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Hello! I'm not quite sure whether asking to proofread a text for a non-commercial organisation's website would be appropriate here, but if it would.... Below is a description of one of the projects, and there's three more - similar in style and volume - which I could provide should there be a "sympathetic" eye... Would very much appreciate if you could take a look at it, 'cause I'd really like to avoid scaring any literate English-speaker with my language pirouettes.....

Thank you

Lentochka >>>

Rundale Palace is a true treasury of Baroque and Rococo art in Latvia. The palace with an adjacent French Regular park were designed by a famous Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in the 18^th century as a summer residence of the Duke of Courland Ernst Johann Biron, the favorite of the Russian Empress Anna Ioanovna. In the course of time and political rush the palace has changed many owners, has once even hosted an elementary school until finally reached a quite harbour when Rundale Palace Museum was founded here in 1972. Some 30 years later the palace, restored from misery, has become a refined bridge to the grandeur and splendour of the quaint epoch…
For the virtual visitors of the palace we will have a saturated programme to offer – a complete tour of the palace and the park based on interactive 360° panoramic photos, navigated through a 3D model of the complex that was made using original architectural plans, and an illustrated excursus into the history and restoration of the palace prepared by museum experts.

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

Hi Lentochka,

Welcome to the ofurms.

Rundale Palace is a true treasury of Baroque and Rococo art in Latvia. The palace with an adjacent French Regular park were designed by a famous Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in the 18^th century as a summer residence of the Duke of Courland Ernst Johann Biron, the favorite of the Russian Empress Anna Ioanovna. In the course of time and political rush the palace has changed many owners, has once even hosted an elementary school until finally reached a quite harbour when Rundale Palace Museum was founded here in 1972. Some 30 years later the palace, restored from misery, has become a refined bridge to the grandeur and splendour of the quaint epoch…
For the virtual visitors of the palace we will have a saturated programme to offer – a complete tour of the palace and the park based on interactive 360° panoramic photos, navigated through a 3D model of the complex that was made using original architectural plans, and an illustrated excursus into the history and restoration of the palace prepared by museum experts.

Rundale Palace is a true treasury of Baroque and Rococo art in Latvia. The palace, with an adjacent French Regular park, was designed by a famous Italian architect, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in the 18^th century as a summer residence of the Duke of Courland, Ernst Johann Biron, the favorite of the Russian Empress Anna Ioanovna. The palace changed hands many times over the course of time and history, and at one time even hosted an elementary school, until it finally reached a quite harbour when Rundale Palace Museum was founded here in 1972. Some 30 years later the palace, restored from misery, has become a refined bridge to the grandeur and splendour of the quaint epoch…

For virtual visitors to the palace, we have a full programme to offer – a complete tour of the palace and the park based on interactive, 360-degree panoramic photos, navigated through a 3D model of the complex that was made using original architectural plans, and an illustrated excursus into the history and restoration of the palace.

I've made a few edits and hightlighed areas where I have questions:
What is a French Regular Park?
The second sentence is really long - you could perhaps break it into two parts.
I like the idea of saying that the palace is no longer in turmoil with this "quiet harbor" but it doesn't quite work here. Perhaps "until it was finally acquired by ____ and designated a museum." Or something similar to that.
Restored from "misery"? Do you mean "restored from a condition of decay" (or delapitdation)?
Do you mean it's a bridge from the past to the present?
Did you leave out something with the ...?
Excusion? Journey?

***

It sounds lovely. However, I wasn't sure if the art was the architecture of the palace and park itself, or if it also houses paintings of the era.

Lentochka · Answer

Hi Barbara!
Glad to have such a warm-welcoming reply, thank you! Here's a few answers >>>

What is a French Regular Park?
Well, that’s how it is called in Russian (which is my native language:), it was popular in France in the 17^th century, for example Versailles park is designed in this style. Couldn’t really find any good name for that…

The second sentence is really long - you could perhaps break it into two parts.
How about this: The palace, with an adjacent French Regular park, was designed by a famous Italian architect, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in the 18^th century. The complex was planned (? or built?) as a summer residence of the Duke of Courland, Ernst Johann Biron, the favorite of the Russian Empress Anna Ioanovna.

I like the idea of saying that the palace is no longer in turmoil with this "quiet harbor" but it doesn't quite work here. Perhaps "until it was finally acquired by ____ and designated a museum." Or something similar to that.
It wasn’t really acquired, simply the state (to who the palace already belonged) has decided to make a museum there. I’ve two ideas: either to put “quite harbour” in quotes (because I also like the way it sounds ?
Or to re-write it like this: until it was finally decided to designate a museum there (?) in 1972.

Restored from "misery"? Do you mean "restored from a condition of decay" (or delapitdation)?
Yes. I put “misery” because it sounded simple yet strong (to my ear at least), delapitdation for instance seems a bit too complicated… Decay is good, but you can’t simply say “restored from decay”, can you?

Do you mean it's a bridge from the past to the present?
Yes I’m “clinically” fond of figurative language…

Did you leave out something with the ...?
I didn’t really get this question, do you mean “the quaint epoch…”? I just wanted to make a “lighter” end of a sentence, to give reader a second to imagine that epoch somehow, but this can easily be changed into “.”

Excusion? Journey?
Excursus = could be journey or a glance to the history/restoration.

***

It sounds lovely. However, I wasn't sure if the art was the architecture of the palace and park itself, or if it also houses paintings of the era.
It’s both the palace/park and the interior/and a fair selection of “objets d’art” (they’ve got everything, paintings, ceramics, decorations etc., it's really a beautiful museum).

Well, that's it. It's over midnight at my end, so I'm probably moving to bed for now... Thank you again Barbara, and will wait for your reply

Lentochka

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