An unpublished autograph manuscript journal by the founder of the Milan Music Conservatory and Director of Theatres in Milan Count Carlo Brentano de’ Grianti, featuring an extensive and detailed record of his visit to Russia and the Russian court at the end of the 18th century. The author’s position gave him access to aristocratic society in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and he was a frequent guest at the court of Catherine the Great. The journal gives a legnthy account of the circumstances surrounding Catherine’s death in 1796, her funeral, and the accession to the throne of Paul I. The journal also reports on Paul’s coronation in Moscow 1797, at which the author was present. The journal also reports on the author’s travels between St Petersburg and Moscow and his visits to various towns and regions and includes descriptions of local customs, especially those of the noble circles in which he himself moves. Many Russian noblemen and women, among them some of the most famous in Russian society at the time, figure in Brentano’s narrative, and the buildings in St Petersburg and Moscow, their furnishings and art collections, are described in great detail. The travelogue is accompanied by itemized accounts of the author’s expenses during the trip.

In the second volume, Brentano describes the government and reforms of Catherine the Great, and visits Kronstadt (the seat of the Russian Admiralty), and the royal residences of Tsarskoe Selo, Peterhof and Oranienbaum. He writes of the role of women in Russian society, their enthusiasm for learning Italian and reading Metastasio, Ariosto and Tasso. The women he mixes with speak French, German, Italian, “and even English,” and spend their time drawing, singing, playing musical instruments, dancing, and reading. The men are taken up with fencing, riding, hunting, and gambling. He describes in detail various card games which were prevalent. He is in St Petersburg for Carnival, Holy Week, and Easter, when he attends midnight mass and witnesses the distribution of eggs made of porcelain, glass, sugar, and filigree. The manuscript concludes with some notes, probably written in Vienna a few years later, documenting the fear which swept Vienna around Christmas 1800, on account of the progress of the French in Austria. Another note speaks of the death of Paul I in 1801, at first attributed to sickness, but later, in a second note, to the action of his enemies.

Purchased with funds given by the Deputy University Librarian with additional support from the Music & Performing Arts and Slavic funds.