Fall of the Republic of Venice empire. In the Square of St Mark's, a new wing was constructed in what was to be a royal residence for Napoleon: the "Ala Napoleonica", or "Procuratie Nuovissime"; a new avenue was opened in the city, the "Via Eugenia" (renamed "Via Garibaldi" in 1866), named after Napoleon's stepson and viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais. In 1807, the post of Primicerius of St Mark's was suppressed, and the basilica became the cathedral of the Patriarchate of Venice. In 1808, Dalmatia too was annexed to the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, and a "Provveditore generale di Dalmazia" was established until 1809, when, following the
Saint Isaac's Square granite pedestals; they were made famous by Pushkin in his last long poem, "The Bronze Horseman". Nearby is Quarenghi's Horse Guards' Riding Hall (1804–07), in part inspired by the Parthenon and flanked by the marble statues of the Dioscuri, by Paolo Triscornia. Opposite the cathedral is the Mariinsky Palace, built in 1829-1844 for Grand Duchess Maria Nikolayevna. Currently the palace houses the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly. In front of the palace is the 97-metre-wide Blue Bridge, which used to be the widest in Saint Petersburg. Spanning the Moika River, the bridge is usually perceived as the extension of the square,