CATHEDRAL BY ALOISIO NOVYI

In 1505, the descendant of Ivan Kalita, Grand Prince Ivan III who enhanced Russian state’s stature by his trenchant policy (henceforth referred to as the Grand Principality of Moscow) laid the foundation of a new majestic cathedral on the spot on the old one. He entrusted the construction to a Venetian architect Aloisio Novyi. He got the nickname Novyi – ‘the new’– when he came to Moscow, so he could be distinguished from an earlier Italian architect Alevisio, called Fryazin in Russian chronicles, who had already been working on the grand princely palace.

However, the grand prince didn’t happen to see his creation; the building was complete during the reign of his son Vasily Ivanovich III. The cathedral was consecrated on the 8th November 1508, on the Feast of Archangel Michael and All Angels. There is no annalistic data about decorating the cathedral with murals. The existing fragments of the 16th century refer to the times of Ivan IV (1547-1584), son of Vasily III. The improvised portraits of all the Princes buried in the cathedral, including those who were executed for the opposition to grand princely authority, became a specific feature of wall painting.