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The column summit, showing an angel holding a cross and pointing upwards; Montferrand’s main structures in the classical style, the Lobanov-Rostovsky house (1817-1820), St Isaac’s Cathedral (1818-1858) and the Alexander Column (1829-1834), played an important role in the new layout of St Petersburg planned by Karl Rossi, reflecting the outburst of triumphalism following the defeat of Napoleon. The Alexander Column in Palace Square, a memorial to the victory over Napoleon, is also linked to such famous models as Pompey’s Pillar in Alexandria, the Trajan and Antonine columns in Rome and the Column of the Great Army in the Place Vendôme, Paris. It is the tallest column in the world (47.5 m or 155 ft 8 in). The column is topped with a statue of an angel holding a cross (bronze, 1832-1834) by Russian sculptor Boris Orlovsky. [Grove] It was an engineering feat; the column is a single piece of red granite, 25.45 m (83 ft 6 in) long and about 3.5 m (11 ft 5 in) in diameter. The granite monolith was obtained from Virolahti, Finland and in 1832 transported by sea to Saint Petersburg, on a barge specially designed for this purpose, where it underwent further working. Without the aid of modern cranes and engineering machines, the column, weighing 661 tons, was erected by 3,000 men under the guidance of William Handyside in less than 2 hours. It is set so neatly that no attachment to the base is needed. [Wikipedia] Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 12/16/2008)