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Here is a translation of the last of the four most recently posted notes of Franco's, this one of "1498 – Trionfi, libri dei Tornabuoni," posted at https://www.naibi.net/A/TORNABUONI.pdf on July 28, 2024. Comments in 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 No. 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 Florentine young 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 as one 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


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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.
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Villa Tornabuoni Lemmi from Via Incontri (2024)
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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

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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

There follows 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.
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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.


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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

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mikeh wrote: 10 Aug 2024, 21:01 I thought that Poggio's commentary was only on the Triumph of Fame, and that the 1473 commentary was anonymous. At least that is what D. D. Carnicelli said in Romance Philology, Vol. 23, No. 1 (August 1969), pp. 57-64. Of course that was a while back. I queried Franco on both of these, but he is not able to give any further clarification.
Indeed, my "consensus" is too strong. He has been suggested as the author, though. The University of Manchester page on the book says "probably":
"The Triumphi with commentary, attributed to Franciscus Philelphus in the colophon but probably that of Jacopo di Poggio (Bracciolini). Printed by Andreas Portilia in Parma, dated 1473."
https://www.digitalcollections.manchest ... -18977/250

Sonia Maura Barillari, «La “coppia d’Arimino” fra il Triumphus cupidinis e il Purgatorio di san Patrizio. (Una ballata per Viola Novella dal codice Magliabechiano VII, 1078)» in Paolo Canettieri and Arianna Punzi, eds., Dai pochi ai molti. Studi in onore di Roberto Antonelli, Rome, 2014, pp. 89-114; see page 95 note 29:
Fra le attribuzioni proposte per il Commento Portilia vi è anche quella a Jacopo di Poggio Bracciolini. Per ulteriori approfondimenti rinvio a C. Bianca, "Filelfo, Petrarca et alii: ipotesi per un commento ai Trioni," in «quaderni petrarcheschi», 7 (1990), pp. 217-229.
https://www.academia.edu/7001507/_La_co ... _VII_1078_

I haven't been able to see Concetta Bianca's paper in order to learn about the arguments given for and against Iacopo's authorship.

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While I haven't found a downloadable copy of the 1473 Portilia text yet, there is something better, a critical edition (because using the manuscripts upon which the 1473 printing is partly based):

Sandra Rizzardi, Il commento "Portilia" ai Trionfi di F. Petrarca (edizione critica), thesis at the Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, 2004.

Text downloadable from the link which says "View/Open" at the bottom of this page:
http://dspace.unive.it/handle/10579/319

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I can't find Bianchi online either. However, the PhD dissertation you found has some useful comments in the introduction. My translation follows these png files. Comments in brackets are my translations of the Latin (a language I don't really know!). Poggio isn't mentioned, and instead two other suggestions, both of whom seem credible, especially the first, and who do have some connection to Filelfo, for whom, at least the name, has some basis in the text. Here is the relevant section, pp. XXVIII-XXX of Rizzardi's introduction.
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XXVIII
...
§ 5. The problem of the authorship of the commentary.
Finally, a few words on the problem of the authorship of the commentary, not yet resolved but close to a solution at least as regards the estensore (as S calls him) of the commentary, i.e. the second redactor and reviser of the archaic glosses. The attribution to Francesco Filelfo is found in manuscripts P and H, and can be deduced from the final couplets of the incunabulum S (and of the ms suo descriptus Co), a sort of farewell addressed to the reader, where however only the surname is mentioned ( ... perlege: Philelphi nam commentario... [...read through: Philelphus for the commentary...]), which could also make you think of his son Gian Mario Filelfo; all the other witnesses are adespoti [nameless], even the most authoritative among them, such as Ash, T, for the complete comment, and Pv for the partial one. This gives rise to the possibility that the certain attribution of manuscripts P and H originates in some way from the same misunderstanding that the couplets can generate (an antigraph with only the surname Filelfo?). Secondly, as we see in Concetta Bianca's study 25, several times

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Francesco Filelfo, questioned by friends about his alleged commentary on the Trionfi, flatly denied having ever written one. Ultimately, in the first part of the commentary there seems to be a serious error (as Allenspach 22 also observes), which Filelfo would never have made (and we are referring to the first part, because the crudeness of the second excludes a priori any Filelfian revision): see at comment to Tr. C. IV, vv 22-24, Ash 47r:
L'uno era Ovidio, l'altro era Catullo / L'altro Propertio che d'amor cantavo / fervidamente. L'altro era Tibullo. Ovidio fu da Sulmona. Catullo di Verona. Gli altri appresso furono greci. Tutti questi quano compuosero libri de amore come dice lo testo.

One was Ovid, another was Catullo / Another Propertio that sang of love / fervently. Another was Tibullo. Ovid was from Sulmona. Catullus of Verona. The others after were Greeks. All these four composed books of love as the text says.
In any case, the error seems to be reduced a bit if we compare this gloss with another very similar one, from which we understand how these "archaic" notations could only have been made by the first closatore: see, in the comment of Tr. F. III, v 90, Ash 265v:
Seneca fu il più morale uomo che avesse Grecia, overo Italia nel tempo suo, fu preceptore di Claudio Nerone, fu amicissimo dello apostolo Paulo.

Seneca was the most moral man in Greece, or Italy in his time, he was preceptor of Claudius Nero, he was a very close friend of the apostle Paul.
As regards the attribution to Giovan Mario Filelfo, there is only one certain piece of data, introduced by Dionisotti 23, which however still needs to be analyzed: around 1471 Giovan Mario compiled a list of his works composed up until then in a Latin elegy to Bartolomeo Girardino, where he recalls one of his Petrarchan comments "tightened by a more serious knot than his father's," probably meaning his comment on the Trionfi after that of Filelfo on the RVF: Francisci numeros nodo graviore Petrarcae adstrictos prosa sedulus explicui [Franciscus's numbers tied by Petrarch's heavier knot I elaborated in prose].

Dionisotti also has suggested, however indirectly, another candidate for the authorship of the commentary, where, describing the ms Forster Request 436 (formerly 48.D.28) of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, evidence of a commentary on the Canzoniere by Francesco Patrizi and an unknown partial commentary on the Trionfi (which stops at the Tr. Famae la), assigns this also with strong probability to Patrizi 25. Concetta Bianca foreshadows the possibility that this same commentary is that of the "pseudo-Filelfo," at the same time suggesting with Belloni to compare the London manuscript with Marciano R. IX 227 (=6888), which also contains a commentary on the Trionfi 26.

In addition to these elements, the significant diffusion of the pseudo-Filelfian commentary in Neapolitan (4 mss out of 15 are by a Neapolitan copyist, excluding the incunabulum and the descriptus of this) now directs the research in the direction of the Sienese Francesco Patrizi (born in 1413, pupil of Filelfo in Siena), bishop of Gaeta and humanist, protected by the Duke of Calabria, former commentator of the RVF (the fact that many manuscripts are written in Neapolitan does not mean that the original was in this language, it was enough that the Sienese Patrizi was surrounded by Neapolitan copyists; after all, T and P, which are Neapolitan, are almost copies of each other, but are less close to the original than Ash). Also remember the precision with which the Neapolitan area and the southern Pontine is described in some glosses
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22 ALLENSPACH 1993, 293.
23 DIONISOTTI 87-88.
24 C. BIANCA 1990, 222; see the eulogy in L. AGOSTINELLI and G. BENADUCCI, Biografia e bibliografia di Giovan Mario Filelfo, Tolentino 1899, 31-34.
25 DIONISOTTI 92-93. See also N. MANN, 331-332, who refers to Dionisotti.
26 G. BELLONI, "Manoscritti veneziani e prime stampe venete," in Ateneo Veneto, n.s., XXI (1983), 42-43; C. BIANCA 1990, 223.

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(at Tr . P., 163-168; cf. Ash, f. 64v), requires that the commentator has at least stayed in these southern areas.
My tentative conclusion is that the Tornabuoni were well enough connected with the literati of Florence that, he would not have bothered buying it, since it would quickly have been an object of ridicule. Carnicelli, in the article I cited previously, p. 58, says of the anonymous 1473 commentary that it "was so bad and so incomplete that it was never reprinted." Illicino's was an immediate success. He seems to have been living in Siena at the time: Treccani traces him there in 1474 as his last known residence. [Added later in day: The statement about Tibullus and Propertius being Greek is, or was originally, perhaps only to say that they wrote in a Greek elegaic manner. See dissertation p. 220. I do not know what to make of the statement about Seneca.]

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This is a translation of "Firenze 1430: naibi ritrovati," at https://www.naibi.net/A/CHARLO.pdf, posted there Aug. 25, 2024. Comments in brackets are mine for clarification purposes after consulting with Franco. Numbers by themselves on the left margin are the page numbers of Franco's pdf. This short note, besides documenting the presence of naibi (as the earliest playing cards in Italy were called), also offers some insight about the scarcity of such records.

Florence 1430: Naibi found again

Franco Pratesi

1. Introduction

My research on the Magistracy of Minors prior to the Principality section has been characterized by a long reading of lists of inventories of household goods forming part of inheritances. Each manuscript is much thicker than average in size and there are always thousands of items listed. The effort required is evident. There was, however, a singular case in which even the search for the manuscript was laborious: No. 164, Sample of inventories and revised accounts for the quarters of Santo Spirito and Santa Croce: 1 Oct. 1429 - 20 Mar. 1430/1, 239 ff.

This member of the series was listed as unavailable for consultation because it was being restored. After checking for months to see if it had finally returned to the library, I decided to ask about it, suspecting some error in the digital cataloging systems. In fact, I was informed almost immediately that the manuscript was in fact back on site and would be available for a future request, as they had currently included it among the manuscripts available for online requests.

The story does not end here, because in the meantime the reservation system for access to the reading room had changed, and the new national system of requests was based on an inventory taken directly from the local one of some time before, which means that in the national system, No. 164 was still not available for reading in the room and therefore not bookable. Somehow, the archivist on duty in the reading room then managed to make the program understand that I was entitled to the consultation, and so the story of the search for the manuscript ended.

Once we had the long-awaited object in our hands, the real search inside it began, which ended with the identification of only one pack of naibi. Let's be clear, given the rarity of finds of this kind in the whole series of these manuscripts, one example would already have been no small thing. What makes this find special, however, is the fact that I had already encountered these same naibi as ”naibi tristi” [worn-out naibi] in a previous register, and I had reported them together with others for sale in San Giovanni Valdarno. [note 1]

The first inventory was from the year 1424; this one is from the year 1430, so we can check if something had changed in the meantime and benefit from a better reading of some names.

2. New data and comparison with that previously

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ASFi, Magistracy of Minors prior to the Principality, No. 164, f. 217r – detail
(Reproduction prohibited)
The attachment Charlo1b.png is no longer available

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1. https://www.naibi.net/A/NAIBBI.pdf

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Report done by me, Carlo di Ser Tomaso Aldobrandi, Accountant of the Officials of the Minors of the quarters of Santo Spirito and Santa Croce, to whom this Inheritance of Carlo di [son of] Matteo dello [son of] Scielto and under their government and of the substance with the above written the twenty-first day of August 1430 and of the balance made by the custodian, that is, Giovanni di [son of] Matteo dello [son of] Scielto, from the twenty-first of June 1429 up to the twenty-first of August 1430, that is

The following are the remaining persons of said Inheritance:
Scielto di [son of] Carlo, age in years xii
Alessandro di [son of] Carlo age in years around xiii
Caterina di [daughter of] Carlo age in years xiii
They have in the present catasto [tax assessment] L vi s 1 d 5
There follow eight inventory pages of household goods, one and a half of real estate, and finally a list of debtors. Unlike the majority of cases, here the items (possibly grouped) have associated [with them] the corresponding value. The group of objects of interest to us, valued at ten soldi in total, is the following: iii Jars, ii Candle holders, ii Wooden salt cellars, 1 Wooden ink pot, ii Earthen bowls, 1 Pack [paio = pair] of naibi, 1 Iron ladle.

The main real estate assets were two farms with houses and other properties, one in Val Marina and one in Monte San Savino. In this case, it was clearly not a rich Florentine family of merchants with houses and land in the countryside: this was a family that based its income on agricultural work; like most of these country families, it did not yet have a surname. Among other things, this can provide us with a further useful detail to define the context for the use of naibi, the only item in the inventory of specific interest to us.

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ASFi, Magistracy of Minors prior to the Principality, N. 164, c. 220r - detail
(Reproduction prohibited)
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It is useful to compare what was found in 1430 with the corresponding elements recorded six years prior: the following table shows the comparison of the entries in the two inventories.

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The first list includes 15 objects of ten different types; the second, 12 of seven types; the entire group is valued at 10 soldi in both cases. I do not believe that at the time we can speak of a devaluation of the lira capable of compensating for the decrease in the goods, while it seems plausible that the group of objects maintained more or less the same value even if missing three elements.

4. Comments and conclusion

An important consideration is that this is still a presumed value for objects put up for sale. This is significant because the value no longer depends directly on that of the new product: there may be objects that even after prolonged use maintain their value almost unchanged and are widely requested by the public, while there may be others that were originally very expensive but with a value reduced to almost zero even after limited use.

The previous consideration is particularly relevant for playing cards in general, and here in particular for naibi. What can be the value of a used pack of cards in general? They are not objects that can be used for several different purposes: they are only used for playing, but in order to be used, it is not necessary that the pack of cards was originally of superior quality; what is required is that all the cards in the deck are still present and that each one is still of sufficient quality, without obvious signs of wear, such as creases or worse, tears. Not even one card in the deck, if covered, should be easily recognizable from the others. Statistically, it took very little to reduce a deck of new cards to an object absolutely worthless, at least in the sense that no one would decide to buy it.

It also seems significant to me that we find these naibi, which had already been indicated as worn-out, in a group of objects put up for sale together. It seems probable to me that it is precisely thanks to this grouping that we find the news we were looking for about the naibi present in the house. I imagine that the battered naibi themselves would not even have been listed if they had not been bundled with other objects of little value, so as to constitute a saleable unit

I do not think that one can give importance to the fact that the naibi of the same deck were indicated as worn-out in 1424 and without specifications in 1430; obviously, their quality could not have improved in the meantime. It would have been easier to accept an indication in the opposite sense; but on reflection, any significant variation could not have been expected for objects kept in custody, except in the case of deletions from the list due to sales or other reasons.

A deck of cards with signs of use was not always an object to be thrown away; it could still be used in the family; at most, it could be a memento to be kept anyway, even without being usable for playing; that is, it could have an emotional value, perhaps as a memory of pleasant times gone by. All this did not change the estimate of its current value in relation to the money that could be obtained from


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an upcoming sale, an estimate that could not take into account anything other than the price that someone would decide to pay to purchase it.

Beyond the specific case, I believe that the above can also serve as an explanation for the fact that both the naibi before and the playing cards after, the triumphs in particular, are only very rarely present in the inventories of the [inherited] household goods found in the houses of the heirs.

Florence, 08.25.2024

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This note, a long one, is translated from "1505 - Trionfi ricamati della contessa," https://www.naibi.net/A/GINEVRA.pdf, of Aug. 28, 2024. It concerns a "paio di trionfi," in parchment, as in another inventory Franco discovered recently, viewtopic.php?p=26502#p26502. Parchment was not how cards were made at any time near 1505. Not only that, they are "embroidered"; Franco analyzes that word carefully.

These trionfi, which because of the description appear to be from an earlier time, are in the inventory of a widow with a pedigree of interest - she was the daughter of a Pico and granddaughter, on different sides, of a Boiardo and a Sforza, the latter the daughter of Alessandro Sforza. Franco spells out the ancestry, but I found a "family tree" that may be clearer, from https://gw.geneanet.org/frebault?lang=e ... &p=ginevra. It is missing Ginevra Pico's date of death, 1511. The webpage also has information about Ginevra Pico's daughter Constanza and her progeny, which Franco also talks about. In the family tree below, "Bojardo" is of course "Boiardo," best known for Matteo Maria Boiardo (1441-1494), author of Orlando Inamorato and a famous "tarocchi poem" with 22 triumphal figures and 4 allegorical suits. And the usual spelling of her mother's name is "Costanza Bentivoglio." The Bentivoglios have their own connection to the tarocchi, in a 17th-century painting and deck connecting them with the Fibbia family, an ancestor of which, although dying by 1419, an inscription on the painting says invented the "tarocchini" (perhaps meaning the tarocchi itself). I expect I will have some comments of my own after posting Franco's note, mostly about Ginevra Pico's father's side of her family.

Here is the family tree, and then Franco. As usual, comments in brackets are mine, for clarification, done in consultation with Franco. The little numbers by themselves in the left margin are the page numbers of his pdf.

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1505 - The Countess's Embroidered Trionfi

Franco Pratesi

1. Introduction


I have recently extended my long research in the Magistrato dei Pupilli avanti il Principato [Magistracy of Minors prior to the Principality, i.e. prior to the establishment of the Duchy] section of the State Archives of Florence (ASFi) to the sixteenth century. In this study, I have examined manuscript No. 182 Sample of inventories and revised accounts for the Santo Spirito and Santa Croce districts (1501-1513), Sample 16°.

As for the playing cards, I have identified only one example, but it is of a deck of trionfi, one of superior quality, perhaps comparable to the one inventoried in Poppiano in 1523. [note 1] The main difference between these two decks is that in the present case the inventory, compiled in Florence, does not at all guarantee us a Florentine origin of the trionfi recorded; indeed, many details lead us to seek instead a provenance from other regions.

This deck of cards is of extraordinary interest, especially because of the family names of the relatives and ancestors of the deceased countess, more families that for one reason or another are remembered in all the studies on the first diffusion of the trionfi in Italy. I was able to obtain other information on the family context by reading the will of the same countess, also preserved in the ASFi and reproduced here.

2. Ancestors and relatives


As mentioned, looking through the surnames of the families of the parents, ancestors, and close relatives of the deceased, one encounters many of those most familiar to those studying the origins and initial diffusion of the trionfi. Therefore, I allow myself to extend the examination of these family relationships a little, both in terms of time and place. As for the places, the most relevant are in Emilia, such as Mirandola, Bologna, Ferrara, Scandiano, and a few others.

Florence appears in this research almost by chance, but I will not hesitate to run the risk of overestimating its influence. I will begin then with Cosimo the Elder. (As a parenthesis within a parenthesis, I can admit that his tomb, inside a pillar of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, is one of the very few capable of moving me; much more than the Foscolo-esque urns of the strong [minded] men of scholastic memory.) His involvement with this research is shown in the illustration, taken from the ceiling of the room dedicated entirely to him, on the first floor of Palazzo Vecchio next to the Salone dei Cinquecento.

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Florence, Palazzo Vecchio: Room of Cosimo the Elder, Detail of the ceiling

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1. https://www.naibi.net/A/RIDOLFI.pdf

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The episode depicted concerns an important conversation in 1446 between Cosimo de' Medici and Sante, born in Poppi in 1424 as the presumed natural son of Ercole Bentivoglio, uncle of Annibale I, and raised in Cosimo's Florentine court. On that occasion, Cosimo revealed to Sante his lineage in the Bentivoglio family and urged him to go to Bologna to take over the government of the city, after the killing of Annibale I in one of the usual feuds between the most powerful Bolognese families. This happened and Sante remained in office until his death in 1463.

Sante Bentivoglio actually governed the city of Bologna for almost twenty years and contributed to the city’s political and urban development. It is significant for us that the Bentivoglio name is often associated with trionfi; for example, searching on the dedicated site Tarot History Forum (THF) you get 158 references to this surname (as of 08.26.2024).

But the connections do not stop here, because others can be found, starting from his wife, Ginevra Sforza (1440-1507), married at fourteen in Bologna in 1454 (after a celebration by proxy already two years before). From the marriage were born Costanza (1458-1491), whom we will meet again soon, and Ercole (1459-1507); after the death of Sante, Ginevra Sforza married his successor Giovanni II, and from this second marriage sixteen children were born.

It happens that the surname Sforza is closely linked with some of the first known trionfi, preserved by the court of Milan (from THF we do not find references to the surname because there are too many). It must be remembered that the ducal family of Sforza did not represent in Milan a succession from an ancient local family, such as that of the Visconti, to another: Duke Francesco was a military leader [condottiero] who took over the duchy, helped also by Cosimo the Elder and Florence. Francesco Sforza came from the Marches, and Ginevra Sforza, the natural daughter of Alessandro (1409-1473) lord of Pesaro and brother of "our" Francesco, Duke of Milan, was originally from the Marches.

It may be significant that the name Alessandro Sforza is used for the well-known Catania tarocchi, discussed by Thierry Depaulis, Emilia Maggio [note 2] and others. The motif of the ring with an intertwined flower that is the basis of the proposal has, however, been convincingly linked to Nicholas III of Ferrara, and therefore either the Pesaro attribution is rejected,[note 3] or it is considered ‒ as in a study that would limit the production of the deck to the period 1445-1468 ‒ that Alessandro was the only Sforza to have received that emblem from the Ferrarese court where he grew up.[note 4]

Among the cities more or less closely involved with the first diffusion of the trionfi, here we will no longer encounter Milan, but from the Marches by way of marriages it would be easy to reach Rimini and the Malatestas, another important family for the trionfi; but for Rimini, as for Milan, we can stop here (except at the end to briefly encounter Milan again due to its well-known connections with Ferrara).

If the lordship of Pesaro could appear as a small entity, now we must introduce an even smaller one, that of Mirandola and Concordia. There are several uncommon aspects in this territory. We are used to seeing castles and fortified towns on the tops of hills, but here we are practically at sea level, in a plain without relief. Yet Mirandola owed its fame to its fortifications ‒ which had resisted and would also subsequently resist several sieges ‒ and above all to the family of its lords, the Picos; Concordia was, and is, a separate town, only seven kilometers away, with mills on the Secchia.

For us, the Picos are the family to which Giovanni Pico della Mirandola belonged, a famous personage of proverbial intelligence and culture, but the lordship of the Picos over Mirandola was centuries old and accepted by the citizens and the emperor. Despite the smallness of the territory, the importance of the family was recognized by the sovereigns of the major cities, which permitted
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2. For example E. Maggio, The Playing-Card, Vol. 44, No. 4 2016, pp. 256-268.
3. C. Dorsini, “Tarocchi rinascimentali fra Milano e Ferrara,” in S. Bonaccorsi and E. Maggio, editors, Il Mondo in Mano, [Ragusa] 2019, on p. 25.
4. S. Abele-Hipp, The Playing-Card, Vol. 49, No. 1, 2020, pp. 14-17.


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the establishment of marital ties between the respective families. (For the trionfi, we find 271 references to the surname in THF.)

Leaving aside more ancient dates, we can start with the lord Gianfrancesco I Pico (1415-1467), who interests us above all for his wife Giulia Boiardo and their children. The Boiardos were counts of Scandiano, and in the sector of interest for the history of the trionfi they are linked to a well-known poetic composition by Matteo Maria Boiardo (1441-1494), son of Giovanni Boiardo (1419-1452), who was the brother of the Giulia Boiardo already met (467 references to the surname Boiardo in THF).

Of interest are the three sons of Gianfrancesco I Pico's wife (aunt of Matteo Maria Boiardo): Galeotto I (1442-1499) who married Bianca d'Este, another important family in the history of trionfi (no reference in THF, because there are too many); Antonio Maria (1444-1501) who married Costanza Bentivoglio, whom we have already met; and the most famous, Giovanni (1463-1494).

3. Family circle

To better focus on the personages closest to the document under examination, I consulted various sources, starting from the entry dedicated to the Pico family in the Treccani Biographical Dictionary [note 5] and the two main references indicated there;[note 6] but I relied especially on a contribution by the most famous historian of Mirandola and of the Pico family, also accompanied by a rich appendix of documents.[note 7]

The critical point in the historical period of interest concerns the succession in the government of the city after the death of Gianfrancesco I in 1467. Usually, it was the firstborn who took over the command, but in this case it was decided that the three brothers would rule the city together. Soon the youngest son, Giovanni, preferred the activity of study, and to deepen his knowledge he traveled extensively, stopping in the places where he could learn the most. Instead, the two older brothers had continual disputes over their respective roles, with Galeotto I who claimed continually to have his rights of primogeniture prevail.

In 1470 Antonio Maria was even imprisoned for a couple of years. Afterward, there were alternating reconciliations and quarrels between the two brothers, with the intervention of no less than the emperor, to support the rights of the firstborn, and the pope, to support those of Antonio Maria. A compromise of short duration was reached thanks to a division of the territory, with Galeotto I as lord of Mirandola and Antonio Maria as count of Concordia.

Antonio Maria had distinguished himself as a military leader and had also served in the papal militias. In the most difficult periods, he found refuge in Rome several times for long periods with his family. In the end, both Antonio Maria and his wife Costanza were buried in Rome.

For some other information on the life of the couple in question, I prefer to report what the priest Ceretti wrote on Count Antonio Maria Pico in the publication cited.
We have very little information about Costanza, and we only know that she was an excellent wife and that she shared with her husband the hardships of his life. In 1490, she was in poor health (even though astrologers had predicted health and a very happy life), so on May 15, Antonmaria wrote to the Marquis of Mantua that it was necessary for her to stay for fifteen or twenty days at the baths of Viterbo. However, these treatments had no effect, and, returning to Rome, she died there shortly thereafter. . . . Her body was buried in Aracoeli in Rome, and the mortal remains of her dear husband were later placed next to it, as the inscription above indicates.
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5. https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/pi ... ch=PICO%2F
6. Cronaca della Mirandola, dei Figli di Manfredo e della corte di Quarantola scritta da Ingrano Bratti, continuata da Battista Papazzoni illustrata con note e documenti, a cura di F. Ceretti, Mirandola 1872; Cronaca della nobilissima famiglia Pico scritta da autore anonimo, edited by F. Ceretti, Mirandola 1872; [i Cronaca della nobilissima famiglia Pico scritta da autore anonimo,[/i] edited by F. Molinari, Mirandola 1874 (both with recent reprints and digital copies available on Google Books).
7. Count Antonmaria Pico della Mirandola, “Memorie e documenti raccolti dal sac. Felice Ceretti,” in Atti e memorie delle Rr. Deputazioni di storia patria per le provincie dell’Emilia. Sezione di Modena, Modena, 1877, pp. 237-287. https://www.google.it/books/edition/Att ... frontcover


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Antonmaria had a son from her who probably died at a young age, since there is no further mention of him. He also had two daughters, Violante and Ginevra. The first, in 1493, married Giberto X da Correggio, whom Antonmaria calls a young man of excellent qualities. . . . Ginevra was then married to Gio. Battista Conti of Rome. Negotiations for this marriage had already begun in 1493. … She also lived with her husband for a few years, and after his death, between 23 April and 21 July 1501, she shut herself into the monastery of S. Orsola in Florence and there, it seems, she ended her career.
The presentation reported does not highlight the qualities of “Gio. Battista of Rome,” who instead deserves special attention here precisely because of his marriage to Ginevra Pico. The Conti family, and in particular the main branch of the Conti of Segni, belonged to the most ancient Roman nobility and could count several popes, starting from the twelfth century. [note 8]

4. The will

Before examining the inventory of the estate, we can read the will of Ginevra Pico, widow of Conti, from a little earlier. Also in the ASFi, and precisely in the collection “Religious corporations suppressed by the French government,” many documents that were in the convents [and monasteries – “conventi” in Italian applying to religious houses for either sex] of the Florentine territory at the time of the suppression are preserved. I looked for those of the convent [in the English sense of an establishment for women] of Sant'Orsola, and in file No. 42 the wills are collected, together with documents of donations and other types of contracts;[note 9] among these there is a copy of the will of interest to us. In the same series, I also examined archival unit No. 89, with about ten parchment-covered income and expenditure books, but the documentation for the date range in question is seemingly absent, and not even in No. 131, containing various "Negozi" [transactions] did I find any useful documents.

The collection in file No. 42 covers several centuries, in chronological order, and it is easy to identify the will we are looking for, that of Madonna Ginevra from 1505. I imagine that it is already known to scholars, because these documents were the subject of several investigations already in the nineteenth century, but the copy of the will occupies only three pages and is written ‒ by the “ministra” nun who also wrote in the monastery’s administration books ‒ in a handwriting that is easier to decipher than average; so I decided to copy a part of it and transcribe it in its entirety. It seemed to me that all the information contained, even if to a different extent, provides us with a useful contribution.

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ASFi, Corporazioni religiose soppresse dal Governo francese [Religious corporations suppressed by the French Government], 100, file 42 no. 14, Detail (Reproduction prohibited)

I must preface with some criteria used in the transcription of this document and the next one. I have kept many letters as they are read, and in particular the simple and double consonants, although they would often be considered incorrect today. I have divided several words written in succession when, after division, the text appears correct. The three dots in place of a missing word are already in the original text. I have used <xx> to indicate an undeciphered word or symbol. I have inserted (?) after a word of uncertain reading and in brackets
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8. https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/co ... aliana%29/; https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conti_(family)
9. ASFi, Corporazioni religiose soppresse dal Governo francese, Convento 100, filza No. 42.


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additional letters. The letter i is written in three different ways, of which I have kept i and j, although in the second document, the quantity of j is extraordinarily high. Some words can be read, but their meaning is not understood. [For these and some other words we couldn’t translate, there is a question mark in parentheses after them.]
copy 1505 No. 14
[f.1rtt] Testament of Madonna Ginevra della Mirandola
In nomine domini nostri Iesu Christi amen anno ab eiusdem domini nostri salutifera incarnazione millesimo quingientesimo quinto indizione ottava die vero 27 mensis agusti actum ut infra e presentibus testibus infrascrittis ad infrascritta omnia e singula vocatis et adibitis e proprio ore infrascritte testatrice rogatis equorum testium nomina infrascritta sunt
(1) Considering the prudent and magnificent Madonna Ginevra daughter of the magnificent count Antonio Maria of the magnificent lord Giovan Francesco della Mirandola at present widow and wife who was of the magnificent Giovan Batista de Conti barons of Rome as nothing is more certain than death and more uncertain than the hour of said death and being this Madonna Ginevra of good and healthy intellect and of healthy good and pure mind although infirm of body intending to make her present will disposes orders testifies and leaves as below is written and contained videlicet.
(2) And first and foremost the aforementioned Madonna Ginevra, sound in mind, sense, sight and intellect although infirm in body as above, devoutly and with all her heart recommend her soul to Almighty God and to his glorious mother, the Most Holy Virgin Mary, and to blessed Saint Francis and to all the saints of the celestial court of the Holy Paradise, that at the hour of her death and always they may have mercy on her soul and may it please them to lead it to eternal life, and the said testatrix wishes and disposes that her body, when she passes from this present century, be buried in the convent of Saint Ursula, in which convent at present the said testatrix resides, and about which funeral service and prayer for her soul must be done by the nuns of the said monastery and others as the minister of the said monastery will see fit, begging the said devout nuns to make prayer for her soul in the manner and form as the nuns of the said monastery are accustomed to observe in their prayers.
(3) Furthermore, [for] love of God and as a remedy of the soul I leave to said nuns and said convent of Santa Orsola one hundred florins <xx> of gold for their needs and those of said monastery.

[f.1v] (4) Furthermore, I leave to the Opera [the administrative body over work and activities done in the cathedral, literally “Works”] of Santa Maria del Fiore three lire <xx> [for] love of God and as is customary in Florence to leave.
(5) Furthermore, considering said Madonna Ginevra how she has given commission of her house located in the city of Rome to be sold for the price of one thousand five hundred gold ducats, the testatrix wishes and disposes that of said price and proceeds of said house selling as it is said or being sold, five hundred ducats, two lire and 14 soldi are to be given and paid to friar Pagolo of Bologna and to Cambio his brother and to Giovan Francesco of Susa fattore [administrator of the farms and other economic commitments] of the friars of the observance of San Francesco della Mirandola, which money she wishes must be returned as she noted to said friar Pagolo when said testatrix requested it and was provided [with it] and for her said Giovan Francesco had and received and therefore she wishes that it be returned as duty and reason wants.
(6) Furthermore, similar of said price and ducats of said house of Rome said testatrix wants to be paid and given to Madonna Iulia her natural sister 220 gold ducats in gold and likewise to Madonna Giulia said quantity of 220 gold ducats in gold I leave on account of a necklace which she said was left to her by said Count Antonio Maria her father. And I leave and want said testatrix also that to Madonna Lisabetta mother of
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said Madonna Giulia of said price of said house be given and paid 250 gold ducats are also for a necklace left to her by said magnificent Count Antonio Maria father of said testatrix.
(7) Furthermore, for the love of God also of said money from said house she wants and leaves to be given and paid to said convent and nuns of Santa Orsola of Florence in which at present the testatrix is and in which some time ago she came to live 500 gold ducats in gold with the condition nevertheless that said nuns are required and obliged to keep with them and for their government and custody in their monastery Costanza, legitimate and natural daughter of said testatrix and having for cause or because of work failure or defect of said nuns they do not keep her under their government and custody and care as above said present legacy made to said convent does not take place and is not observed which 500 ducats are to be spent on immobile goods [real estate] for said convent and in the name of said convent the income of which goods must be converted into the utility and needs of said convent and so is her will.

[f. 2r] 8 Furthermore, [for] love of God and for her soul I leave to the monastery [in the English sense of an establishment for men], church and friars of the most glorious Nunziata [Annunciation of the Virgin Mary] of Bologna of the observant friars of the order of Saint Francis and for the needs and alms of those 30 gold in gold ducats, which friars of the said church and monastery are required to celebrate 1000 masses for the soul of the said testatrix and to their prayers she recommends herself.
9 Furthermore, similarly for her soul and [for] love of God, I leave to the monastery, church and chapter of Santo Salvadore near Florence outside the gate of San Miniato of the order of San Francesco of the Observance 30 gold ducats in gold with the assignment that they must also celebrate and say masses 1000 for the soul of the testatrix and to the said friars and to their prayers I commend myself.
10 Furthermore, said testatrix leaves to Lisabetta, daughter of Lucrezia dell'Andreuzza, 400 lire in Florentine manner and use of Florence as her dowry and increase of her dowry.
11 Furthermore, I leave and she leaves to one of the daughters of Madonna Allegrezza who was her nurse 30 lire of bolognini as her dowry, which 30 lire of bolognini [for] love of God and as her dowry she leaves to her.
12 Furthermore, said testatrix leaves to Cambio di Bononia, fattore [manager of farms and other economic commitments] of said testatrix, 50 gold ducats, and in addition to said legacy I want said Cambio to be paid his duty and be paid whatever remains to have from said testatrix as his reward and salary.
13 And I also leave to Stefano alias Silla of Cremona 30 gold ducats.
14 Furthermore, I, said testatrix, also leave to Antonio di Bissa of Cremona 50 gold ducats, and in case [since?] said Antonio wishes to continue to be the fattore of her heirs and to carry out the affairs of the testatrix until her daughter Costanza is 15 years old, he must be kept on because she knows him to be faithful.
15 Furthermore, said testatrix leaves and wants to be done and to be paid certain debts and a certain amount of money, she says is as appears from a writing which is in the possession of Sister Lena, a nun in said convent of Santa Orsola, signed by the hand of said testatrix because they are debts which belong to said testatrix and therefore she wants paid such creditors who have amounts due according to said writing.
The general impression is that not much of the family wealth is left to little Costanza, while the nuns and friars have no reason to complain about their respective shares of the inheritance. In Florence, the main seat of the Conventual Franciscans was Santa Croce ‒ basilica and monastery ‒ but Madonna Ginevra turns instead to the Franciscans of the Observance for the suffrage masses, and they benefit from it in several places. For those who know the history of playing cards, it will be enough to mention Bernardino of Siena to grasp the rigorous aspect of the Franciscan observance.

The rest of the story may arouse some curiosity, and in particular what the fate was of the orphan locked up in the monastery. In a way that was unexpected for me, we soon find this Costanza Conti as the wife of Lorenzo Salviati from 1514 ‒ second of the eleven children of the more famous Iacopo (1461-1533), son-in-law of Lorenzo the Magnificent ‒ and then also mother of the famous cardinal Antonio Maria.[note 10] The Salviati family was a very important Florentine family related to the Medici and who, just like
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10. For example https://www.google.it/books/edition/ANN ... frontcover

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the Medici, were finding new bases of ancient nobility in Rome. In short, the Salviati-Conti couple made themselves known not in Florence among the Salviatis, but in Rome among the Conti descendants from whom evidently our Costanza managed to regain titles and family assets in Valmontone and Velletri. However, continuing “our” events during the sixteenth century does not serve the purpose of investigating the past of the objects that Costanza received as an inheritance as a child. So I can move on to examining the second document of interest.

5. Inventory transcription


A consequence of the previous will was that the custody of the little heir was distributed between the nuns of Sant' Orsola and the offices of the Magistracy of Minors. Of specific interest to us is the inventory of the movable and immovable assets left as an inheritance to her daughter Costanza after the death in 1511 of Ginevra Pico, widow of Conti.

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ASFi, Magistracy of Minors prior to the Principality, No. 182, f. 176r detail (Reproduction prohibited)
[f. 176r] MDV Inheritance of Madonna Ginevra daughter of the late Count Antonio Maria dalla Mirandola

This 27th of September 1505 and said officials of the wards and adults of the municipality of Florence took and accepted the guardianship and for a time care of Costanza daughter and heir of Madonna Ginevra daughter of Count Antonmaria dalla Mirandola who made her last will drawn up by the hand of ser Andrea di Cristofano Nochianti under the 17th of August 1505 and left as guardians and curators the special(?) men said officials of the minors and adults of the municipality of Florence of the said Costanza her daughter and heir according to the usual orders of said office as of everything was drawn up by ser Pacce di Banbelo di Pacce notary to the said office under said day.
And here below, as will follow, a record and inventory will be made of all the movable and immovable assets and other memorabilia and things belonging to said inheritance and first.
Minor
Costanza daughter of Madonna Ginevra said to be about 7 years old

Inventory of jewels and household goods and things that were found on the 3rd of October 1511 in the monastery of Santa Orsola in Florence belonging to said heirs and in the custody of the abbess of that done by ser

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Pacce di Banbelo di Pacce in the presence of the officials of the minors and Antonio di Benedetto and Guglielmo di Giuliano which will be copied here below as from the said ser Pacce has been received and before

1 Small case covered in leather containing the jewels listed below
1 Necklace, i.e. 30 large pearls with pendant with 9 diamonds 1 pierced spinel [a ruby-colored gemstone] and 1 pear pearl
1 Large ring with 1 jasper head 1 emerald in a setting bound in gold
1 Ruby bound in gold 1 jewel for the use of agnusdei [medallion with the image of the lamb standing on the book of seven seals, blessed and distributed by the pope every seven years] of silver with 6 small pearls
1 Agnusdei of gilded silver. 1 small enameled gold bar and 1 pendant
1 Gold pendant with three pearls and 1 ruby 1 needle-container and 1 for sewing all in perforated silver 3 bunches of silver
1 Diamond and 1 ruby corolo(?) tied in gold kept by Sister Lena
12 Spools of gold with 1 gold cross enameled 55 gold “acorns”[ovoid ornaments placed on clothes] enameled in black
1 Gold chain of 66 gold enameled bobbins 1 small coffer covered with wool and iron strips
2 Pillows covered in iridescent taffeta 1 blanket in grain taffeta with Alexandrine pendants
2 Crimson velvet pillows with gold ribbons around with added tassels
1 Decoration of an Alexandrine taffeta [bed-] canopy embroidered with pearls i.e. 1 unicorn embroidered on the head with pearls
1 Embroidered taffeta decoration for the foot of the canopy 1 velvet cover with embroidered bands for said canopy
1 Alexandrine satin cover embroidered with gold and silver for the canopy
1 Alexandrine satin blanket with blue valescio [smooth cotton canvas] overlay
6 Silver spoons with balls at the head 4 silver forks and 1 … with balls at the head in a spoon container
1 Knife box with 9 knives between large and small with silver handles
1 Crucifix in 1 tabernacle of copper decorated in gold, beautiful
1 Book with the nativity of Christ on good paper in pen covered with wooden board ... green
1 Other small chest contains 1 cloth for large towels and are 25 of 2 arm-lengths each.
1 Cloth for large towels and there are 24 of 2 arm-lengths each. 1 small cloth for towels of the sort which were 8.
1 Other cloth for towels of 15 1 other cloth for towels of 20.
1 Other cloth or bolt of towels of various types, of which there were 11.
1 Linen cloth for bed sheets 20 arm-lengths 1 purple satin surplice with large gold brocade damask flounce overlaid with green taffeta.
1 Black velvet isbernia(?) with black cloth overlay for women's use
1 Men's black damask coat lined with black velvet.
1 Black damask gown lined with black taffeta.
1 Black cape with hood lined with black velvet.
1 Worn-out sleeveless black canbeloto(?) dress
1 Black velvet coat for the minor Constanza with gold edges

[c. 176v, first column]
1 Cloth or dark green canbeloto(?) blanket
1 White sleeveless gauze blouse
1 Pair of purple satin sleeves with gold and silver embroidery and work lined with crimson taffeta
1 Pair of sleeves with strips of gold brocade and black velvet lined with crimson taffeta.
1 Pair of crimson satin sleeves with gold lace throughout the sleeve
1 Pair of used grain satin sleeves
20 Arm-lengths of tight black taffeta.
1 Crimson velvet cover embroidered with gold and silver
1 Cover of Alexandrine and white velvet embroidered with gold and silver.
1 Black taffeta cover with . . . of gold.
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2 Fans of black feathers.
1 Other small chest, inside which
1 Box full of lace and refined thread.
1 Another box of yarn for 1 canopy its supply
1 Silver Ring for sewing.
1 Box containing 1 pair of yarn towels with Neapolitan yarn to work said towels.
1 Box with 2 pairs of pillowcases and refined thread
2 Bolts for towels 20 per bolt for a total of 40.
15 Arm-lengths of thin local linen cloth.
2 Large towels for chests.
1 Pair [paio] of thin towels made in the Neapolitan style
3 Small 1 thread towels.
2 Towels of 1 thread for coat racks
13 Arm-lengths of average linen cloth..
1 Pair of sheets cut and not sewn of 6 arm-lengths each
36 Arm-lengths thin linen cloth
20 Arm-lengths of thin linen cloth to make 1 canopy.
90 Arm-lengths of thin 2-cut linen cloth for 1 canopy.
23 Handkerchiefs in one thin thread.
1 Pair of new thin beautiful mesh sheets
1 Pair of 3-ply thin mesh sheets
13 Thin handkerchiefs, one thread.
8 Beautiful used women's blouses.
1 Ladies hat in gold brocade damask lined with silver brocade damask.
1 Box containing 9 spools of silk for women's sewing
21 Arm-lengths of wide tablecloths of fine linen
20 Arm-lengths of fine linen tassels
26 Arm-lengths of 1 thread fabric tablecloths.
3 Tablecloths one thread … of fine linen
24 Arm-lengths of tablecloths one thread.
16 Napkins in 1 thread of fine linen
3 Tablecloths of fine linen 2 large and 1 medium
3 Large fine linen napkins in 1 thread.
6 Napkins in 1 linen thread
5 Fine linen 1 thread tablecloths
1 Another chest
1 Box containing 11 pieces of gold and silk work for supply of 1 room
1 Work in gold with 2 peacocks for the head of 1 coverlet for head.
1 Black velvet purse with gold work.
1 Purse worked in gold and silver and chain.
1 Black velvet purse worked with drawn gold.
1 Small purse worked with gold and black silk.
1 Supply 1 collar worked in gold and silver

[f. 176v, second column]
1 Worked gold supply for 1 collar
1 Supply worked in gold and silk for 2 collars of drawn gold
1 Silver stirrer and 1 silver straightener.
1 Supply of gold and silk lace for 2 caps.
1 Belt of drawn gold with prong, buckle and 9 gold bars <xx>
8 Pillow tassels of gold and spun silver.
Gold and silver lace for 1 pair of pillows.
10
1 Towel for coat rack made of worked fine linen.
2 Bags of processed linen.
2 Silk-worked linen towels
1 Rough thin towel worked in silk
1 Narrow black taffeta scarf.
4 Arm-lengths of silk veil with gold around.
1 Head Veil with gold velvet 1 lanigha(?)
61 Arm-lengths of veil with stripes of drawn gold.
1 Parchment sheet embroidered above with gold to begin.
1 Fine linen pillowcase with gold and silver lace.
1 Pair of pillowcases made of fine linen worked with gold.
1 Gorget of tane(?) veil worked in gold from the head.
1 Gold-worked fine-fabric cap.
1 Gold worked betta(?).
1 Black velvet man's 2-piece belt full of bars with prong and buckles.
32 Small pieces of gold embroidery.
2 Pairs of tight silk sleeve cuffs
In another chest
2 Men's shirts in Turkish manner.
1 Knife box with 13 knives with silver handles
1 Another knife box with 10 knives with silver handles
1 Small gilded enameled bucket
1 Colored glass case
1 Wooden mirror set in gold
1 Gilded mirror inside which 2 figures playing chess
185 Red corals in a row in a perfume box and 1 box inside which
13 Pairs of new leather gloves and 1 pair of wool gloves
1 Pair of Venetian salt cellars
1 Round wooden birth tray, inside which 2 beautiful porcelain soup plates.
1 Unbound parchment book.
1 Small case, inside which 2 dog collars and more tags in supply
More spindles worked, beautiful
1 Box inside which more perfumes and other little things.
1 Box inside which
1 Worked brush 4 beautiful ivory combs and 1 wooden one and 1 ivory chess [set?]
1 Ivory chest worked with bone figures inside which
3 Little boxes of ointment and 1 sprege(?)
1 Little box containing more little things of more kinds and perfumes
1 Little box, inside which
1 Pack [paio, literally = pair] of trionfi embroidered in parchment
1 Saguolo [bag?] for florins.
1 Box inside which
3 Large antique medals
1 Damascene ball for perfuming
1 Pair of small Moorish shoes
1 Black bone inkwell
1 Beautifully crafted chest of perfumes with heads inside which
1 Tuna jar with its supplies.

[f. 177r]
1 Worked small box for perfumes containing more perfumes
1 Small worn-out burden chest empty

11
2 Pairs of nice used sheets.
1 New wooden bed frame with 1 thread inlay at the head of approximately 4 arm-lengths
1 Pair of new sacconi [two sheets sewn together and stuffed with filling as a mattress] in the above-mentioned bed.
1 Quilt with new pillowcase good of . . . pounds and 1 feather mattress all full Sangiovanni.[?]
1 Good bed mattress with wool filling
Image


ASFi, Magistracy of Minors prior to the Principality, N. 182, f. 176v, detail [Reproduction prohibited)

1 Psalter in parchment in pen covered in black velvet.
1 Other little book in parchment
1 Green taffeta blanket for bed, 4½ arm-lengths, good.
1 Headboard of 10 arm-lengths and 3 high and festoons at the foot with coats of arms and a beautiful fine beast
1 Used 1½ arm-lengths carpet a ruota [rolled up?]
1 Carpet of arm-lengths 2½ good a ruota [rolled up?]
14 Arm-lengths of foreign grey cloth.
2 Pieces of dark black cloth of 8 arm-lengths in all
ii Quarters of white linings

Items given to Benedetto Tornaquinci as a pledge for 6 soldi <xx>
1 Cross with diamonds 1 Pendant with pearls as shown in the will
And all the above-mentioned things remained in the monastery of Santa Orsola kept by the abbess of that monastery and with nun Caterina degli Spinelli.

A house located in the city of Rome and a place called Campo Marzio with its residence and belongings.


12
A stable near said house in said place which was burnt down.
More goods and rights on other goods located in Valmontone di Roma and in the domain of Velletri.
A farmhouse located in the domain of Mirandola and Ferrara with all its appurtenances with several pieces of pasture.
A possession of several pieces of land located in the domain of Carpi and Novi which was granted by the Duke of Ferrara.
6. Comment and conclusion

The result of this study is very unusual. As can be seen from the objects listed in the inventory, there are few common ones; in this case, gold and silver abound and even the fabrics are of superior quality; also the porcelain bowls, certainly still from China, were objects present only in the rich princely courts. Even the trionfi are of an uncommon quality: they are embroidered. Now, finding embroidered objects in a monastery is the most common thing one can expect; in Florence at the time many nuns worked silk full time, and inside, their monasteries were similar to the major city factories. But these trionfi were not a recent product and probably came from far away.

The meaning of the embroideries remains to be understood. In fact, the secondary meanings of the verb ricamare are not many, nor common, but although rather rare, they are documented, even at the time, with the meaning of decorating or coloring. In short, the typical embroideries of the nuns are out of place here; and on the other hand, parchment would not be the most suitable support for any fine embroidery.

As proof, we can cite another example of “embroidered” parchment, right in the same inventory. 1.a Carta pecora ricamata suvi con oro per comincio [Parchment sheet embroidered suvi with gold per comincio]. It is never easy to understand these indications with certainty. In my opinion, here too, the embroidery is a decoration; the suvi can be read “above which”; the con oro [with gold] does not create problems precisely because it is a decoration; I would read the per comincio “to begin,” which leaves the continuation, planned after this preparation, a little uncertain. The first hypothesis that comes to mind is a total covering with gold leaf to be used later as a background to paint some image on top, perhaps sacred.

As in other cases, unfortunately no information is provided on the number of cards in this pack of trionfi. This issue would be important, because there are several different reconstructions, which would require confirmation from documents, but it is clear that there was no need to report the number of cards to contemporaries, who knew it well.

However, after having examined an incredible quantity of inventories of household goods forming part of inheritances left to minors under the custody of the Magistracy of Minors of Florence, I found here some objects that probably had nothing to do with Florence.

In particular, the object of our interest stimulates us towards a long investigation with the aim of reconstructing its past history; usually, if I come across a pack of trionfi, I cannot find a way to go back to the origin; in this case, instead, it seems that the problem consists rather in choosing the right path among the possible ones, which are numerous, different, but also with intersections. Unfortunately, I am not able to push this research beyond the first steps.

The most serious dilemma arises from the problematic connection between time and place. If we limit ourselves to the possible places of origin of these trionfi, the candidatures abound; however, the necessary temporal connections cannot be precisely defined. If one tries to gradually associate times and places, one can still try to follow an itinerary with different alternatives, which however remain difficult to unravel.

The first step stops in Rome, because that is where the goods kept in the monastery come from. We also know that it was in Rome that Costanza Conti married to Salviati developed her fortune, but this is in the future with respect to these trionfi and is not useful for our purposes. The Conti family was certainly of ancient nobility, but we do not find any connection with the first trionfi (and even our usual THF meter does not provide any reference to the family).


13
The situation is different for Rome, however. Before Arnold Esch's successful studies,[note 11] Rome would have been immediately excluded from the candidate cities for the origin of these trionfi, because for the fifteenth century there was no information on a local diffusion of trionfi. Now, however, it cannot be excluded that it was one of the numerous decks of trionfi, of Florentine production, which arrived in Rome in ever greater abundance as the second half of the century progressed. In such a hypothesis, one would say that this deck of trionfi must have been rather recent, but plausibly decorated trionfi on parchment were produced in small quantities and, above all, several decades earlier (and in the case of a possible Florentine production, one would then have to return to that environment of Cosimo the Elder, from which I started, while heading for Bologna).

However, thinking of a greater antiquity of the deck, the reference to the families mentioned above, of ancestors from other regions, remains very strong. It would seem more logical to start from Ginevra Pico before the marriage, but even so, more roads open up, because on one side the father comes into play, bringing in the Pico family and related ones such as the Este and the Boiardo, and on the other the mother Costanza Bentivoglio with the Bentivoglio and the Sforza, all surnames that strongly attract our attention.

The last known owner of the deck of trionfi is Costanza Conti, daughter and heir of Ginevra Pico, widow of Conti. These trionfi, however, originally belonged to one of her ancestors. How far back in generations is it reasonable to go? This is where the sentimental value of the object comes into play. If it were an old example passed down without direct personal participation in the game, it would seem less likely that it could be preserved for several generations.'

Perhaps it might be helpful to go back through the generations along the female lines: from Costanza Conti to Ginevra Pico, then to Costanza Bentivoglio, and perhaps even further back to Ginevra Sforza. Why not imagine that a grandmother had passed on to her granddaughter her trionfi as well as her first name?

If instead, one were to prefer to investigate among the male ancestors, one could perhaps find a starting point in the game of chess. The inventoried objects indicate a notable interest in chess sets, which here are made of ivory, as they have been known since much earlier times, but only from prestigious locations. In itself, this is not a sure indication of a lasting passion for chess because the chess sets could have been preserved as prestigious specimens to exhibit. However, we encounter another connected element, even more extraordinary: 1 Gilded mirror within which 2 figures playing chess. An unusual object of this kind could not have been found there by chance!

Among the candidate cities, especially the court of Ferrara comes to mind, where we know that chess and trionfi flourished together: Ferrara does not present itself as the city with the closest relationships between ancestors, but it was certainly the center around which the activities and cultural influences of the lords of the entire region gravitated. If then, from direct relationships, the horizon is extended to include other locations known for their passion for both chess and trionfi, from Ferrara we could also bring into play the court of Milan, which, among other things, had several opportunities for encounters with that of the Este family.

Whoever the recipient of this deck of trionfi was when new, it is unlikely that the trionfi were produced in the same location, and a second phase of research would then open up to trace the city of destination back to the city of production; however, it seems to me that this possible second phase would have fewer candidates and fewer connections.

I stop here, in the hope that other clues and documents will be found that will allow us to narrow down the field of hypotheses and perhaps arrive at a certain attribution of these trionfi, something that goes beyond my current capabilities and knowledge.

Florence, 08.28.2024
__________________
11. For example A. and D. Esch, “Aus der Frühgeschichte der Spielkarte,” Gutenberg Jahrbuch 2013, 88. Jahrgang, pp. 41-53.
Last edited by mikeh on 25 Sep 2024, 09:26, edited 7 times in total.

Re: Franco Pratesi, new publications (since 2023)

97
I want to say a few things of my own here in relation to Franco's note just posted. First, I still have qualms about accepting this "paio" as a pack of playing cards, in part because the word "paio" can also mean "set," as in "paio di scacchi," chess set, and second, because I have difficulty with parchment as the material for such cards, at least for use in a trick-taking game. We have no examples of cards made from anything but paper. Images of saints were printed on parchment, but these were not for a game. It seems to me at least as likely that the current "paio" was a set of images for viewing as artworks, or contemplating as a sequence, perhaps 22, perhaps fewer. There are examples of card images being made on other materials, e.g. a minchiate on yellow silk in the early 18th century (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collectio ... =minchiate, deck ending in 97), with woodcut backs), but since this deck, like the other early engraved minchiates, has no signs of wear, it wasn't, or not primarily, for use in a game.

[Added Oct. 12: Huck has rightly challenged me about parchment being used for cards - there is the example of the Goldschmidt at least, for which see further down in this thread (the Charles VI and Rothschild cards are paper). Also, Franco tells me that although it is true that even in the first edition of the Crusca dictionary (1612), the compiler gives chess as an example for "paio," Franco himself, in his extensive examinations of archived material in Florence, has never seen "paio" used for more than two things, or something with two obvious parts, other than playing cards (naibi, carte, trionfi, etc.), including never for chess, which is one of his other historical interests. For example, he lists chess sets in the same and similar inventories in the Magistracy of Minors in late 15th century Florence as for trionfi, at https://naibi.net/b/TAVOLIERI.pdf; none use "paio." It may be that naibi were thought of early on as having two parts, i.e. round suits and long suits, but exactly how it happened remains a mystery.]

That said, the connection of the father, Antonio, to the game of tarocchi seems strong. Gregory Lubkin writes in A Renaissance Court: Milan under Galeazzo Maria Sforza (in Google Books: find "Pico") that in 1457, Galeazzo Maria Sforza came to Ferrara on a visit. He arrived there July 22 (see Ross's post at viewtopic.php?t=1320), and his father wanted "Duke" (actually, Count) Francesco Pico to watch over him. That would have been Gianfrancesco Pico, lord of Mirandola. Galeazzo Maria wrote to his father that he played tennis with Francesco and played cards when it rained. The card game would surely been trionfi. We know that two decks of trionfi decks had just been made, paid for on July 21, "for the use of the Lord," of 70 cards each. These cards were large and "decorated with gold." http://www.trionfi.com/0/e/nof71/16.html. The note mentions a certain "Galiato" as paying. Given that Galeazzo Maria was born in 1444, he was the same age as Francesco Pico's second son Antonio, Ginevra Pico's father. So Antonio would likely have been involved in these card games. Moreover, the older son, Galeatto, three years older, would probably have been there, too. Since he was born in 1441 or 1442 (different accounts give different years, perhaps using different calendars), and their cousin Matteo Boiardo was born in 1441, we should include the latter as well. And of course all of them would have played chess, another of Galeazzo Maria Sforza's passions. I am not suggesting that Ginevra Pico had one of the "trionfi" decks of 1457 - I would think those would have been made from paper - just that the game very much ran in the Pico family, at least the older sons of Gianfrancesco.
Last edited by mikeh on 12 Oct 2024, 23:25, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Franco Pratesi, new publications (since 2023)

98
MikeH wrote
I have difficulty with parchment as the material for such cards, at least for use in a trick-taking game. We have no examples of cards made from anything but paper.
I remember a report of a parchment card or deck (?) in the possession of Eilzabeth or Elisabeth of England in 16th century. Likely I noted this at THF or tarotforum.net. ..... Yes, I did ....

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1183&p=19467&hilit ... eth#p19467
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=691&p=18004&hilit= ... eth#p18004
Artist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Hilliard

It's a good question, if this indeed was a playing card or just a decorative single picture

There are a lot of parchment cards, which look like modern business productions.
https://www.google.com/search?client=op ... 82&dpr=1.1

An interesting Sola-Busca version by Roxana Paul.
https://www.roxanapaul.com/old-parchment-tarot/
Huck
http://trionfi.com

Re: Franco Pratesi, new publications (since 2023)

99
Thanks, Huck. I should always remember to search for answers to my questions on THF before posting here. I can even see the source, now that I've figured out (yesterday, in fact - it wasn't hard, actually) how to see the images on your posts that come from your own screenshots, like the excerpts from Hoffmann 1972.

Not only the Goldschmidt and the Rothschild, but also the Charles VI were on parchment ("pergament"), according to Hoffmann.

Incidentally, for anyone else who wants to see Huck's screenshots, those that come up just as "image," at least if you use a Windows program later than 7 (Huck told me, when I asked him, that he can see them fine in Windows 7), here's one way. (Another way is to find the thread on the Wayback Machine, but I don't know how to do that. Huck gave me a link to its version of a post I asked him about.)

You click on the quotation mark icon at the top of the post. Then you look for the url for the image you want. Then you copy that to your browser's address space (one that is empty) and click on it.

So for example, at viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1183&p=19467&hilit ... eth#p19467
there is a series of words all saying just "Image". Here are their urls, all to Hoffmann:

http://a-tarot.eu/7/w58.jpg
http://a-tarot.eu/7/w54.jpg
http://a-tarot.eu/7/w55.jpg
http://a-tarot.eu/7/w56.jpg
http://a-tarot.eu/7/w57.jpg

Interesting reading. I stand corrected. For luxury decks, at least.

Re: Franco Pratesi, new publications (since 2023)

100
MikeH noted:
(Another way is to find the thread on the Wayback Machine, but I don't know how to do that. Huck gave me a link to its version of a post I asked him about.)
How to get the archive.org link for THF-Pages, which have lost pictures ....

1. First you need the link of a THF-webpage with the problem, that it contains images, which aren't shown .... get the link. These pages have usually 1-10 articles. (One of these articles should have been written by yourself, so that you have a place, where you could fill the wayback link.
I took viewtopic.php?f=11&t=345&start=100 )
2. Go to http://archive.org (wayback machine) . There is an obvious place at the top, where you can fill the link.
3. Wayback tells, that the page is on the web. It asks, if you really wants to add the picture. You agree.
4, Wayback starts to work, this takes some time.
5. It says: done. Below the "done" is a link. Use this.
I get:
https://web.archive.org/web/20241006171 ... &start=100

In this case there are still a few errors cause other changes in the web. The researched page is from 2011, such things have later reasons.

****************

It may happen, that the machine has already versions of earlier visits. Then wayback offers possibly various dates. You have to choose one year. Then you get a calendar of the year. From the 365 days then one or more days are marked. These marks are easily overlooked. If you're careful, you finally get a small link. Click on this.

Perhaps there are occasionally other complications, which I haven't detected.
Huck
http://trionfi.com