Cathedral of the Archangel

The Cathedral of the Archangel Michael stands on Cathedral Square inside the Moscow Kremlin and served as the burial place of the Russian Grand Princes and Tsars from the 14th century until 1712. The present structure was built between 1505 and 1508 by Italian architect Aloisio the New, who grafted Venetian early-Renaissance motifs such as shell niches and Corinthian pilasters onto a traditional Russian five-domed plan. Over 50 sarcophagi rest here, including Ivan Kalita, Dmitri Donskoi, and Ivan the Terrible. The 17th-century murals form a unique program with idealized portraits of every ruler buried within. Today the cathedral is part of the Kremlin Museums and can only be entered with the combined ticket that also covers the Dormition Cathedral and the Armoury Chamber.