RUGGIERO GIUSEPPE BOSCOVICH: GIORNALE DI UN VIAGGIO DA CONSTANTINOPOLI IN POLONIA CON UNA SUA RELAZIONE DELLE ROVINA DI TROJA.BASSANO 1784 First edition, in 8vo,contemporary leather over boards slightly trimmed, spine richly gilt, text clean and bright,overall in very good plus condition. Boscovich, a Croatian astronomer and physicist, travelled in 1761 urgently to Constantinople to better observe the transit of Venus. He felt ill and stayed seven months in the Levant, he returned following year joining the entourage of the British ambassador in his return journey by land. They crossed Thrace, Macedonia and followed little know roads at the heart of Balkan peninsula, rarely visited by European.Second account describe his trip in Asia Minor in the region of Troy. The journals meticulously describes the roads. As one of the leading scientists of his age, Boscovich record astronomical measurements, soil quality, and the ruins of ancient sites,including his famous search for the ruins of Troy. He provides a detached scientist's view of the varied inhabitants,Greek princes, Bulgarian villagers and Ragusan merchants. His description of the mihmandar,the Ottoman official assigned to guide and watch over diplomatic travelers, is considered one of the best historical records of that role. A rare travel account in the Levant by a Croatian scientist.