The article explores the origin and existence in Western and Russian culture of two similar sayings: “See Naples and die”; “See Paris and die”. The first was introduced into the literature by Carlo Goldoni in the 1750s. Afterwards it took on various forms and overgrown with etymological legends. The wide popularity of the proverb, as well as the possibility of its literal interpretation, made it a grateful object for parodying. The second saying arose from the first in the middle of the XIX century in Western Europe, and Paris here is not just a beautiful city, but also a symbol of higher culture. In Russia, the saying "See Paris and die" was used only in the middle of the 20th century, and not in the press, but in the oral communication of the creative intelligentsia. This time, Paris acted as a symbol of another world, a symbol of the West, fenced off from the USSR by an iron curtain. The widespread version attributing the authorship of this expression to I. Ehrenburg is erroneous.
proverbial sayings; etymological legends; Iron Curtain; C. Goldoni; Michael Kelly; I. Ehrenburg.