Did you know that the brother of the French revolutionary Marat lived in St. Petersburg? What is remarkable about the lady depicted in one of the best portraits by Repin? What is the fate of the mummies sold in the city? This is just a drop in the sea of little-known realities, which will be incredibly interesting for residents of the Northern capital and residents of other cities to plunge into. This book is a collection of popularly written essays about unknown or firmly forgotten people, buildings, events and facts from the history of St. Petersburg. The book has four sections. , each of which is dedicated respectively to historical buildings, highlighting their creation, owners, secrets, events that took place in them and appearance; memorable personalities, their life in the city, their role in history, interesting facts from their biography; a separate section in honor of the past Year of Italy is devoted to the work of Italian architects and craftsmen in St. Petersburg and its suburbs, and the fourth part is devoted to various unusual incidents. The publication is perfectly illustrated with portraits, landscapes, drawings and photographs, and all the information presented to the readers is based on many years of archival research.