Hermitage is one of the largest museums in the world after the Louvre, in Paris, and National Gallery, in London. The Hermitage collection includes over 3 million exponents from prehistoric times to modern days. It was established in 1764 by Russian Empires Catherin the Great. She gave an order to build a palace to accommodate her collection of western European art. Now the permanent exposition is set in five buildings (the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the Old Hermitage, and the Hermitage Theatre) that form an amazing architectural ensemble. The interiors of the museum were decorated by outstanding architects and sculptors of the XVIII and XIX centuries. Many rooms where magnificent ceremonies were held are preserved in its initial state. The Hermitage collection includes real masterpieces of greatest artists and sculptors of the world, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael, Rembrandt, Monet, and Paulo Picasso
