This book is about what brings together the artistic culture of Bohemia and Hungary, Austria, Poland and Russia in the 15th–16th centuries. According to the author, this is the presence of an Italian accent in their visual culture. Italian specialists, primarily architects and sculptors, flock to the trans-Alpine countries and often settle there; The study examines various areas of their activity, from the construction of royal castles and the design of cities to the organization of festive processions. The book is a revised and expanded translation of the German edition (Italien in Sarmatien. Stuttgart: Steiner Verlag, 2008). Marina Dmitrieva is an art historian who has been working at the Research Center for the History and Culture of East-Central Europe (Leipzig) since 1996 and teaches at the University of Leipzig.