At the first landing of the monumental staircase, a double plaque with a bilingual inscription in Latin and Russian commemorates the stay of Tsar Nicholas I at Palazzo Giustiniani during his visit to Pope Gregory XVI in 1845. The calendar system used for the date on the Latin plaque is the Gregorian one, whereas on the Russian plaque both Julian and Gregorian systems are used. The two plaques are surmounted by the coat of arms of the Romanov family, now adopted as coat of arms of the Russian Federation. A shield with a horseman, Saint George, who kills the dragon is placed on the breast of a double-headed eagle.