Between 1874 and 1875, the Russian tsarina Maria Aleksandrovna - the wife of the tsar Alexander II - spent the winter season in San Remo. To show her gratitude, she decided to donate to the town the palm trees that can still be seen along the promenade. Then, The City Council decided to dedicate the promenade to her, henceforth called "Corso Imperatrice", to express their gratitude to the tsarina.
The Russian writer A.K. Tolstoj (a distant relative to Leone Tolstoj) spent his last winter at the tsarina's court in San Remo. From his letters we can learn about the way in which the Russian colony lived on the Italian Riviera.
Following the tsarina's example, the Russian aristocracy - the members of the Imperial family included - began to spend their winter season in San Remo. The Grand Duke Aleksej Michajlovic suffered from tuberculosis and decided to get healed here in 1895, where he died - and he was only twenty years old. He was then buried in the Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul in San Petersburg.
The first idea to build a Russian church has to be ascribed to the Grand Duke Sergej Michajlovic, who stayed at Villa Flora in the 1890's, and to the tsarina Maria Aleksandrovna. At that time, lots of Russian families, such as the Olsufevs, the Seremetevs, and the Demidovs, owned a villa in Riviera. Many Russians suffered from tuberculosis and chose San Remo to spend their winters. Thus in the Ligurian town soon established Russian baths, a baker's and a chemist's shop.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the idea of building a church began to spread within the Russian Colony, but the project was hampered by the lack of funds. Up to 1908, when the Russian chapel inside the cemetery was consecrated, the rites were sometimes held in private churches, as in Mrs Strekalova's Villa Gloria, and in a building on Via Roma (at No. 22). In 1910, a Supervising Committee - later called the Building Committee - was set up. V. K. Sabler, a senator and the former Procurator of the Saint Synod, was at its head. He had spent six years in San Remo in 1882 to get healed, and he "had personally seen how a church was necessary in a town where thousands of sick persons stayed". In 1911 Sabler was appointed Procurator of the Saint Synod again and the project was thus pushed forward.
On 12th March 1912, the Russian tsar Nicholas II issued a decree that approved of the Committee of San Remo and allowed for a "fundraising throughout Russia". He donated two thousand roubles, too.
The local authorities accepted the Russian project and even promised to provide for the land on which the church could be built - though this last thing did not happen. The Committee found the perfect spot for the church in the town centre, opposite the railway station, right where Corso Imperatrice started. In May 1912, the Committee bought this plot of land with the money raised in Russia (eighteen thousand roubles) and it was registered in Count Tallevici's name. A. V. Scusev, a famous architect who was an expert in Russian religious architecture, draw the first sketches for the church. Scusev had restored the ancient cathedral in Ovruc and built the monastery of Martha and Mary in Moscow, and he later built Lenin's mausoleum, too. He never came to San Remo and the plans of the church were drawn by a local architect, Pietro Agosti, and Antonio Tornatori, an engineer.
Mr. Agosti then drew up and presented the definitive project to the Italian competent authorities, that had to approve of it. He then devoted himself to the building of the church - undoubtedly he can be considered as its primary building contractor. Agosti was also a member of the Town Council and when he died a street in San Remo was named after him - Via Pietro Agosti.
The foundation stone was laid on 26th November (9th December) by father Nikolaj Akvilonov from Mentone. Soon after that, the Committee started a fundraising campaign ("Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, and Waldensians have their own churches on the Italian Riviera, while…") but very little money was collected.
Towards the end of 1913, the church had only been partially built, but it was nonetheless consecrated and the rites were celebrated so as "to provide our compatriots with the comfort of prayers". The Saint Synod sent the bishop Vladimir to San Remo who on 10th (23rd) December celebrated the rites of consecration of the church with the Russian clergy of Nice, Cannes, Mentone, and Rome. The ceremony was attended by the Russian diplomatic corps and the Russian Colony. During the first Liturgy, two Russian choirs - from Nice and Mentone - sang.
The church was consecrated to the Saviour, to Saint Catherine and, to Saint Serafim of Sarov, though at first it had been suggested that the church be consecrated to the Saviour only - and nowadays it is usually referred to in this way.
The representatives of the Anglican and Protestant clergy congratulated with the Russian community, while the Catholic priests did not joined in the celebrations. After the consecration of the church, the Committee had a "Russian lunch" offered at the Savoy Hotel during which a telegram to the tsar Nicholas II, who was then in Levadija (Crimea), was written.
The new church was ascribed to the eparchy of Saint Petersburg among the "churches in foreign health resorts". Its first rector was Nevskij p. Varsonofij.
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