“Your Grace’s request is my pleasure. Moreover, Sire, it would further that pleasure to bear the gift myself to His Excellency in Milan.” The idea delighted Lorenzo. He immediately directed that Leonardo be given a letter to Ludovico and that every protection be given Leonardo for his journey. Leonardo, with the silver lyre and the letter of recommendation, hurried home to make his final preparations. He called on a friend and pupil, young Atalante Migliorotti, to accompany him. Toward the end of 1482 or the beginning of 1483, with the letter to Ludovico folded in a leather pouch, Leonardo and Atalante mounted their horses and left Florence for the long journey to Milan. 5 _Milan_ Milan at this time was one of the greatest and wealthiest city-states in all Europe. Its battlements and the spires of its mighty cathedral rose impressively from the lush plain of Lombardy. Towering over the city in the distance were the snow-capped peaks of the Alps. Groves of mulberry trees for the production of its famous silk industry and vast stretches of rice paddies extended far into the surrounding countryside. Leonardo and Atalante rode along the embankment of one of the many canals. The sight of the city hastened their pace although the journey had been a long one. Frequently on the trip Leonardo had stopped to make notes. Riding over the mountains and ravines surrounding Florence he had drawn some of the rushing streams and the stratifications of exposed cliffs. And when they had descended to the plains he observed the irrigation ditches and made notes on ways of improving the crude systems of dams and waterwheels. Leonardo was excited by this new city and by his prospects at the court of Ludovico. On the way to his lodgings, he also noticed that Milan was a great center of arms manufacture. Shop after shop displayed its wares of swords, spears, shields, armor for man and horse, and signs advertising foundries for the making of cannon. Perhaps here he might find an outlet for his military inventions. In the inn where he and Atalante stayed, Leonardo overheard the current political rumors. All around him was talk of the war. Girolamo Riario was again in the field, and Ludovico’s ally, Alfonso of Calabria, had just been defeated by the Venetians in a bloody battle at Campo Morto. Leonardo reread the letter he had written setting forth his own accomplishments and decided that now was the time to present himself as a military engineer. He would minimize the bronze monument, his music, and his painting, and instead, he would stress his skills in the inventions of war.