Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow

Power in Russia has spoken from this walled citadel since the Middle Ages. The Moscow Kremlin, shaped from the 14th to the 17th century by Russian and invited Italian masters, served the Grand Princes as fortress, residence and sacred precinct, while Red Square below its ramparts holds St Basil's Cathedral with its swirling painted domes. Scene of coronations, revolutions and parades alike, the ensemble was inscribed by UNESCO as World Heritage in 1990.