“This is not a metro, but palaces for the people!”: Italian architect saw Moscow underground and was shocked by Russia

Italian architect Alessandro Bianchi came to Moscow for a conference and expected to see the usual tourist attractions. However, Russian friends decided to show him the city from the other side and led him to the subway, writes Zen channel “Glass Tale”.

The first stop was Komsomolskaya. Seeing marble, tall vaults, chandeliers and large-scale mosaic panels, the architect decided that he was in the museum.

But the strongest impression was not even the design of the station. Alessandro could not understand why such luxury is available to ordinary passengers and does not require a separate expensive entrance ticket

For an architect accustomed to working with expensive private interiors, this approach was unexpected. According to him, similar elements in modern projects can cost a lot of money and are intended for a limited number of people.

And here, thousands of passengers pass through the marble halls every day – workers, students, pensioners, tourists.

After Komsomolskaya, the Italian went to study other stations of the Ring Line. He examined sculptures on Revolution Square, Novoslobodskaya stained glass windows and Mayakovskaya architecture, photographing details.

The story with the architect makes you look at the Moscow metro a little differently. For residents of the capital, many stations have long become a familiar part of the daily road. And to the person who first saw them, it can look like a real underground architectural collection.

And, perhaps, that is why sometimes you should not rush along the usual route, but just raise your head and look carefully around.