Page:Notes upon Russia (volume 1, 1851).djvu/103

Rh 26th of September 1476, Contarini came to Moscow, where he presented himself to the grand-prince, Ivan Vasileivich III (“il Duca Zuanne, Signor della gran Rossia bianca”), was well received, and astonished at the magnificence of the court. He describes the situation and architecture of Moscow, speaks of the cold there, of the trade in sables, ermines, fox-skins, badger-skins, lynx-skins, and those of other animals, which were brought thither from the farthest north, and makes some observations on the manners and mode of life of the Russians. Contarini quitted Moscow on the 24th of January 1477, and continuing his journey on sledges through Novogorod, made his way homeward.

Copious accounts of Contarini and his travels will farther be found in—

Editions of Contarini’s travels—

This first edition is very rare.

Itinerario del magnifico e clariss. Ambrosio Contarini,