Named after the great scientist Mikhail Lomonosov, this small square forms the southwestern end of the Carlo Rossi–designed ensemble and is the best spot from which to admire the ideal symmetrical proportions of ul Zodchego Rossi: the buildings on this street are 22m wide, 22m apart and 220m long.
The Vaganova School of Choreography at No 2 is the Mariinsky Ballet’s training school, where Pavlova, Nijinsky, Nureyev and others learned their art.
From the square you can also admire Most Lomonosova, a stone drawbridge (no longer functioning) dating from 1787 with four Doric pavilions that housed the drawbridge mechanism.