An unusual book about Sicily offers different "keys" to the development of the island - through the hagiographic legends presented to the Russian reader for the first time about local saints who had a pronounced Byzantine-oriental appearance in the past, as well as through the anthology of the Russian presence - aristocrats, diplomats, artists, writers. Particular emphasis is given to the two main points of Russian-Sicilian relations - the stay in Palermo of the imperial family in 1845-1846 and the heroic participation of sailors in the rescue of victims of the earthquake in Messina in 1908.