Enter Cathedral Square, passing the Cathedral Church of St. Michael the Archangel and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower on the right, and straight ahead you will see the Cathedral of the Dormition or Assumption, commissioned by Grand Prince Ivan III in the late fifteenth century. Designed by Italian architect Aristote Fioravanti, the church is crowned with five gilt domes. Long the site of imperial coronations, many of the most important clergy of the Russian Orthodox church were buried here.
To the left stands the fifteenth-century Palace of Facets, so named because of its jewel-like rustication. To the right in the distance is the Church of the Twelve Apostles.
