The article examines the reception of M. Gorky in Italy in the late 19th – early 20th centuries, and the process of his becoming mythologized. Right from the beginning, Italians’ idea of Gorky gets woven into the European myth about Russia, with him epitomizing the Russian soul and blending with the stereotypical Russian landscape. Early Italian reception of Gorky’s autobiography never distinguishes between his life story and creative work: both critics and common readers draw their idea of the Russian author from biographical sketches as well as his own writings, seen as a proof compelling enough to influence critical reviews and biographies devoted to Gorky. On Gorky’s arrival in Italy, his image becomes more nuanced, more details about his life and work come to light, and the press starts printing personal accounts of meetings with him. But the key elements of the Gorky myth survive and keep shaping Italian perceptions of him. It wasn’t until much later that Italians stopped interpreting Gorky through the myth about Russia and the Russian soul.