Introduction

 Last modified Nov. 2, 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. 

•  Information from inventory and other account records in Tuscany (14 entries)
  

Sept. 30, 2024: Florence 1636 and 1637 - Gambling Accounts of Grand Duke Ferdinand II, originally Firenze 1636 e 1637 - Conti di gioco del granduca Ferdinando II (30.09.2024). Found by Franco in the vast Medicea Miscellany, a series of balance sheets, transcribed verbatim (and translated the same way), show  considerable sums being spent, but are they by the Grand Duke or others'?

Aug. 28, 2024: The Countess's embroidered trionfi. Originally  1505 - Trionfi ricamati della contessa (28.08.2024). An instance of "a pack of trionfi, embroidered, on parchment" in a 1505 inventory of the possessions of Ginevra Pico, daughter of Antonio Pico, granddaughter of Ginevra Sforza and Julia Boiardo. great-granddaughter of Alessandro Sforza.

Aug. 25, 2024. Florence 1430: Naibi found again. Originally Firenze 1430: naibi ritrovati (25.08.2024). An instance of "naibi" (early name for playing cards) in successive inventories, with comments on why such entries are so rare.

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)

• 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 academies, literati, entertainers, poets, educators (15 entries)  
  

Oct. 20, 2024: Noto 1737 - geography with tarocchi and other games. Originally Noto 1737 – geografia con tarocchi e altri giochi (21.10.2024). Franco reports a proposal for educational card and board games that the authors think will be more effectivethan previous  ones, which would have made some students "inauseated to the point of vomiting."  Meanwhile, we learn about card decks used in 1837 Sicily.

 

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 hohe 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 (7 entries)
  

 Oct. 2, 2024. 1785 and 1786 - Sale of playing cards in Tuscany, originally 1785 e 1786 - Vendita di carte da gioco in Toscana. This is from records of the Playing Cards Tax Stamp Company, a division of the grand-ducal administration, showing types of decks received by the Administration, how many of each, and where and how many sold, in various locales of Tuscany outside of Florence as well as their Florentine producers.

"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."

Oct. 20, 2024: Noto 1737 - geography with tarocchi and other games

This is a translation of Franco's "Noto 1737 – geografia con tarocchi e altri gioch," dated Oct. 20, 2024, at https://naibi.net/A/8-35-NOTO1737.pdf, done with Franco's help.

Here Franco reports on a publication of 1737 Sicily proposing card and board games of a new type in the category of educational card games. Other decks - we may think of the one in Bologna of 1725 - simply put information on the cards, as though students would actually read it while playing, as opposed to focusing on the game. The games now proposed, on the contrary, incorporated the learning into the game. The cards themselves, at least for the most part, would have the ranks the cards were usually had (in the case of the numbered tarocchi, just numbers, in the case of the court cards, a few interesting ones) as well as the new geographical or historical titles, which governed how points would accrue. The games themselves were nothing like the standard card games with those decks. All the same, we get information about the composition of those decks at that time and place.

 

Comments in brackets are mine, after consultation with Franco, for clarification purposes. Numbers by themselves in the left margins are page numbers of Franco's online pdf. Footnotes can be found at the bottom of these pages.


Noto 1737 – geography with tarocchi and other games

Frank Pratesi

1. Introduction

Michael Dummett made a decisive contribution, as usual, to the history of tarocchi in Sicily; [note 1] useful up-to-date information can also be obtained from a recent exhibition. [note 2] The oldest information dates back to the seventeenth century, but is based on rather uncertain sources. The first reliable testimony seems to be from 1736. In this study I present a book from the following year in which, among other things, the Sicilian tarocchi is presented in a form designed for the education of students.

The setting is that of the Accademia dei Trasformati [Academy of the Transformed] of Noto, in the province of Syracuse, active with literary and philosophical discussions from the second half of the seventeenth century until 1872. The seat of the academy was in the Convent of San Domenico and the building, very central, is still used, [now] as the seat of the Matteo Raeli Institute of Higher Education.

The book I propose to illustrate is quite rare, and seems to have escaped the research of experts on the history of tarocchi and other typical Sicilian games. I will focus more on the two versions of newly invented playing cards.

2. The book [note 3]

The book in question is listed in the OPAC SBN catalogue; [note 4] there would seem to be four copies: in Bologna, Milan, Rome and Trapani; however, in the catalogue of the Biblioteca Regionale Siciliana appear four other copies, two in Palermo and two in Messina. I have not found any indications of copies abroad. In short, a rare book, but not extremely rare.

We can begin the examination with the title: Study in league with play to introduce less eager young people to the sciences, a thought outlined in geography, and indicated in other subjects, by two academicians of the Trasformati of the city of Noto, approved and published by the priest d. [don=father] Giuseppe Serrentino, bidello [usually meaning "janitor"] of the same academy . . . It cannot be said that it is a concise title, and yet it already presents some problems in reading.

The author claims to present the results of an activity of the academy of which he was only a careful observer and annotator. And in fact, starting from the well-known Bibliografia siciliana,[note 5] it seems that the one indicated as author is, of the two academy protagonists, the one who was notoriously devoted to geography, and this attribution is again maintained in the OPAC SBN catalogue: Authors: Francesco Landolina Rao (Author), Giuseppe Serrentino; Trento, Simone (Publisher).

It may also seem strange that the priest who published the book describes himself as the bidello [janitor, usually] of the academy, almost boasting about the position, but for that particular meaning of the term the Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana helps us, referring us to the Notes to Malmantile.

2-49: Bidello, donzello [attendant] or servant of a university or academy. And this name of Bidello probably comes from Betulla [Birch], which is that tree from which the rods for the fasces [bundles] were made, which in ancient times the lictors carried before the Magistrates, and from this carrying of the bundles of birch rods then came the name of bidello for such servants of the University, who act as lictors, ...they still carry a large silver

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1. M. Dummett, The Game of Tarot, London 1980; M. Dummett, Il Mondo e l’angelo, Naples 1993; M. Dummett, J. McLeod, A History of Games Played with the Tarot Pack, Lewiston 2004.
2. S. Bonaccorsi, E. Maggio, Il Mondo in Mano, Catania 2019.
3. F. Landolina Rao, G. Serrentino, Lo studio in lega col giuoco . . . , Catania 1737. https://www.google.it/books/edition/Lo_ ... frontcover
4. https://opac.sbn.it/it/web/opacsbn/risu ... 9436872436
5. G.M. Mira, Bibliografia siciliana, Vol. 1, Palermo 1875. On p. 502.


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mace, signifying the ancient fasces, when they go to public functions, before the College of Doctors.

 

Inside, we initially find five unnumbered pages with the dedication To Sig. D. [Don, now an honorific] Michele Bonanno e Landolina of the Princes of Linguagrossa [a territory on the north side of Mt. Etna, built on a “great tongue” of lava], dated Noto 12 August 1737, followed by four pages with the significant introduction To the Readers, which insists in particular on a delicate point: it was not possible to insert in the book the appropriate plates with the figures of the proposed cards. It would have been only six large plates reproduced from copper engravings, and a couple of decks of playing cards of new design, but from Noto it was possible to find the typography in Catania only to print the book, and not, however, the desired engravings.

In this regard, on the second page of this part we read, among other things, the following.

You will raise a difficulty with me, kind Readers: that with this little book, which I have taken care to publish, there should be attached six geographical Tables, drawn according

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to the intention of the two Academicians. I confess that you have every right to do so; nor can I otherwise satisfy you, than by imploring your kindness to excuse me, and in the meantime, so as not to render useless a Work of such value, to give you the way to obtain them. Whoever is born in a country restricted and besieged by misfortunes, if he does not have the convenience of leaving it, must be considered a prisoner, and must daily sacrifice many desires to the God of malignant Fortune. As much as ways have been considered and attempted, it has not been possible to find the way to engrave the plates, to make the Tables sought by you to run commercially; and let this be enough to excuse the defect. However, even if a way were found, or if there were some generous Prince who would take charge of it for the public good, I would undertake to obtain the exact drawings, according to the will of the Authors.

Let us hope that this is only the “restrictiveness” of three centuries ago! The Tables in question are six: Europe in general; Europe in provinces; Germany in particular; Italy in particular; two Coasts.

Following is a page dedicated To the Critics, which highlights the pioneering nature of the work, which implies the possibility of future improvements.

After these premises, the numbered pages begin with the six-page Introduction, which explains how the member Volgare of the Accademia dei Trasformati of Noto had the idea of using the habit of the students to play cards to introduce special cards with teachings in various subjects and in particular geography. The idea was then realized with the help of another academy member, the Taciturn, "as well informed in Geography." In the book, there are then more dialogs between the two members, within the usual discussions of the academy. The specific treatment then develops with various "lectures," of which I maintain the order.

First Lecture. Preparations for the assumption. p. 7
Once it is decided to dedicate oneself to geography, there are many questions to discuss about how to divide Europe so that each card then reasonably represents one of its parts. First, twenty Kingdoms and sixteen Seas are identified, postponing Islands and Rivers. The Lecture ends with Description of the instrument for transforming figures, a lesson on the pantograph [instrument for copying a drawing or plan to a different scale] and its use.

II. Lecture. Various preliminary speeches; and the game of Winds is proposed. p. 13
In the initial discussion, the fact that similar works had already been produced is commented on, but it is specified that only in the present case does one go beyond a simple exposition of scholastic notions in the form of images, presenting the figures as objects to be used in various types of pastimes.

If you allow me to say something about your Idea, I could well remind you that teaching Geography, and even History by way of a game, was invented before you by Cardinal Mazarin, and it is not long since I saw certain French sheets, which by way of dice or cards teach military fortification, Chronology, Geometry, and even the Art of making love. I do not therefore want to push you away from your thought, which either by new material or by new method will bring some benefit, more than those after all very beautiful inventions have brought. (p. 15)
To put it briefly: they do nothing but present a book split up into sheets, in order to give drink to those who delight in swallowing it sip by sip; but with those who are nauseated to the point of vomiting, they bring no profit. There they play with numbers, and those who have little thought of learning neglect the written words [the text on the card]. Our Idea, if, after all, it succeeds according to our wishes, is to make it so that Children fond of playing games, coming with no other thought but to pass the time, find themselves in some way roughly informed without realizing it, just like someone sleeping or reading on a large ship, who when he least thinks of it finds himself at the mouth of the port. (p. 16)

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The proposed game of winds consists of drawing a circle with 32 houses and an arrow placed in the center to be spun with various prizes (in hazelnuts), depending on the house the arrow reaches. Alternatively, a scheme similar to that of morris could be used for this purpose. (In short, these are preliminary games, while they prepare to fill in the map of Europe with its subdivisions.)

III Lecture. Europe in Kingdoms alone. p. 20
A list of Kingdoms numbered from 1 to 36 and two with the number 0 is compiled, together with a list of Seas numbered from 1 to 16. The game associated with the geographical map is played by rolling two dice, based on the product of the two points obtained.

IV. Lecture. The second part of the Game for another Higher Class follows. p. 26
Playing cards are introduced, corresponding to 20 seas and 22 rivers, and are distributed by allocating prizes in lupin beans. In particular, the rivers take a lupin bean from the kingdom in which they rise and pay one to the sea in which they flow. Finally, it is recognized that the system of cards devised can be considered equivalent to a common deck of playing cards, and, thanks in particular to the inclusion of the 22 rivers, also to a deck of tarocchi cards. The four suits of cups, batons, swords and coins can be indicated with four constellations, namely Cygnus [the Swan], Lyra [the Lyre], Ursa [the Bear], and Corona [the Crown].

The result, on how the tarocchi deck is achieved, is shown in the following table, taken from the book.

 

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Once the tarocchi deck has been formed, one might expect that the proposal would be to play a traditional tarocchi game, with the sole educational advantage of learning geography while playing, but the author instead continues to propose games of winning and losing lupin beans, depending on proximity or not between territories, or similar cases. In short, one can see that the deck of the new game proposed is indeed equivalent to that of the tarocchi, but is used in a completely different way, such as to make one learn geography information still better while playing.

V. Lecture. Europe divided into Provinces, for the Young People already introduced. p. 42
As a step to an advanced stage, it is proposed to include provinces in the game, with each card marked with three names, that of the capital, the province and the kingdom. This leads to a hundred cards from which decks are formed with rules for winning and losing depending on the cards drawn.

VI. Lecture. The same Game continues and then is reduced to Cards. p. 51
Here we see a further step: the kingdoms are divided into provinces and the borders between the kingdoms are taken into account in a more detailed manner, so that the number of cards exceeds one hundred. Then the game proposed in this case becomes one analogous to Stucci [described later], a type of lotto or lottery.

VII. Lecture. Germany divided into Provinces for the Young Introduced. p. 68
Once the mechanism is understood, more advanced variants can be proposed, with further details in the notions of geography to be learned by playing. For Germany, the division into circoli [literally, “circles,” but meaning what Germans now call Länder, “lands”] and electorates presents some difficulty, which is discussed and overcome. The result in a map with 14 "genera" with six provinces each; as before, in parallel with the game on the geographical map table, it is proposed, without going into details, to obtain a deck of 66 cards for other games, more similar to traditional card games.

VIII. Lecture, Italy in Provinces. p. 81
The division of Italy into provinces results in a table divided into four parts (Church, Naples, Venice, Lombardy) and each divided into twelve provinces, therefore 48 in total.

IX. Lecture. Italy reduced to Cards, and we digress to other games. p. 87
 
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From the map of Italy one can easily move on to the corresponding deck of cards, which also in this case becomes similar to a traditional one. The four parts thus correspond to the four suits of cards, but with the new names of Church [i.e. Papal State], Naples, Venice and Lombardy. Furthermore, the deck of cards is extended to include the eight cards with Rivers, to be added to form the tarocchi deck.

A discussion is also opened on the criterion to be adopted for later adding the twenty-two upper cards of the Tarocchi, concluding on the need to provide those essential notions of chronology.

Digression by the fellowship [the academicians]. In which various other very useful Exercises are inserted. p. 99
While preparing the set of twenty-two tarocchi cards, a new discussion opens on other topics. The first is the teaching of calculation, or the abacus, as they used to say. Both mnemonic and instrumental devices are proposed to help with multiplications, including a disk with two numbered circles that provide the product by rotating one with respect to the other. The second is how to teach children to ride using the “movable wooden horse on pulleys” or a modified swing.

The Game of Tarocchi Resumes with the legitimate and usurping Rulers of Italy. p. 106
The twenty-two cards of the tarocchi were meant to help learn chronology, and the result is shown in the table below.

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In addition to the suggestion of the little picture inserted to keep the attention alive, each card contains a short list, in order of date, of characters or events that fall within the era in question, as in the examples in the following figure.

X. Lecture. Sailing along the Mediterranean Sea: First by rowing, then by sail. p. 114
So we come to the latest invention, a new game that is based on rolling dice to advance along one of two paths in a way that, as the author admits, resembles the game of Goose. As usual, the discipline involved is geography and two maps are used as boards on which to advance. Naturally, there are long lists of correspondences between rolls and movements, including stops and going back.

The first board contains maritime provinces and rivers and goes up to number 85 Kingdom of Fez and Morocco ‒ as in Goose, you go back by the excess points if the throw exceeds the goal. You proceed by rolling a single die or, as in Goose, two dice using the sum of the points.

The second board is more extensive and detailed, also containing capes and gulfs. In this case, two dice are rolled and the product of the two points is used. Here we arrive at 129 Tangier. (Curiously, the book digitized by the library of Rome also makes us play the game of Goose, because to read the related group of pages [fascicolo = 8 or 16 pages printed on a larger sheet, then folded and bound], we have to go back to p. 24.)

Conclusion of the Work p. 125
It is recommended never to move on to the next games without having mastered the previous ones, with the exception of the “two cards alone of Germany and Italy.” The proposed games are valid for a number of children greater than that usually found in a family, but expedients can be used such that it becomes possible even for only two children to play. The academy members think they can develop their proposals by extending them to other continents. In particular, a chess game using the two Americas would seem possible.


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3. Information about Tarocchi and other games

The aim of the authors of the book is to replace the games with which students spent their time without educational results with different games, focused on the goal of combining the game with scholastic information.

Now for us the useful path is exactly the opposite: to obtain some information on traditional games from the few references necessarily interspersed in this treatise. Unfortunately, the author states several times that he has never dedicated himself to these games and therefore we must be content with second-hand information on what interests us most: that is, information on the games in vogue in Sicily in the first half of the eighteenth century, for which we currently have very sparse evidence.

The worst part is that, instead, the same author dedicates many pages to the proposal of new games that could be played with cards or with other newly invented objects. It may be that these also reflect the customs of the time and that they would be of some interest to historians of board games or children's games.

As far as this study is concerned, I intend to focus only on the few pieces of information we find on card games. First of all on tarocchi, because for information on these the date of 1737 is very early.

We obtain some interesting information about tarocchi. The first is the confirmation that in Sicily the complete deck of 78 cards was still used, probably corresponding to type I of the IPCS Pattern Sheets [the earlier of their two patterns for “Sicilian Tarot”]. [note 6] Unfortunately, a comparison of the traditional figures with those substituting in this book does not appear promising: trying to find a correspondence of meanings immediately appears to be a useless effort. However, we have confirmation that there were twenty numbered cards, while the Fugitive and Poverty (still with that name, possibly corresponding to a number zero in the tarocchi, the lowest of all) were without a number. A significant detail concerns the names of the court cards of the four suits. While for the King and the Knight there are no alternatives, the remaining two courts have names that do not seem well-defined.

The Jack [or Page: Italian Fante] is always the minor card, but it is sometimes called the Woman [la Donna], and this alternative is known to historians, who generally explain it by the clearly female figures present on the same cards. This is not unusual if the Sicilian tarocchi cards in fact derived from the Florentine ones, possibly through the Genoese variant of ganellini or gallerini. In my opinion (which could be considered simple parochialism), the Florentine derivation of the Sicilian tarocchi is directly confirmed by the “Portuguese” model of those cards ‒ a term that I would willingly translate as “Florentine,” because I do not see any early cultural passage in the direction of Lisbon-Florence.

The newest term, at least to my knowledge, is that of “Count,” attributed to the figure added to the common deck to transform it into a tarocchi deck. It is clear that calling it “Woman” would have confused it with the Jack, but if on the card you see a female figure with a crown, it is not clear why not call it Queen directly, unless she was painted with a beard and mustache. And in fact the author will call her Queen when he returns to the theme a second time.

In addition to tarocchi, there are also other card games, and not only them. The ordinary deck of playing cards is implicitly indicated as being composed of 40 or 48 cards, which corresponds to what we know for the decks used mainly in Italy and Spain respectively.

The first card game we encounter is Ombre, but in this case the author's lack of knowledge is evident. In fact, it is a game with more rules than average, and instead it is cited as a simple game of tricks only, so much so that it is compared with the new cards that would allow not only to count those won but also to assert in some way the proximity and borders of the various countries.

For example: when playing, as they call it, at Ombre, to take into account not who makes the most tricks, but to see who can collect in their tricks the most neighboring lands,

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6. https://i-p-c-s.org/pattern/ps-12.html
  

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or something similar, as they do in that gamble they call Stucci. I, to tell it as I have it, do not want to get involved in finding pacts [agreed-upon rules] on [common] Cards and Tarocchi, which, almost by instinct, since childhood I have held in contempt; therefore, I defer to those who have more talent and less worry. (p. 41)

To find out more about the “gamble” called Stucci, one should perhaps look more closely at Sicilian literature. In Italian, the term stucci has several meanings, extraordinarily different and uncommon, but if you exclude the technical terms in the scientific field, it simply remains astucci [from astuccio, small box, case, pouch]. I looked for information on a compatible use of it and found it . . . in Trieste, not exactly in the immediate vicinity of Noto. I report it in full, in the belief that the Sicilian one was substantially similar, even if probably organized in a slightly simpler way.

1812. In this year the extraction from lottery was introduced in Trieste for the first time. The large hall of the redoubt was designated for this function. At the back of the hall a stage, or flying or removable railing, was erected. Each extraction was presided over by the Intendant of the province of Trieste, the Magistrate appointed by the General Commissioner of Justice, the Commissioner of Police, the General Director of the lottery, and the General Secretary of the Directorate. The latter drew up the minutes and signed them after the officials mentioned above. The extraction was then carried out using two Wheels of fortune placed at the two ends of the long table, in front of which were placed the officials named above. The said wheels were empty and covered with glass in such a way that the motion and the movements made internally by the little boxes [stucci] of cardboard containing the respective numbers could be seen. Into one of these wheels, 90 of the aforementioned little boxes [stucci] of cardboard, uniform in every way, were thrown one by one by a child, after being weighed in the presence of the public. These little boxes [stucci], after being shaken vigorously, the wheel moving around with several turns and turns again, were withdrawn by the hand of another child, and into each of them was introduced a small square piece of tissue paper with the inscription on both sides of one of the 90 numbers of the lottery, this being shown beforehand each time to the public, and proclaimed aloud by the auctioneer. A third child threw these same boxes [stucci], one by one, into the second wheel, in which they were again mixed with great turns and turns again after the introduction of every ten boxes [stucci]. A fourth child, with his eyes blindfolded and a gloved hand, then extracted a box [uno astuccio], which was opened by the President; he extracted the sheet enclosed within, unfolded it, read the number written on it, and proclaimed it to be the first number drawn; and the crier repeated the number in a loud and intelligible voice, showing the piece of paper to the public. The extraction of the four other numbers was repeated with the same formality, after several turns and turns again of the wheel repeated at each extraction of a number, which was interspersed with a performance from the band of the national militia. [note 7]

For other games, we are more fortunate, because in the dialogs between academy members that the author reports, there are also requests for information about them, with some answers. Generally speaking, what we read falls within the general framework that is quite well known, but some names and details are of considerable interest.

Continuing to read, after the quote from Ombre, one comes across the game of Gabella [Excise tax], which only with lupin beans in play, as here, would seem suitable for young students.

I do not know the game of Gabella [Excise Tax], resumed the Vulgar, please explain it to me with the example of ordinary Cards, and then we will do it your way, my dear Sig. Taciturn. And he: Let two urns be deposited, placed empty at the beginning: one is for the common lot, the other is for the Excise-man; Then the game is announced in the form of an auction, until the Ace of Cups comes out, for example, or another card chosen before the announcement, which serves as a substitute for the [more usual] extinction of the candle. And finally, the contract will be awarded to whoever offers the most, e.g. to Tizio for 80 lupin beans. So Tizio the Contractor, or we want to say Excise-man, takes the cards in his hand, offers one to each Player; then the First Player will ask the Excise-man for three, four, or five cards, as many as he likes, and deposits in the urn of the common lot

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7. G. Mainati, Croniche ossia memorie sacro-profane di Trieste, Tomo Sesto, Venice, 1818, pp. 76-77; https://www.google.it/books/edition/Cro ... frontcover
  

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as many lupins as he wants of cards. With these new cards that he buys, and with the one he had, he draws to make 31. And if he is lucky enough to do it right, he will win what is found in the urn of the common lot, and will demand the 80 lupins offered for the Contract by the Excise-man, and thus the game will end. But if he makes a number greater than 31 or less than 24, he will pay the Excise-man as many lupins as the points he is away. If the entire round of Players finishes without making 31, the one with the best [highest] point between 24 and 31 will take the Deposit of the common Lot. And the game continues another time, until 31 is made to take the 80 lupins of the Contract. This is a commonly known Rubric. (p. 65)

Definitely more interesting and suitable is the game of Calabrache, which is a fairly well-known precursor of Scopa and had already been mentioned in Aretino’s Le Carte parlanti, and also the variant of Smidollarsi (never found before, not only the name, but the variant itself).

In the game of Calabrache it is usually arranged that with a seven I can take from the cards another 7 exposed, and in lack, I can take a 4 and a 3 etc. Now wouldn't a similar game be better, which is called Smidollarsi [usual meaning: to lose one’s strength]? This goes with the same conditions as Calabrache, if differing only in that one does not take the same number but a bordering one, for example; with a 7 one takes either the Queen or the 6; with a 5 one takes the 6 or the 4; with the Ace one takes either the 2 or the King. We will now say that finding myself with the card of the Swiss in my hand, for example, without regard to the number I can take either Lombardy, or Burgundy, or Alsace, or Swabia, or Austria, and so on, that is, one of the Provinces bordering the same Swiss. (p. 67)

As can be read, one can learn a completely forgotten game here (A smidollarsi [usual meaning: to lose one’s strength]). A significant detail is also the value of 8 assigned to the Queen. If the term “Woman” [Donna] had been used as a synonym for Queen, in the manner of chess, it could have indicated a lack of acceptance for the card with the value 9, the most common in other regions (but on this ranking of the two lower court cards there are variations even today, even from one Tuscan city to another), but here there is no deviation and no error: the Queen was not present in the deck with Italian suits, and this Queen was the Jack, even in the common deck.

In the next attempt to use the playing cards, up to including all 78 tarocchi cards, the subdivision is different from the first, because while the first was based on the number of 40 cards of the common deck, the second adopts that of 48, reasonably hinting at the fact that with that it would certainly not be difficult to choose to play using only the 40 necessary for the game in question.

4. Conclusion

A Sicilian book from 1737 was presented in which are reported the attempts of two members of the Accademia dei Trasformati of Noto (Syracuse [province]) to replace the traditional games of the students with newly invented games in which elementary and then advanced notions of geography are administered. The aim is to teach geography (but other possible subjects are also mentioned) while the students are playing. For us this attempt is interesting in itself, and even more so for the information on tarocchi and other traditional games that are interspersed in the description. For the tarocchi, the most significant data is the date of the book, because it is one of the first testimonies on Sicilian tarocchi.

Florence, 21.10.2024