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Those who see this beautiful park<br />
tend to be filled with a sense <strong>of</strong> awe<br />
upon seeing its fountains and marble<br />
decorations. Among them, the ‘Nymph’,<br />
an ancient marble sarcophagus more<br />
than 2,000 years old, showed the watery<br />
demi-god lying about and holding an urn<br />
from which water flows. The sculpture<br />
was found during archaeological digs at<br />
Pompeii in Italy and was later purchased<br />
by Count Pototski. Unfortunately, this<br />
ancient sculptural masterpiece vanished<br />
during World War II.<br />
Over the 26 years that Livadia<br />
belonged to the Pototskis, they transformed<br />
the place and forged a successful<br />
business. After Lev Pototski died in<br />
1860, his daughters sold the mansion to<br />
Russian Tsar Alexander II for 300,000<br />
roubles; the sovereign wished to give<br />
it as a present to his wife, Maria Alexandrovna.<br />
Thus began the Romanovs’<br />
association with Livadia.<br />
In 1860, the 37-year-old Tsarina<br />
Maria Alexandrovna was suffering from<br />
phthisis, a muscle wasting disease made<br />
worse in her by the climate in St. Petersburg<br />
and her numerous childbirths.<br />
The Romanovs’ personal physician,<br />
Dr. Sergei Botkin, discovered the healing<br />
Premier Club Magazine #7 37<br />
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