Marco Ruffo as known as Marco Fryazin (Марк Фрязин, Марко Фрязин and Марко Руффо in Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

) was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

 active in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 in the 15th century.

The Fryazin title originates from the old Russian word фрязь (fryaz), derived from frank, that was used to denote people from Northern Italy. Beside Marco Ruffo, as a matter of fact, at least three contemporary Italians had this nickname in Russia: Antonio Fryazin (Antonio Gislardi), Bon Fryazin (Marco Bon), Aleviz Fryazin (Aloisio da Milano)

Aloisio da Milano

Aloisio da Milano, also known as Aloisio da Carezano, Aleviz Milanets and Aleviz Fryazin was an Italian architect who worked in Muscovy....

.

One of the chronicle

Chronicle

Generally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the...

s says that Marco Ruffo worked in Moscow in 1485-1495 at the invitation of Ivan III

Ivan III of Russia

Ivan III Vasilyevich , also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and "Grand Prince of all Rus"...

. He built a number of the Kremlin towers

Kremlin towers

The following is a list of towers of Moscow Kremlin. The Kremlin Wall is a defensive wall that surrounds the Moscow Kremlin, recognizable by the characteristic notches and its towers...

, including the Beklemishevskaya, Spasskaya and Nikolskaya towers. In 1491, together with Pietro Antonio Solari

Pietro Antonio Solari

Pietro Antonio Solari , also known as Pyotr Fryazin, was a Swiss Italian architect....

, Marco Ruffo finished the construction of the Palace of Facets

Palace of Facets

The Palace of the Facets is a building in the Moscow Kremlin, Russia, which contains what used to be the main banquet reception hall of the Muscovite Tsars. It is the oldest preserved secular building in Moscow. Located on Kremlin Cathedral Square, between the Cathedral of the Annunciation and the...

.

In December 1991, in Moscow, UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

celebrated Palace of Facets' 500th jubilee.