Walking off the beaten tourist paths, there is this tiny Zabelina street just 15 minutes walk from the Kremlin. Stop, watch carefully how we do .. Have you got this touch of Italy? ...That's right, the immortal creation by the great Brunelleschi, the creator of the miracle, the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. Founded by Elena Glinskaya, mother of Ivan the Terrible, nearly 500 years ago, John the Baptist monastery saw many famous people. One of the life prisoners here was the real princess Tarakanova, the illegitimate daughter of Empress Elizabeth and Count Razumovsky. ⠀

After the fire and ruin of 1812, for many years the monastery was abandoned, and rebuilt again in the 1860s and 1880s... Architect Bykovsky, inspired by the Italian masterpiece, repeated its style in the main church, but of course, with some Russian accent including the colors. The whole area around is called Ivanovo Hill, a truly unique place in the center of Moscow.