The Romanov Family’s Alphabet - L is for Livadia.

“In St. Petersburg we work, but at Livadia, we live.” - Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna Romanova of Russia.

Livadia Palace (Ukrainian: Лівадійський палац, Russian: Ливадийский дворец, Crimean Tatar: Livadiya sarayı) was a summer retreat of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, and his family in Livadiya, Crimea in southern Ukraine.

In 1909 Nicholas and his wife travelled to Italy, where they were captivated by Renaissance palaces shown to them by Victor Emmanuel III. Upon their return, they engaged Nikolay Krasnov, Yalta’s most fashionable architect, responsible for the grand ducal residences in Koreiz, to prepare plans for a brand new imperial palace. The tsar’s diary testifies that the design was much discussed in the imperial family; it was decided that all four facades of the palace should look different. Construction works lasted for seventeen months; the new palace was inaugurated on 11 September 1911. Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna celebrated her 16th birthday that November at Livadia.