The first documented ancestors of the Persian were imported from Khorasan, Persia, into Italy in 1620 by Pietro della Valle, and from Angora (now Ankara), Ottoman Empire (Turkey), into France by Nicholas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc at around the same time. The Khorasan cats (گربه خراسانی) were grey coated while those from Angora were white. From France, they soon reached Britain. Recent genetic research indicates that present day Persians are related not to cats from the Near East but to cats from Western Europe. The researchers stated, "Even though the early Persian cat may have in fact originated from Persia, the modern Persian cat has lost its phylogeographical signature."