, Starosennaya Square – Prison Castle
1824-1828 – Odesa, Vsevolod Zmienko Street – St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. It was the first Lutheran church in Odesa. At the end of the 19th century, it was rebuilt
1826-1828 – Odesa, at the intersection of Rishelyevskaya and Lanzheronovskaya streets – the House of the mayor (together with A. Melnikov). The house has not been preserved
1826-1830 – Primorsky Boulevard Complex (together with A.I. Melnikov). The complex consists of two semi-circular buildings: the building of public offices and the house of Zavadovsky, the monument to Duke Richelieu. This complex dividing Primorsky Boulevard into 2 parts is considered one of the main landmarks of Odesa and is one of the most recognizable objects.
1826 – Vorontsov Palace with an elegant colonnade (together with A.I. Melnikov)
1826 – Italian palazzo for the landowner Shidlovsky (today’s Palace of Sailors)
1827-1831 – Odesa, Soborna Square, 3 – Belfry of the Odesa Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior (the cathedral was built together with Fyodor Shestakov and Giovanni Frapolli, Francesco Boffo, A.I. Shostak, I.I. Krug). It was destroyed in 1936 and recreated in 1999-2006 under the leadership of the outstanding Ukrainian architect Vladimir Meshcheriakov.
1829-1833 – Odesa, Institute of Noble Maidens with Institutions and a Large Garden.
1828 – Odesa, Deribasovskaya Street, 13 – Frapolli Residential House (partially preserved)
1828 – Odesa, Chernomosk Cossack Street – Marazli residential building with a warehouse
1828-1834 – Odesa, Primorsky Bultvar – the building of the old merchant exchange (together with G.I. Torricelli and I.I. Kozlov). In 1870, the building was rebuilt and as a result was decorated with sculptures on the roof and side facades by Luigi Domenica Iorni, a professor at the Milan Academy of Arts, a teacher at the Odesa Art School. Now this building is occupied by the Odesa City Council.
1830 – Odesa, N. Strokatoy Street – “Boulevard Station” – a movable police station with an invariable fire tower for observation from a height. Now it functions as a fire department.
1830 – Odesa, Primorsky Boulevard, 9 – Shidlovsky’s Palace
1830 – Odesa, Primorskaya Street – Fundukley’s mansion
1830 – Odesa, Kanatnaya Street – Kopsha’s residential building
1832 – Odesa, at the intersection of Polskaya Street and N. Strokatoy Street – a residential building
1832 – Odesa, 19 Polskaya Street – Fairy’s and Savin’s apartment building
1832 – Odesa, Grecheskaya Street, 23 – Rzhevuska’s residential building
1834 – Odesa, 11 Grecheskaya Street/11 Italian Street – Talyansky’s residential building
1834 – Odesa, Preobrazhenskaya Street – Elizarov’s residential building
1835 – Odesa, Uspenskaya Street – Ispara’s residential building
1835 – Odesa, 14 Grecheskaya Street – Remer’s residential building
1835 – Odesa, Grecheskaya Street, 35 – Filipakki’s residential building
1835 – Odesa, 6 Italian Street – Yagnitsky’s residential building is the oldest “high-rise” building in the city
1835 – Odesa, Italian Street, 2 – Marazli residential building
1835 – Odesa, Rishelyevskaya Street – Eypard’s residential building
1835 – Odesa, in the VIII quarter of the 1st part of the city – Portnova’s Residential Building
1835 – Odesa, Pasteur Street, 1 – Brazhinsky’s House
1835 – Odesa, Pasteur Street, 11 – residential building
1835 – Odesa, Pochtovaya Street – Jewish School (not preserved)
1835 – Odesa, Primorsky Boulevard, 11 – Palace of Duke Lopukhin with a gazebo on the slopes. Subsequently, it was rebuilt by architect Y. Dmitrenko into the “London” hotel.
1836 – Odesa, Svyatoslav Karavansky Street, 39
1836 – Odesa, Preobrazhenskaya Street – Yagnitsky’s residential building.
1836 – Odesa, Rishelyevskaya Street – Vaskova’s residential building.
1830s – Odesa, Primorsky Boulevard, 15 – Fouca Palace. Later it was rebuilt for another owner by the Italian architect F. Morandi.
1830s – Odesa, 47 Evreyskaya Street/13 Ukrainian Heroes Avenue/6 Pokrovsky Lane – Zhebrak’s house with shops
1830 – Odesa, Primorsky Boulevard, 13 – Mayurov’s Palace
1830s – Odesa, Italian Street, 3
1841 – The Potemkin Stairs (with Gergio Torricelli). This staircase is the largest in Europe.
1841 – Odesa – School of the Lutheran community near the Church of St. Paul
1841 – Odesa, Lanzheronovsky Descent 1 / Polskaya Street, 6 – Gerbolini’s residential building
1841 – Odesa, 30 Toitskaya Street/Rishelyevskaya Street – Trushevsky’s residential building
1842 – Odesa, Customs Square – Ilkevich’s residential building
1843 – Odesa, the intersection of 1 Sadovaya Street and Torgovaya Street – Richelieu Gymnasium
1843 – Odesa, Sadovaya Street – Sicard’s Palace
1844 – Odesa, Teatralny Lane, 8 – F. Boffo’s own house
1845 – Odesa, Rishelyevskaya Street, 38 – Dmitriev’s residential building
1845 – Odesa, Kanatnaya Street – Giorrt’s residential building
1846 – Odesa, Olgievskaya Street, 2 – Francesco Boffo’s own warehouse for grain storage
1846 – Odesa, Valikhovskaya Lane – Francesco Boffo’s own warehouse for grain storage
1846 – Odesa, Valikhovsky Lane – Stiefel’s warehouse
1846 – Odesa, Krasny Lane – Skibra’s residential building
1847 – Odesa, Preobrazhenskaya Street – Zbishevskaya’s residential building
1849 – Odesa in the LXIV quarter of the city – a residential building of Vetkhra
1852 – Odesa, Lanzheronovskaya Street, 26 – residential building Strats
1852 – Odesa, Karantinnaya Balka – Fedorov’s warehouses
Italian architect Alexander Digby (1758-1840)
1822-1824 – Novikov Bridge connecting two sections of Pochtovaya Street (now Svyatoslav Karavansky Street) above the Quarantine Beam leading to the port (now Devolanovsky Descent) – This first stone bridge of Odesa was inaugurated in a solemn ceremony in the presence of the Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory, Alexander Langeron (French), and the then mayor of Odesa, Nikolai Tregubov.
Italian architect Cayetano Dall’Acqua (…-1868)
His most famous projects:
1831 -1834 – Odesa, Sabansky Lane/Kanatnaya Street – Reconstruction of the Sabar barracks
1836-1849 – Odesa, 11 Gogol Street – A. Troshchinsky’s house (together with A. Shashin)
1840-1843 – Odesa, 8 Lanzheronovskaya Street – Palais-Royal Group (together with G.I. Torricelli).
1840s – Odesa, Greek Square – A. Mayurov’s Round House
1850 – early 1860s – Odesa, Svyatoslav Karavansky Street, 32 – Paraskev estate
1850 – Odesa, 30 Italianskaya Street – F. Goltsfart House
1850s – Odesa, Sabaneev Bridge, 4 – Reconstruction of the house of Count Tolstoy (now the House of Scientists). The house-museum was seriously damaged during a Russian missile attack on July 23, 2023.
1858 – Odesa, 4 Futurists Lane – The mansion of Prince Pavel Abomelik (together with L. Otton)
1869 – Odesa, 18 Italianskaya Street – Reconstruction of the house of P. F. Frantsov, with the printing house of the South Russian Society of Printing
Mid-19th century – Odesa, Lanzheronovsky Descent Street – Stairs and retaining walls of Lanzheronovsky Descent
1875 – Odesa, Gogol Street, 9 – Shemyakin’s house
Italian architect Franz Morandi (1811-1894)
Among his creative achievements in Odesa:
1840s – Odesa – St. Michael’s Church on Moldavanka
1843 — the project of the building of the main synagogue (built in 1850-1859 according to his second project of 1846)
1844 – Odesa, Bernardazzi Street, 4/6 – Ascension Church (now the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Equal-to-the-Apostles).
1848-1849 – House of Compassionate Sisters (together with A. Shashkin).
1849 – He developed a general plan for the development of the city. It outlined new barracks, the Horse Market, the New Christian and Slobodskoye cemeteries, the development of the embankment under Primorsky Boulevard, the arrangement of the Senny Ryad near the Privoz market, the improvement of Theater Square and the Outer Boulevard. In the course of the implementation of this plan, the legendary Odesa suburbs – Moldavanka and Peresyp – acquired regular developments.
1850 – Odesa, Primorsky Boulevard, 10 – residential building
1850-1859 – Odesa, adjacent house-palaces on European Square at No 4 and No 6
1850s – Odesa, 19 Italian Street – residential building Seriously damaged by Russian missile strike 31.01.2025
1850s – Odesa, Italian Street, 66 – a residential building
1850s – redevelopment of the city hospital
1850s – reconstruction of the building of the City Duma
1850-1859 – Odesa, at the corner of Evreyskaya Street and Rishelyevskaya Street – Main Synagogue
1853 – Roman Catholic Church at 33 Evropeyska Street (together with Geonsiorovsky). Now the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
1853 – Odesa, Panteleymonovskaya Street, 26 – Morandi’s own house
1861 – Оdesa, Prayer house on Remeslennaya (now V. Korzhenko Street) 50 (now a residential building with office premises).
In 1867, on the initiative of Morandi, the reconstruction of the central city prospek began, which now bears the name of the Avenue of Ukrainian Heroes. In the early 1870s, Morandi installed cast-iron fences near the green spaces on the avenue.
1867 – Odesa, Prayer House on Remeslennaya Street (now V. Korzhenko Street), 21 (the current building is occupied by the synagogue of the Chabad community)
Sources of information for researchers
State Register of Architectural Monuments
PICHistoric Hotel Bristol heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike in the night of 31 January 2025. It was built in 1898-1899. One of the architects was Alexander Bernardazzi, who belonged to a dynasty of famous architects from the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland (Credit: Dumskaya)