Karl Rossi moved from his native Naples to Russia in 1800. After his arrival, he worked under Vincenzo Brenna at the Mikhailovski Castle in St. Petersburg, and later moed to Moscow. In 1814, he returned to St. Petersburg to work at Pavlosk, and two years later he was named to the Committee for building and Hyraulic works, indicating that he was now a court architect. From this date on he was prominent in the fields of official architecture and interior decoration. Rossi designed interiors at the Anichkov Palace, Pavlosk, the Winter palace, and the Yelagin Palace, St. Petersburg. His major constructions were the Mikhailovsky Palace (1819-1823), the Army headquarters (1819-1825), the Alexandra Theatre, square, and library (1827-1832), the Senate building, and the Synod (1829-1833), St. Petersburg.
