EIGHT FACETS OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF ALEXANDER BERNARDAZZI

Summary. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to some elements of the architectural buildings of Chisinau by the famous architect Alexander Bernardazzi, associated with the ideas of Freemasonry.Alexander Bernardazzi is one of the most prominent representatives of the famous dynasty.Largely thanks to Bernardazzi, Chisinau was called the “proud capital of Bessarabia.” The name of Alexander Bernardazzi is listed among the most famous builders of the so-called “Great Temple of Solomon” (such as Thomas Sandby, Sir John Soane, Samuel Pepys Cockerell and others). The Bessarabian press wrote about Bernardazzi: “He was a typical idealist who believes in the intrinsic dignity of the human person and in the triumph of the highest principles of life – love, goodness and beauty.”It is known that in the 1820s, a multinational Masonic lodge “Ovid, 25” operated in Chisinau, so named at the suggestion of A.S. Pushkin, according to the Romanian researcher G. Bezvikonny.It is interesting to note that in the exhibition of the Chisinau House-Museum of A.S. Pushkin presents a mysterious Masonic attribute – an octagonal column (reminiscent of some architectural elements of Bernardazzi) with images of the zodiac signs, perhaps representing a kind of calendar.This is the first time the topic has been raised. The author of the article relies on the works of G. Bezvikonny “Pushkin in Exile”, A. Pypin, S. Melgunov and others.Key words: Chisinau, Bernardazzi, Masonic lodge “Ovid, 25”, octahedron.