April 21, 1652

Pietro Della Valle (April 2, 1586 to April 21, 1652), Italian traveler to Asia, brought Angora cats to Europe. He was a wealthy Italian, a Renaissance scholar who traveled throughout what we call the middle east. He also visited India, and it was in Persia that this traveler found a long haired cat, most often with white fur. He was impressed enough to send some to Italy in 1620, though I have read differing dates for exactly when this event occurred. By Persia they include what we now call Turkey and the name Angora came from the city named Ankara. The Europeans already knew white Angora goats and the cats were best described as Angoras. The cats were a luxury item and quickly associated with royalty.

His second wife was the adopted daughter of his first wife. And, again like Woody Allen, he was an artist, a composer as well as a writer. Della Valle's letters form the basis for valuable information on these foreign lands. Pietro Della Valle also brought back to Europe some of the first bricks from ancient cities: bricks had cuneiform writing on them.