Introduction

 Last modified July 26, 2024

Franco Pratesi has an impressive list of publications on the history of the tarot and playing cards generally that goes back to 1986, both in print publications and on various websites, including his own at http://www.naibi.net/. However, many of the most important, especially in the last ten years or so, are in Italian only. In an effort to make his research more widely available, I have been translating selected essays and notes into English, starting with Google Translate and then correcting it by my understanding of Italian grammar and reference to online dictionaries for the word that fits the context best. Even then, I have routinely been going to Franco himself for advice on certain passages, especially in translating old documents, the proportion of which increased dramatically in 2023 and after. I have tried to make the English conform as closely as possible to the original Italian, sometimes resulting in awkward transitions in English but which in the development of ideas follow the Italian.  For safety's sake, any quotations by others of my translations should probably include the original Italian, since I do not guarantee the accuracy of my admittedly amateur work (or the combination of two amateurs).

At the right of this introduction on the web-page is a list of months and years. These are mostly when I posted a particular essay. The essays themselves, with only a few exceptions, are arranged in the order in which Franco published them on the internet, going down from later to earlier. So for essays dated earlier than those in a given month (when I posted the translation), it is necessary to click on an earlier month, until the desired note is found - or else use the link in this introduction, where I have listed the notes or essays by subject-matter, the subjects arranged more or less by when Franco addressed these subjects, earlier below later.

For the list on the right in this blog, there are two exceptions to my rule of listing them chronologically in order of publication. One is a series of articles by Franco originally published in Italian in the The Playing-Card, the journal of the International Playing Card Society. They are mostly about 18th century books on how to play minchiate, the game with the expanded tarot deck of 97 cards. When I resumed translating his work in 2023 (after he paused his research in 2017), I didn't notice them and didn't leave space for them in the series. So they are all together in my postings for June of 2024, along with what seems to have been the last one in that series, a note first published on naibi.net on a book in German containing a chapter on minchiate.

The other exception is a series of four notes on 18th-century Milanese tarocchi. Franco posted his originals in July-August 2023, but I didn't translate them until July of 2024. I left them for last because they seemed to involve the most technical terms and would be the hardest to translate, and you will find them posted in that month here.

I have written introductions to each translation, in most cases rather short. In some of the blog-posts, after the translation and in the same post, I have put my own reflections on Franco's note or thoughts relating to the same theme. I also have comments in square brackets within the note itself, for clarification, after first consulting with Franco. Both the translation and my comments originally appeared on Tarot History Forum, then pasted onto the blog for a more orderly arrangement, as they are scattered in various threads there. Some received discussion by Forum participants. In those cases, I have given a link to the Forum post.

To get to a particular translation in this blog, click on either the title in English, if underlined, or the link after the title. You will notice that the link title sometimes suggests something other than the essay in question. That is because, forgetting how Google blogs work, I had to occasionally move essays around to keep them in order, and Google doesn't change the link to fit the new title.

• Historical (18th-early 19th century) books or booklets on how to play Minchiate (10 entries).
  

May 6, 2024: 1756 Vienna, and Nuremberg - the game of minchiate. Original is 1756 Vienna, e Norimberga – Il gioco delle minchiate (06.05.2024). This is a translation of Franco's discussion and translation into Italian of the chapter on minchiate in a book published in German in Vienna and Nuremberg of 1756, making it the earliest known describing the 18th century game.

 

June 1, 2024 - autograph note of Paul Minucci. The original is Minchiate – Nota autografa di Paolo Minucci (01.06.2024). Minucci's note is the earliest presentation known of the game of minchiate, dating back to 1688. Franco transcribes the author's own handwritten draft and places it alongside the printed version.  

 

March 14, 2024: Minchiate - A handwritten copy of Paolo Minucci's note. Original at Minchiate – Una copia manoscritta della nota di Paolo Minucci (14.03.2024). This is an anonymous manuscript copy of Minucci's note on minchiate, the earliest known writing on how to play the game, placed alongside the printed version.

Aug. 20, 2023: Fourteen minchiate cards of the 1700s. Originally Quattordici minchiate del Settecento (20.08.2023). This is a discussion of fourteen cards that came with the book discussed in the entry immediately below, twelve from the same deck, with the stamp and signature of the tax stamp manager 1750-1780 on one of them.

 

Oct.-Dec. 2023: General Rules on the Game of Minchiate. Originally Regole Generali sopra il Gioco delle Minchiate, The Playing-Card, Vol. 52, No. 2 (2023). The same essay not in journal format is at Regole Generali sopra il Gioco delle Minchiate (10.08.2023) .

 "1747 book on minchiate and other games" (The Playing-Card 49:2 (Oct.-Dec. 2020)), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/oct-dec-2020-1746-book-on-minchiate-and.html. Originally "Libro del 1747 sulle minchiate, e altri giochi," at https://www.naibi.net/A/86.pdf.

 

"The Regoli Generali in Florence" (The Playing-Card 49:1 (July-Sept. 2020)), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/july-sept-2020-regoli-generali-in.html. The original, "Minchiate, le Regole Generali di Firenze," is at https://www.naibi.net/A/85.pdf.

 

 "Minchiate, the General Rules of Rome and Macerata" (The Playing-Card 48:3 (Jan.-March 2020)), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/jan-march-2020-minchiate-general-rules.html. The original is "Minchiate, Le Regole Generali di Roma e Macerata," at https://www.naibi.net/A/84.pdf.

 

 "Comments on the Regole delle Minchiatta" (The Playing-Card 47:3 (Jan.-March 2019)), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/jan-march-2019-comments-on-regole-delle.html. The original, 

"Commenti sul Regole delle Minchiatta,"is at https://www.naibi.net/A/81.pdf. 

 

 "The Capitolo delle Minchiate (Chapter on Minchiate," The Playing-Card 47:2 (Oct.-Dec. 2018), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/oct-dec-2018-capitolo-delle-minchiate.html. The original, "Il Capitolo delle Minchiate," is on naibi.net at https://www.naibi.net/A/80-CARDS.pdf

• Information from inventory and other account records in Tuscany (12 entries)
  

July 28, 2024: 1498 – Trionfi, books of the Tornabuoni. Originally Firenze 1498 – Trionfi, libri dei Tornabuoni (28.07.2024). Two inheritance inventories of this illustrious Florentine family, each singling out a copy of Petrarch's Trionfi for special mention while leaving other titles unsaid.

July 24, 2024: 1480s - Triumphs in Florence and Pistoia. Originally Anni 1480 Trionfi a Firenze e Pistoia (24.07.2024) Two inheritance inventories mentioning Trionfi, Petrarch's and otherwise, the second with a commentary.

July 21, 2024: Poppiano 1523 - Rather arcane triumphs. Originally Poppiano 1523 – Trionfi piuttosto arcani (21.07.2024). An entry in an inheritance inventory made mysterious for its Xs: "Un paio di triomphi del XX . . ."

 "Florence 1736-1737. Accounts in the shop of the abbot" (April 2, 2024) at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/05/april-2-2024-florence-736-1737-accounts.html. The original, "Firenze 1736-1737. Conti della bottega dell’abate," is at https://www.naibi.net/A/BOTTEGA.pdf.

"Florence 1478 and 1479: Petrarch's triumphs in private homes" (March 16, 2024, with May 3 addendum), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/03/florence-1472-1474-worn-out-naibi-and.html. The original, "Firenze 1478 e 1479: Trionfi del Petrarca in case private," is at https://naibi.net/A/TRIOPETR.pdf. 

 

 "Naibi for sale and worn-out naibi" (March 13, 2024), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/. The original is "Firenze 1420 e 1424. Naibi in vendita e naibi triste," at https://naibi.net/A/NAIBBI.pdf.

 "Florence 1472-1474. Worn-out naibi and triumphs in a bag" (Feb. 23, 2024), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/blank_22.html. Franco's original at Firenze 1472-1474. Naibi tristi e trionfi in un sacchetto (23.02.2024).

"Pontormo 1479. Playing cards in a haberdasher's house" (Feb. 22, 2024), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/blank_14.html. Original at 8/06. Pontormo 1479. Carte da gioco nella casa di un merciaio (22.02.2024).

"Florence 1426. Naibi in a large family" (Feb. 12, 2024), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/blank.html. Original is Firenze 1426. Naibi in una grande famiglia (12.02.2024).

"Florence 1462: Playing Cards in a dry goods Store" (Dec. 2, 2023), https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/florence-1462-playing-cards-in-dry.html. Original is "Firenze 1462: carte da gioco in una merceria" (02.12.2023)  

"Florence - Three account books of the 1400s" (October 18, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/october-18-2023-florence-three-account.html. Original Firenze – Tre libri di conti del Quattrocento (18.10.2023).

"1499-1506: New information on Florentine cards" (April, 2015) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/april-2015-new-information-on.html. Original is (1499-1506: Firenze - Nuove informazioni sulle carte fiorentine. The Playing-Card, Vol. 44, No. 1 (2015) 61-71)

• Information from academies, literati, entertainers, poets, educators (14 entries)  
  

July 18, 2024: Various Card Games. Originally Diversi Giochi di Carte (18.07.2024). A booklet describing how to perform various card tricks; of indeterminate date, but probably around the year 1700.

 

June 10, 2024: 1712 - The games of Lorenzo Stecchi. Original: 1712 - I giochi di Lorenzo Stecchi (10.06.2024). A book of card tricks: table of contents and examples of the tricks described.

 

June 8, 2024 - Games of cards, bussolotti, and more. Original: Giuochi di Carte, Bussolotti, e altro (08.06.2024). A book of card tricks: table of contents and examples of the tricks described.

 

June 6, 2024 - white magic, card games. Original: La Magia bianca – Giochi di carte (06.06.2024). A book of card tricks: table of contents and examples of the tricks described.

 

May 17, 2024: a jealous husband. Original: Firenze 1713 - Un marito geloso (17.05.2024). A young gentleman's attentions to a lady playing cards gets challenged by the husband. What would have earlier led to a duel gets adjudicated by an expert on the laws of chivalry.

 

May 3, 2024: Florence in the 1700s. Octaves on Bassetta. Originally Firenze nel Settecento – Ottave sulla bassetta (03.05.2024). A poem in eight-line stanzas on the evils of the gambling game.

 

May 1, 2024: 1748 - Incomplete minchiate of an Arcadian shepherd. Originally 1748 – Minchiate incomplete di un pastore arcade (01.05.2024). The Arcadia here is an academy in Florence, and its shepherd has designed a deck of minchiate with historical information on the cards, to be read each time the card is played, thus imprinting the information in the memory of the players.

April 20, 2024: Florence 1783: The mystery of the Devil. Originally "Firenze 1783 ‒ Il giallo del Diavolo," at https://www.naibi.net/A/BACCANO.pdf. The Devil card of Florentine minchiate speaks - in invitations to a social event, ending with a humorous short poem.

April 17, 2024: Florence in the 17th c.: Octaves on the Game of Ombre. Originally Firenze nel Seicento ‒ Ottave sul Gioco dell’Ombre (17.04.2024) A poem in eight-line stanzas recounting a friendly game of Ombre among five ladies, with young gentlemen attending.

 

April 13, 2024: Minchiate, a field too vast for the academy. Originally Minchiate, un campo troppo vasto per l’Accademia (13.04.2024). In an Academy speech, the author criticizes the subjects on the cards of minchiate and proposes his own replacement images, by which the history of ancient civilizations may be pleasantly taught while playing the game.

 

April 4, 2024: Playing cards in defense of church and academy. Originally Carte da gioco difese in accademia e in chiesa (04.04.2024). Two speeches in a Florentine academy, neither very original, defending the morality of playing cards.

 

April 3, 2024: Florence in the 18th c.: Card games in the theater of the Pergola.  Originally Firenze nel Settecento - Giochi di carte al Teatro della Pergola (03.04.2024).

March 27, 2024: Florence ca. 1720. Minchiate and knights without cavalry. Originally Firenze circa 1720. Minchiate e cavalieri senza cavalleria (27.03.2024).

Dec. 2, 2023: 1700s in Florence: Conversations in the casino of St. Trinita. Originally Settecento a Firenze: Conversazione del Casino di Santa Trinita (02.12.2023). The  "conversations" here are social interactions in a setting reserved for the nobility, including games with cards supplied by the house. Franco documents a squabble among players and, among loose sheets of paper, the purchases of playing cards by this social club.

October 16, 2023: Games played with tarocchi in the seventeenth century. Originally Giuochi che si fanno con le carte ‒ nel Seicento (16.10.2023). The "games" here are card tricks, delineated in a book not easy to decipher. However, we have figured out all but one of the explanations for how the tricks are done.

April-June 2019: Pocket atlas and minchiate from 1780. Originally Atlante tascabile e minchiate del 1780. The Playing-Card, Vol. 47, No. 4 (2019). This is about a minchiate deck with maps of various regions of the world on its cards and geographical information instead of the usual images, for the purpose of learning geography as one plays.

• Information from the taxation system in Tuscany (6 entries)
  

"Florence 1743-1778: Licenses for games" (Jan. 20, 2024), https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/jan-20-2024.html, Franco's original is at Firenze 1743-1778. Le licenze sui giochi (20.01.2024)).

"Florence 1843-1845. Foreign cards and bureaucracy" (Jan. 2, 2024) https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/01/. Original at Firenze 1843-1845. Carte forestiere e burocrazia (02.01.2024).

"Florence 1814: Restoration, also for playing cards" (Jan. 2, 2024), https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/01/jan-2-2024-florence-1814-restoration.html. Original at Firenze 1814: Restaurazione, anche per le carte da gioco (02.01.2024).

"Florence 1766 - Domenico Aldini under investigation (November 21, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/november-21-2023-florence-1766.html. Franco's original is at Firenze 1766 - Domenico Aldini sotto inchiesta (21.11.2023) .

"Reform of the stamp duty on cards (October 31, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/october-31-2023-reform-of-bolo-on-cards.html. Franco's original is at Firenze 1781: riforma del bollo sulle carte (31.10.2023).

"Cortona 1767-1781 - Playing Cards in Customs" (October 25, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/october-25-2023-cortona-1767-1781.html. Franco's original is Cortona 1767-1781 – Carte da gioco in Dogana (25.10.2023).

• Information from 18th-early 19th century almanacs, booklets, or book chapters in Lombardy addressing tarocchi (7 entries)

Aug. 20, 2023: Brescia 1786 - almanac on the tarot. Franco's original is Brescia 1786 – Almanacco sul tarocco (20.08.2023). This is the earliest of various short Lombard tracts on how to play tarocchi well. It either shows a very primitive approach to the game, close to superstition, or else (more likely) is meant as a joke. 

Aug. 18, 2023: Instructions for the Milanese game of tarocchi (1793-1827). Original: Istruzioni per il gioco milanese di tarocchi (1793-1827) (18.08.2023). Comparison of the 1793 book with the next one seen with similar contents, from 1827.

Aug. 3, 2023: More Lombard editions from Court de Gebelin. Originally Più edizioni lombarde da Court de Gébelin (03.08.2023). This is a follow-up on the note listed immediately below this one, promulgating the ideas of de Gébelin on the origin of the tarot, with a lengthy quotation from Leopold Cigognara.

July 11, 2023: The game of tarocchi - Milan 1789 and 1792. Original: Il Giuoco de’ tarocchi ‒ Milano 1789 e 1792 (11.07.2023). Quotations in the 1793 book from an earlier book of 1789 reprinted 1792, with the 1793 author's comments, usually contemptuous.

 July 10, 2023: For one who plays tarocchi - Milan 1793. Original: Per chi tarocca ‒ Milano 1793 (10.07.2023). Table of contents and extensive quotation and summary of contents, one part on strategy quite different from the 1794 and 1811.

July 5, 2023: Ideas of an Egyptian: Cremona 1795. Originally Idee di un egiziano. Cremona 1795 (05.07.2023). Court de Gébelin's ideas summarized in a publication in Cremona.

July 1, 2023: Milan 1794: an unknown book on tarocchi. Original: Milano 1794: uno sconosciuto libro sui tarocchi  (01.07.2023). Table of contents and sample passages from the text, compared with an 1811 version that is seen to be similar, despite not appearing so at the outset. Mostly concerns penalties for fouls.

• Information from laws and criminal records in Tuscany (6 entries)
  

"1426-1440 Florence: Convictions for card games in the Books of the Lily" (Nov. 26, 2016)  http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/nov-26-2016-1426-1440-florence.html (1426-1440: Firenze - Condanne per giochi di carte nei Libri del Giglio. (26.11.2016))

 "1377: Florence: sentenced as players of naibi" (Jan-March 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/blank_62.html. Originally 1377: Firenze - Condanne ai giocatori di naibi." The Playing-Card , Vol. 44, No. 3 (2016), 156-163.)  

"1514: Florence: Law on games" (synopsis) (Nov. 21, 2015) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/nov-21-2015-1514-florence-law-on-games.html (11514: Firenze - Legge sui giochi. (21.11.2015))

"1450, 1473, 1477: Florence: Laws on games" (Nov. 7, 2015) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/nov-7-2015-1450-1472-1477-florence-laws.html (1450, 1473, 1477: Firenze - Leggi sui giochi. (07.11.2015)

"1451: Siena - New law on games" (Oct. 31, 2015) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/essay-2.html (1451: Siena - Nuova legge sui giochi. (31.10.2015))

 "1440-1450: Florence - Convictions for card games in the Books of the Lily" (Oct. 12, 2015) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/oct-12-2015-1440-1450-florence.html. (Original at 1440-1450: Firenze - Condanne per giochi di carte nei Libri del Giglio. (12.10.2015))

• Playing card documentation outside Tuscany and Lombardy (6 entries) 

"Cards and Tarocchi at the end of the 1700s in Sardinia" (Sept. 17, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/october-16-2023-cards-and-tarocchi-at.html. Originally "Carte e tarocchi alla fine del Settecento in Sardegna," at https://www.naibi.net/A/SARDCAT.pdf. 

 

"Cards and Tarocchi in Sassari, beginning of the 19th century" (Aug. 2, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/09/v-behaviorurldefaultvml-o.html. Originally "Carte e tarocchi a Sassari all’inizio dell’Ottocento," at https://www.naibi.net/A/TASASSA.pdf

 

 "1501-1521: cards from Perugia and nearby cities" (Jan. 5, 2017) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2017/02/jan-5-2017-1501-1521-cards-from-perugia.html (1501-1521: Carte da Perugia e città vicine. (05.01.2017))

"The 3rd Rosenwald Sheet" (June 27, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/june-27-2016-3rd-rosenwald-sheet.html (Il terzo foglio Rosenwald. (27.06.2016))

"Assisi c. 1510: Complete deck of 48 cards" (Dec. 22, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/dec-22-2016-assisi-c-1510-complete-deck.html (1510 ca: Assisi - Mazzo completo di 48 carte. (21.12.2016))

 "1477 Bologna: Arithmetic for cards and triumphs" (June 9, 2014) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/blank.html (Carte da gioco a Firenze: il primo secolo (1377-1477). The Playing-Card , 19 No. 1 (1990) 7-17.))

• Triumphs and the minor arts (5 entries)
  

 "Siena 1438: From Angels to Love" (Dec. 7, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/dec-7-2015-siena-1438-from-angels-to.html  (1438: Siena - Dagli Angeli all'Amore. (07.12.2016))

"ca 1450: Triumphs and Triumphi" [i.e. in illuminated manuscripts], (Oct. 15, 2016)  http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/oct-15-2016-triumphs-and-triumphi.html (1450ca: Trionfi e Triumphi. (15.10.2016))

"ca 1450: Triumphs and Civic Processions" (Oct. 11, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/nov-10-2016-ca-1450-civic-processions.html (1450ca: Firenze - Trionfi e cortei cittadini. (10.11.2016))

 "ca 1450: Triumphs and marriage chests," (Aug. 31, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/aug-31-2016-triumphs-and-marriage-chests.html (1450ca: Firenze - Trionfi e cassoni nuziali. (31.08.2016))

"ca 1450: Triumphs and birthtrays," (May 13, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/may-13-21016-ca-1450-florence-triumphs.html (1450ca: Firenze - Trionfi e deschi da parto. (13.05.2016))

• Earliest playing cards in Europe, by place (9 entries)

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Holland" (Jan. 18, 2017 and March 9, 2017) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2017/02/jan-18-2017-playing-cards-in-europe.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Olanda. (18.01.2017) and Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Olanda. Addendum. (09.03.2017))

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Aragon" (June 21, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/translators-introduction-by-michael-s_6.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Aragona. (21.06.2016))

 "Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Buja" (June 15, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/translators-introduction-by-michael-s.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Buja. (15.06.2016))

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Bohemia" (June 7, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/june-7-2016-before-1377-bohemia.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Boemia. (07.06.2016))

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Poland" (June 2, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/june-2-2016-before-1377-poland.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Polonia. (02.06.2016)

 "Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Italy" (May 5, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/feb-8-2015-comments-on-islamic-cards.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Italia. (05.05.2016))

"Various cards at Basel in 1377 or 1429" (April 26, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/april-26-2016-various-cards-at-basel-in.html (Carte varie a Basilea nel 1377 o nel 1429. (26.04.2016))

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Berne" (April 26, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/sept-24-2016-before-1377-berne.html (Carte varie a Basilea nel 1377 o nel 1429. (26.04.2016))

  "Comments on Islamic cards" (Feb. 8, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/feb-8-2015-comments-on-islamic-cards.html (Commenti sulle carte islamiche. (08.02.2016)

• General reflections, mostly on trionfi (5 entries)

"Minchiate, Reflections on Design" (Dec. 2, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/december-12-2023-minchiate-reflections.html. Franco's original is at Minchiate. Riflessioni sul design (02.12.2023).

 "Imaginary origins of triumphs and minchiate" (Nov. 19, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/nov-12-2016-imaginary-origins-of.html (Genesi favolosa di trionfi e minchiate. (19.11.2016)   

"Earliest Triumphs: Contrasting Proposals and Outlooks" (Oct. 4, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/oct-4-2016-earliest-triumphs_7.html (Primi trionfi, proposte contrastanti e prospettive. (04.10.2016))

 "Milanese and Florentine Triumphs" (Feb. 12, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/blank_22.html (Trionfi milanesi e fiorentini - ipotesi e commenti. (12.02.2016))

"Cremona 1441? Ruminations on the Visconti-Madrone" (Jan. 17, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/jan-17-2016-ruminations-on-visconti-di.html (Cremona 1441? - Elucubrazioni sui tarocchi Visconti di Modrone o Cary-Yale. (17.01.2016))

 "Other comments on the triumphs" (Jan. 11, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/jan-11-2015-other-comments-qabout.html (Altri commenti sui trionfi. (11.01.2016))

A complete list of Franco's essays on playing cards, with links to their texts in their original language, is at http://naibi.net/p/index.html. Those originally published at trionfi.com, all but one originally in English, also appear online at that site. All of the web-pages at trionfi.com can be read in other languages via Google Translate, by entering the page's url into Google Translate's slot for websites and then clicking on "translate this page." The result is usually adequate English, except for quotations from historic texts (and remember that the slang term for bull manure, when it appears in a translation, is Google's idea of what minchiate means; of course here it invariably means the Tuscan card game and deck). 

To use Google Translate for the essays on Franco's own site, it is necessary to download them to your computer and then have Google translate them as a "document" rather than a "website."

July 28, 2024: 1498 – Trionfi, books of the Tornabuoni

 

This is a translation of Franco's "1498 = Trionfi, libri dei Tornabuoni," originally posted July 28, 2024 at https://naibi.net/A/TORNABUONI.pdf. Comments in square brackets are mine, in consultation with Franco, for explanatory purposes. 

 

1498 – Trionfi,  books of the Tornabuoni

 Franco Pratesi

1. Introduction

Continuing my research on the Magistracy of Minors collection prior to the Principality[fondo Magistrato dei Pupilli avanti il Principato] in the State Archives of Florence (ASFi), I have examined the manuscript of the Campione series of inventories and accounts, revised N. 181: Quarters Santa Maria Novella and San Giovanni 1495-1501 (part of the 15th Campione).

An inventory of some interest can be found in correspondence with the prestigious Tornabuoni family, certainly one of the oldest in Florence, if we consider that it was born simply with a "strategic" change of surname from the even older one of Tornaquinci (to avoid, as magnates, being ousted from high public office).

After a long presence at the top of the city, in the era in question they found themselves following the Medici themselves closely, including close family ties. In this case, not only the family is known but also the members themselves involved here, starting with the grandfather Giovanni Tornabuoni, who was Lorenzo the Magnificent's uncle and papal treasurer.

The marriage of Lorenzo di Giovanni in 1486 to Giovanna degli Albizzi marked an attempt to bring the two long-adversarial families closer together. This Giovanna was one of the most beautiful young Florentine women, painted several times in portraits and frescoes by Ghirlandaio and Botticelli. The Tornabuoni family was known for its patronage, and among other works, the famous Tornabuoni Chapel in Santa Maria Novella remains in evidence.

Lorenzo was born in Florence in 1465 to Giovanni and Francesca di Luca Pitti, and his closeness to the Medici was fatal to him: together with four other conspirators who intended to re-establish the hegemony of the Medici during the Savonarola republic (destined to end shortly after), he was condemned to death and beheaded in the Bargello Palace on 21 August 1497.

The specific case of the inventory in question concerns the inheritance left by Lorenzo di Giovanni to his ten-year-old sons Giovanni, born to his first wife Giovanna degli Albizzi (who died in childbirth at the age of twenty, at the end of her second pregnancy), and five-year-old Leonardo, three-year-old Francesca and one-year-old Giovanna, children of his second wife Ginevra Gianfigliazzi.

 2. Saint Stefano in Pane

The inventories begin on c. 141r with that of 5 January 1498 relating to one of the villas that the family owned in the Florentine countryside, in this case, a villa purchased a few decades before in the parish of Santo Stefano in Pane, and in particular in "Chiasso a Macieregli." Chiasso Macerelli is a road that goes up from Rifredi to Careggi and in the twentieth century took the name of Via Taddeo Alderotti.

The Tornabuoni, in addition to their possessions in the area, long had the patronage of the pieve [main church of a group of parishes, ten or so constituting a diocese] of Santo Stefano in Pane, and three priests of the family were pieve priests in the 16th and 17th centuries (elsewhere, somewhat curiously, as many as four members of the family were bishops of Spoleto during the sixteenth century). This pieve has always had a particular importance in the area, which continued as it transformed from a country pieve into a suburban parish in Rifredi, until recently an important working-class neighborhood with many factories, starting with the Officine Galileo precisely in Chiasso Macerelli.

To get an idea of this long history, I think the brief description by Alberto Andreoni on the website of the same parish is sufficient. [note 1] Before industrialization, the area was especially famous for its country villas. The panorama of the time is difficult to imagine today, but the nearby and much more famous Villa di Careggi was similarly at the center of agricultural estates belonging to the Medici family for centuries and only recently habitually welcomed writers and philosophers. In connection with the
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1. https://www.pieverifredi.it/storia_arte.php


2
Villa Medici in Careggi, there were other villas of rich Florentines who, like the Tornabuoni, also gravitated culturally around the artistic and literary environment of the Medici.

Some information on the history of the villa in question, then Villa Lemmi, can also be found on Wikipedia, [note 2] and detailed information is collected in several books; note 3 to see some of the frescoes from Tornabuoni times involved here - found in the 19th century - you have to go to the Louvre. 
 

Villa Tornabuoni Lemmi from Via Incontri (2024)

 

Church of Santo Stefano in Pane (2024)

The inventory of household goods in the villa (purchased in 1469) was compiled on 4 January 1498; I have reproduced the page in question and transcribed the elements of interest.
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2. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Lemmi
3. For example: Villa Tornabuoni-Lemmi di Careggi. Rome 1988 

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ASFi, Magistracy of Minors prior to the Principality, 181, f. 141v (Reproduction prohibited)

In the bed-chamber of the section above said room

One piata [pietà] and one small tabernacle [Typically the container for consecrated hosts on the (church) altar, but could also be a setting for religious images at home]
1 wooden bed frame with walnut cornices and inlay, 4 arm-lengths with supports and cane
1 raw mattress [two sheets sewn together, with stuffing] in two pieces
1 side mattress with old wool
1 striped quilt [choltricie] vergata [?], good, of feathers
2 primacci [large pillows or small quilts] of said bed, weight s. 4
1 pair of used 4-piece sheets
1 thick quilt [coltrone] with cottonwool, good
1 white quilt [choltra] with more work, good
2 good bed pillows
1 set of curtains with hangings around [the bed] as a pavilion
1 covered small bed antique-style of walnut of about 5 arm-lengths with chappellinaio [“hatrack” on wall, thus suitable for various items of clothing]
1 side [?] mattress with green wool cloth [weaving?]
2 pillows, of tapestry and leather
1 pair of pillows for small bed
1 used Parisian-style blanket for small bed, used

4

1 large bed towel
2 chests with 4 fasteners around said bed and in the 1st
1 chalice with enameled silver cup
1 missal in form and 1 piece of press [iron or other pressing device]
1 silver and bone pacie [“peace” tablet kissed during the mass]
1 brocaded altar front with 2 cloths
1 chasuble [liturgical vestment], brocaded
1 embroidered red velvet surplice
1 stole of blue velvet, amice [liturgical garment worn at the neck], and brocaded manipola [or manipolo, strap around the wrist, descending one or two hand-lengths]
1 surplice, used, and 1 amice, used
1 small bell and 2 brass chandeliers
1 book of triumphs of Petrarch

At f. 144r, after the household goods, the land and house possessions in the area are listed and the second inventory relating to the other country property begins.

3. San Michele in Castello

Following is the inventory of the villa of the Brache located in the parish of Santo Michele in Castello, a place known as le brache, made on 6 January 1497 [1498 in the current system] by the hands of Bernardo Ughuccioni first and Francescho a Careggi.

If the Careggi area could be considered a countryside suitable for holidays, that of Castello, further away from the walls of Florence in the same direction, was perhaps even more so, and numerous villas built in the area over the centuries on the low slopes in the foothills of Monte Morello remain as evidence, among which the famous Medici Villas of Castello and Petraia excel.

As usual, the inventory of household goods refers only to the villa, where the Tornabuoni family holidayed. 

 ASFi, Magistracy of Minors prior to the Principality, 181, f. 145v. Detail (Reproduction prohibited)

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In Giovanni's room

1 Our lady, painted in gesso
1 Saint Jerome painting
1. Simple bed frame attached to the small bed and chest and chappellinaio [“hatrack” on wall, also suitable to hang other clothing items]
1 raw mattress [?] of 2 pieces with sticks
1 rough fabric mattress with chapecchio [extra thickness at head end?]
2 rough fabric mattresses and 1 with blue fabric with wool
1 mattress of dense cotton or wool fabric full of cotton wool
1 primaccio [large pillow or small quilt] with Lombard filling
3 cotton heavy quilts [choltroni] used on said bed
1 rough fabric mattress with wool
1 Parisian-style quilt [choltre], used on said bed
1cottonwool quilt, used, for small bed
1 pillow of tapestry and leather used
1 platform pierced for invalids
1 chest with 2 fasteners, in antique style
1 simple panel of 3 arm-lengths with trestles
1 dining table at 4 feet by 2 arm-lengths and 1 window covering
1 used walnut table
2 books covered in red in form of Guido's [probably referring to Livy's] decades and petrarcha's trionfi
1 pair of andirons of l. 32
1 dustpan 1 pair of tongs and 1 fork

After the inventory of household goods, f. 146r briefly lists the farms, workers' houses, and cultivated land that the family-owned locally.

4. The big house

In a rather unusual order, starting from c. 146v, after the inventories of the household goods in the two Tornabuoni country houses, we find the last inventory of this kind, relating to the stately home of the city, the Palazzo Tornabuoni, which still exists near the Palazzo Strozzi, despite renovations repeated over the centuries and with massive reconstructions on the occasion of Florence as capital [of Italy].

A large house with its vaults and courtyard rooms and bedchambers and other homes and apartments located in the parish of Santo Branchazio of Florence and in via de beglisporti.

Two other houses are also listed, one adjacent, the other also nearby, in Via dei Ferravecchi. I have not seen the date of this inventory, but it cannot be far from the previous ones.

The inventory occupies eight pages written in two columns and therefore highlights the abundance of objects, as could be expected from the family's well-known wealth. Somewhat surprisingly, we find very few books listed. Of gaming objects we only find a chessboard; that there are no playing cards or triumphs present corresponds to the general situation, such that they are only recorded in extremely rare cases. Instead, some musical instruments appear.

In the ground floor room in the entrance hall: 1 viola with bow, 2 zufoli [early flutes or recorders?] to play, and 1 chessboard. a bone horn with works. In the chamber of the golden ceiling: 1 large harp for playing.

This inventory ends on f. 150r.

5. Comments and conclusion

The reason why I have reported this information does not directly concern playing cards or triumphs, but "only" the books of Francesco Petrarch's Trionfi. We are now at the end of the fifteenth century, and finding these books in the homes of ancient Florentine families cannot be a surprise. But there are some open questions about it.


6
An initial question is whether there could have been printed books or manuscripts. If it had been a list of new or very recently produced objects, the choice would plausibly go towards the press, but no one can certify that these books had not been preserved as they were in the family for decades. Incidentally, I don't know of a printed book that contains both the Deche and the Trionfi, but I don't have enough experience in this regard. Personally, however, I am inclined, at least in this case, towards a manuscript, also on the basis of the book's binding.

Perhaps more significant is trying to understand the relevance of these two books for the personages of the Tornabuoni family. We know from other sources that there was a rich library in the family. Here we can only glimpse something of the kind when we read that: "In the study of the country house of Santo Stefano in Pane, there are 30 volumes of Latin and Vernacular books, unfortunately not better identified.

Instead, the Trionfi have a unique and prominent role. An example is present in both villas, and it is as if it had taken the place of a book of the Gospels, or of Dante. Ultimately, it is this unexpected role that gives all the information particular importance.

Florence, 07.28.2024