Dome

View looking up the south column; Thomon also laid out the surrounding area [of the Stock Exchange, now Naval Museum] at the tip (strel'ka) of the Vasily with granite quays and ramps, siting a pair of rostral columns [columns erected in honor of a naval triumph and ornamented with the rostra or prows of ships] there to serve as lighthouses. Many of the scheme’s elements, including the columns, may be found in contemporary French academic projects, but Thomon’s composition is memorably impressive and forms one of the most characteristic features of St Petersburg’s inner townscape. [Seated at the base of the columns are four river gods representing the Volga, Dnieper, Neva, and Volkhov.] Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 1/28/2009)