Designed in the style of a Roman pavilion, a fitting tribute to Paul I's taste, the mausoleum set in a rambling, unkempt wood is well suited to calm reflection. Though no one is actually buried here, the austere building is crowned with masks of mourning and a pseudo-gravestone can be seen from the wrought-iron gates that bar the entrance. A sculptural monument of a robed, kneeling woman, arm outstretched on the would-be tomb inspired Alexander Pushkin, the great poet, to note “Her anguish, her despair are boundless. The smiling morn sees her grieving, the warm sun cannot dry her tears, and the pale moon, daughter of the silent night, finds her alone with her sorrow”.