viewtopic.php?f=11&t=773
Franco Pratesi has written:
Studies on Giusto Giusti
http://trionfi.com/giusto-giusti
Michael J. Hurst has written:
The First Tarot Aficionado
http://pre-gebelin.blogspot.de/2012/08/ ... onado.html
"Phaeded" has expressed an opinion, that the Giusto Giusti deck might have been the first Trionfi deck type, made after the battle of Anghiari and in relation to it:
1. thread Casa del Petrarca:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=868&p=12773&hilit=anghiari#p12773
starting at 6th of September 2012
proceeding in
2. thread "Petrecino, page of duke Borso 1457", later renamed "Petrecino etc... mutated to "Anghiari 1440 deck"
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=888&p=12965&hilit=anghiari#p12965
starting at 9th of October
I'd earlier already expressed the opinion, that the Giusto Giusti deck might have had something to do with the Anghiari battle, but I didn't relate to it as the "first Trionfi-deck" .
http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t= ... t=anghiari
Giusti Giusto has a biography at treccani.it:
http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/giu ... iografico)
As a summary with my own remarks for the early biography till 1437:
Studying Giusto Giusti, then I get, that he was a little notary with occupations outside his home town (Anghiari). He had short occupations in Foiano (1427-28), a Figline (1428-29), a Tizzano (1431), a Bibbiena (1432) (all near to the Anghiari region) and a short stay in 1428 in Barbialla, far in the West of Florence (160 km distance to Anghiari). The longest time (5 years) he had in Bibbiena, which has a distance to Cesena of c. 110 km. and a distance to Anghiari with c. 40km. There he was married (since 1430), but the woman died childless. Giusto Giusti married again (May 1437) and then we find him in Anghiari as the cancelliere of Giovanni Pagolo di Morelli (this seems to be the same, who with a short note about naibi and children wrote playing card history in his "Ricordi"). The literary activity of Morelli might have inspired the younger Giusto Giusto, cause in this year 1437 (precisely April 1437, a few days before he married for the second time in May) he started to record his diaries.
The father of Giusti Giusto had a well running shop for armor and weapons at the market place in Anghiari. This is likely the key for the further career of Giusto, which finds him near to some of the famous condottieri (who - according their profession - should have had a natural affinity to a man, who traded with armor and weapons and naturally also to the son of him with some juristic qualifications). Anghiari was positioned near a trade way, which led from Rome to Perugia to Citta di Castello to Cesena, very near to the border of Tuscany, likely in this frontier region it was a very good position to have a trade with armor.
Giusti Giusto had then commissions from Gregorio and Agnolo d'Anghiari, two brothers, both from Anghiari and both condottieri.
http://www.condottieridiventura.it/cond ... LO%20D.htm
http://www.condottieridiventura.it/cond ... IO%20D.htm
The first record of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta in Giusto's diary (the versions, to which we have access to, is a reduced diary (?), as I get it, and not the original) appears in October 1439 (see Pratesi's article to Giusto Giusti).
As far I get it, Sigismondo in a war against Urbino had captured three strongholds, which he very quickly sold to the Condottieri brothers (4000 ducati veniziani ... the brothers either worked either on own interests or in coordination with Florentine interests).Mercoledì 28 ottobre mi disse Agnolo che voleva che io andassi a Rimini
a visitare il signore Gismondo da parte sua.
Sabato 31 ottobre la mattina mi partii da Verucchio e andamo a Rimini
a ora di desinare, e detto dì favellai al signore Gismondo13 e raccomandâgli
Agnolo. Fecemi buona accoglienza e gran’ proferte, e mi disse
che sua intenzione era di fare ad Agnolo altro che parole e che io andassi
con lui a Cesena e che mi darebbe risposta più a pieno di sua intenzione
ecc. B, c. 11v]
Lunedì a dì 2 di novembre favellai in Cesena al signore Gismondo.
Dissemi che io dicesse ad Agnolo che deliberava volerlo per buon fratello e
dargli qualche buon castello.
Lunedì a dì 16 di novembre venimmo la sera alla Pieve a Santo Stefano
e passammo da Casteldelci e ragionammo con Londedeo che teneva
quel luogo e accordammo con lui di comperare da lui Casteldelci, Sanatello
e la Fagiola per Agnolo per 4000 ducati veniziani.
I could identify 2 of the locations (lonesome in the mountains, just controlling a road):
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=4786 ... ra=ls&z=14
East of Anghiari, so not on Tuscany territory. Distance to Anghiari: c. 45 km
Malatesta's life at condottieridiventura for October 1439 (Rimini against Urbino):
For November1439:Toglie a Federico da Montefeltro tre castelli sull’alto corso del Senatello: Casteldelci, Senatello e Faggiuola.
So there was a lot of action, and with some free money one could make a good, though risky, business. It seems, that Giusto brokered the deal and all were happy (likely not the people in Urbino). At 22th of November the news appeared, that Piccinino had captured Verona. At 24th the news arrived, that Sforza had freed Verona immediately. War was not only in Rimini and Urbino, but especially around the Garda lake, here Sforza and Piccinino were the major opponents.Perde Tavoleto che è messa a sacco dal Montefeltro e da Baldaccio d’Anghiari. Il Malatesta irrompe a sua volta nel Montefeltro e vi conquista otto castelli (Castelnuovo, Montefotogno, Piatramaura, Pennarossa, Viano, Savignano di Rigo, Rontagnano e Tivizzano, che è devastato)
This period of the war in late 1439 had been likely the most intensive in all of the many war activities of Filippo Maria Visconti.
In the war between Urbino and Rimini Malatesta sided with Sforza, Venice and Florence, Urbino (which in this time wasn't ruled by Federico Montefeltro, but by his father), and Urbino somehow with Milan and Flippo Maria Visconti, though to other parts this seems to be a local conflict between enemy neighbors.
The war in the North finished for 1439 with the usual winter pause. The war Rimini against Urbino settled in April 1440 in a peace. The latter was connected to the new activity of Piccinino, which depended on a secret plan of Filippo Maria Visconti. Filippo Maria Visconti considered, that a small army in the North could hold the established positions, but a strong army send to the South against Florentine territory would urge Sforza to follow him. As we know, this strategy didn't work out. Sforza had deciding victories in the North, and Piccinos Southern adventure ended with Anghiari, which had been an expensive loss. This result, which occurred mainly in June 1440, naturally wasn't known in March 1440.
Then the Florentine position was indeed surprised and had difficulties to organize itself against the strong army of Piccinino. Sigismondo Malatesta politely turned to have a friendly face against Piccinino (so the peace with Urbino).
An army with 10.000 men and more could cause easily a lot of trouble at a thin populated region with many mountains, especially when some in the attacked region had interest to help in the invasion.
The diaries of Giusto Giusti mirror the hectic development, since March 1440. Gregori d'Anghiari, one of the two Condotteri brothers, for which Giusto Giusti worked, became immediately prisoner in early April, when he attempted to defend Modigliano.
Macchiavelli describes Piccinino's army in this way:
http://historymedren.about.com/library/ ... encev6.htm
I would assume, that "plundering and destroying everything to within three miles of Florence" might be exaggerated (Piccinino hadn't so much time). Leaving this aside, we get perhaps this movement of Piccinino's major army, whereby it's likely, that the army split in different groups, which made the robberies on their own risk and initiative, avoiding well defended places.In the meantime, Niccolo Piccinino, the affairs of Romagna being settled, purposed making a descent into Tuscany, and designing to go by the mountain passes of San Benedetto and the valley of Montone, found them so well guarded by the contrivance of Niccolo da Pisa, that his utmost exertions would be useless in that direction. As the Florentines, upon this sudden attack, were unprovided with troops and officers, they had sent into the defiles of these hills many of their citizens, with infantry raised upon the emergency to guard them, among whom was Bartolomeo Orlandini, a cavaliere, to whom was intrusted the defense of the castle of Marradi and the adjacent passes. Niccolo Piccinino, finding the route by San Benedetto impracticable, on account of the bravery of its commander, thought the cowardice of the officer who defended that of Marradi would render the passage easy. Marradi is a castle situated at the foot of the mountains which separate Tuscany from Romagna; and, though destitute of walls, the river, the mountains, and the inhabitants, make it a place of great strength; for the peasantry are warlike and faithful, and the rapid current undermining the banks has left them of such tremendous height that it is impossible to approach it from the valley if a small bridge over the stream be defended; while on the mountain side the precipices are so steep and perpendicular as to render it almost impregnable. In spite of these advantages, the pusillanimity of Bartolomeo Orlandini rendered the men cowardly and the fortress untenable; for as soon as he heard of the enemy's approach he abandoned the place, fled with all his forces, and did not stop till he reached the town of San Lorenzo. Niccolo, entering the deserted fortress, wondered it had not been defended, and, rejoicing over his acquisition, descended into the valley of the Mugello, where he took some castles, and halted with his army at Pulicciano . Thence he overran the country as far as the mountains of Fiesole ; and his audacity so increased that he crossed the Arno, plundering and destroying everything to within three miles of Florence .
https://maps.google.de/maps?saddr=47015 ... =2,4,7&z=9
Piccinino spend a lot of energy in the region of Bibbiena (a region well known to Giusto Giusti, who had lived there), near to the domain of the allied Pippo. They took and destroyed a stronghold Castel San Niccolo ...
http://www.mondimedievali.net/castelli/ ... nicolo.htm
... but it took much time (32 days) and is seen as a major mistake in the war strategy. It's close to the location Pippo (after the Pippo family, which reigned there) and Bibbiena. Piccinino's influence went then till Rassini, south of Bibbiena. Suddenly he disappeared (on his way to Perugia, likely intending to get more soldiers there; it's said by Macchiavelli, that Piccinino went there with 40 horses, so the major part of the army seems to have rested near Sansepolcro - about 10 km to Anghiari - , which was friendly to them; Citta di Castello - which he met at his journey to Perugia - stayed friendly to Florence; Perugia itself gave only some money).
Back to Giusto Giusti. Gregorio d'Anghiari had become prisoner with the fall of Modigliano at begin of April. So Giusto Giusto lost one of his commissioners.
....
(will proceed)