chapter 11: Lucca, Rome, Sicily, 271-77. 292

In Chapter 11 Dummett looks at the early tarot in Lucca, Rome, and Sicily. Although he has not yet discussed Milan, one of the four early centers of the tarot, this shift to other cities whose tarot Florence probably influenced is justified as an extension of chapter 10.

For reference, here is Dummett's chart of 1980 again, showing the relationship of the three new decks (Sicily, the "Orfeo" of Lucca, and the "Colonna" of Rome) to the other type A packs: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YlU6F53x-_E/U ... .35+PM.png

Lucca, a city to the north of Florence that jealously guarded its independence, seems to have had a very odd tarot. Most cards either have the word "Orfeo" or a picture that is probably him (Orpheus) on their backs. In all of them, the Page of Swords holds a shield with the arms of the city of Lucca on it. People used to think they were incomplete Minchiate decks, because they are of the right period, and the top five are unnumbered. But they have none of the extra triumphs characteristic of Minchiate. Their court cards look nothing like Minchiate's, including male Jacks (or Pages, as we say now) in all four suits. What is really odd is that in none of the decks are there triumphs under number VIIII, which is the Wheel. It is a tarot with 12 triumphs plus the Fool.

The interesting question, however, is what this says about the full pack from which this seems to have descended. This is where Dummett exercises his powers of inference (p. 271):

Non siamo in grado di stabilire se il presunto mazzo di tarocchi lucchese a sessantanove carte abbia tratto origine da una drastica riduzione del mazzo delle Minchiate, oppure da una meno drastica, seppur ugualmente sorprendente, riduzione del mazzo di settantotto carte: ci troviamo di fronte a un altro mistero dei tarocchi, Se nel mazzo c’erano originariamente ventuno trionfi, quello più basso doveva essere privo di numero, come nel gruppo ‘Carlo VI’. Per ottenere un’intera serie di ventun trionfi, ce ne dovevano essere nove, non otto, sotto il VIIII. Ci sono due possibilità: o la sequenza discendente continuava fino al Bagatto come I, proprio come nel mazzo delle Minchiate, e c’era una carta supplementare non numerata sotto il I; oppure, i trionfi dal UH al I erano, rispettivamente, il Papa, l’Imperatore, l’Imperatrice e la Papessa, con il Bagatto come trionfo non numerato di rango inferiore al loro, come abbiamo ipotizzato [end of 271] che si sia verificato in quel mazzo di tarocchi con settantotto carte sul cui disegni furono basati quelli del mazzo dei Germini.

(We are not able to determine whether the presumed Lucca tarot pack in sixty-nine cards originated from a drastic reduction in Minchiate, or by a less drastic, albeit equally surprising reduction in the pack of seventy-eight cards: we are faced with another mystery of the tarot, if there were originally twenty-one triumphs in the deck, the lowest number must have been without number, as in the 'Charles VI' group. To get an entire series of twenty-one triumphs, there had to be nine not eight, under the VIIII. There are two possibilities: either the descending sequence continued until the Bagatto as I, precisely as in the Minchiate, and there was an additional card, unnumbered, as the I; or, from triumphs IIII to I there were, respectively, the Pope, the Emperor, the Empress and the Popess, the Bagatto as a triumph not numbered ranking below them, as we have assumed [end of 271] has occurred in that deck of tarot cards with seventy-eight cards on whose designs were based those of the Germini pack.

The first possibility is that of the "Charles VI" on his hypothesis of an unnumbered Bagatto, and as in the Bolognese tarot. The "additional card" hypothesis is something that will be seen in the Sicilian tarot. A big "if" here, it seems to me is the "if there were originally 21 triumphs in the pack". The c. 1500 Strambotto that Depaulis found suggests that at least in Rome there were packs with only 20 triumphs, unless the Fool served as the lowest trump and not as a wild card. (You can read it in Italian and English at http://www.letarot.it/page.aspx?id=243&lng=ENG.)

Another pack that Dummett discusses is that of the "alla Collona", which clearly refers to the Colonna family of Rome. It shows that Tarot and Minchiate co-existed in the Eternal City. One sheet of such cards is dated 1613, another 1612. They are a normal pack and a tarot pack, each with two sheets. The suits are in the so-called "Portuguese" style. The existing trumps are all numbered. Here are the suit cards: http://a-tarot.eu/p/jan-11/fol/col-2.jpg. And the triumphs: http://a-tarot.eu/p/jan-11/fol/col-1.jpg.

Dummett says (p. 275):

La prima fila è formata dal Carro, con il numero [end of 274] arabo 10, e dalla Ruota, con il numero 11; la seconda da un Sultano, con il numero 5, e dall’Amore, con il numero 6; la terza dal 20 e dal 21. Su entrambe queste ultime carte si scorge la sommità di una testa e, sul 20, alla sua destra, la cima di quello che è probabilmente uno scettro.

Il Sultano deve essere Fequivalente del Papa; non c’è da sorprendersi della sostituzione in un mazzo fabbricato a Roma. Il buco di tre carte fra l’Amore (6) e il Carro (10) ben difficilmente poteva essere colmato da qualcosa di diverso dalle tre virtù. Abbiamo quindi a che fare con un ordine di tipo A, come è prevedibile a Roma; presumibilmente, il gioco dei Tarocchi, come le Minchiate da esso derivate, giunse a Roma attraverso la Toscana. Pertanto, il 20 è probabilmente il Mondo e il 21 l’Angelo. È evidente che si tratta di un mazzo in cui tutti i trionfi erano numerati; dal momento che l’Eremita e ITmpic-cato devono essere stati interposti fra la Ruota e la Morte, que-st’ultima doveva avere il numero 14, come lo avrebbe nel mazzo Rosenwald, se la numerazione arrivasse fin lì.

(The first row is formed by the Chariot, with the Arabic number 10, and of the Wheel, with the number 11; the second by a Sultan, with the number 5, and Love, with the number 6; the third from 20 to 21. On both these cards you can see the top of a head, and on 20, to his right, the top of what is probably a scepter.

The Sultan must be the equivalent of the Pope; it is not surprisingly of a replacement deck made in Rome. The hole of three cards from Love (6) to the Chariot (10) could hardly be filled by something other than the three virtues. So we are dealing with an array of type A, as is to be expected in Rome; presumably, the game of Tarot, like the Minchiate derived from it, came to Rome via Tuscany. Therefore 20 is probably the World and 21 the Angel. It is evident that this is a deck in which all the triumphs were numbered; since the Hermit and the Hanged Man must have been interposed between the Wheel and Death, the latter had to have the number 14, as it would have in the Rosenwald deck, if the numbers had gone this far.)

Dummett suggests later that this deck had a Sultan and a Sultaness. It seems to me that it could also simply have had four "sultans". He never explains where this name "sultan" comes from. It is not on the card and he cites no printed lists to that effect. Maybe they were "Moors". Dummett does say that familiarity with such a deck as the Colonna might have been what prompted the papal legate in 1725 Bologna to demand Moors instead of "papi".

If the Strambotto is from Rome, and also the Colonna, then it would seem that the Strambotto does not give a "standard model" for Rome. That role would have been taken by the Colonna, which must have had four trumps under the 5 Sultan. The Strambotto is merely a transition to Minchiate, and possibly to the "Orfeo" decks of Lucca.

Villabianca claimed that Tarot was introduced into Sicily from Rome by the Duke of Sermoneta in 1663. Here is Dummett's quote from Villabianca (p. 277):

Il giuoco dei tarocchi fu portato in Sicilia dal fu Viceré Francesco Gaetani duca di Sermoneta, che fiorì nel 1662 e da lui insieme a noi fu dato il giuoco or fatto raro delìi Gallerini.

(The game of Tarot was brought to Sicily by Viceroy Francesco Gaetani, Duke of Sermoneta, who flourished in 1662, and from him to us together was given the now rare game of Gallerini.)

The Duke had spent a year as governor of Milan before going to Sicily. Could the Sicilian tarot be Milanese? Dummett says (p. 277):

,,,ci sono buone ragioni per ritenere che il gioco dei Tarocchi introdotto da Gaetani in Sicilia fosse una versione romana piuttosto che milanese. In primo luogo, il gioco dei Germini o Minchiate era a quel tempo del tutto ignoto a Milano. In secondo luogo, come vedremo, nei mazzi siciliani di tarocchi l’ordine dei trionfi è del tipo A, come nel foglio ‘alla Colonna’, mentre nei tarocchi milanesi si usava un ordine di tipo C. Inoltre, il gioco siciliano dei Tarocchi ha certe caratteristiche in comune con la tradizione bolognese/fiorentina; per esempio, ci sono punti speciali per la vincita dell’ultima presa, cosa ignota nei giochi milanesi. Infine, come i tarocchi romani, il Tarocco siciliano esemplifica il sistema ‘portoghese’ di semi.

(...there are good reasons to believe that the game of Tarot introduced by Gaetani in Sicily was a Roman version rather than Milanese. First, the game of Germini or Minchiate was at that time altogether unknown in Milan. Second, as we shall see, in the Sicilian tarot decks the order of triumphs is type A, as in the sheet 'alla Colonna', while in Milan Tarot was used in an array of type C. In addition, the Sicilian Tarot has certain characteristics in common with the traditional game in Bologna/Florence; for example, there are special points for winning the last trick, something unknown in the Milan games. Finally, like the Roman tarot, the Sicilian Tarot system exemplifies the 'Portuguese' suits.)

You can see an 18th century version of the cards at http://a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks07/d05238/d05238.htm.

One place, it seems to me, in which Milan might have influenced the cards is in the design of the Bagatto. In both Milan and Piedmont, at least in the early 18th century, he looks more like a merchant, innkeeper, or cobbler than an entertainer (for Milan and Piedmont, see http://l-pollett.tripod.com/cards65.htm; for "innkeeper" there is also Alciati, Pavia or Milan, and Piscina, Piedmont). The same is true in the Sicilian tarot (http://l-pollett.tripod.com/cards14.htm; see also my discussion at viewtopic.php?f=11&t=937&p=14192&hilit=innkeeper#p14192). Perhaps the Duke thought that a tradesman was more suitable as a step up from Poverty, the unnumbered first card, than an entertainer.

As to how "Portuguese" suits got on Roman and Sicilian cards, Dummett says that in Spain of the 15th and early 16th century there were actually three types, out of which the "Spanish" and 'Portuguese" models both emerged. What distinguishes the types has to do with the shape and placement of the swords and batons, whether the Kings are sitting or standing, and the sex of the lowest court figures. Eventually, by the 18th century, the "Spanish" type dominated in Spain, and from there into Italy, which was effectively a Spanish possession. But the older Spanish style existed in "Roman" style normal decks of the 17th century and survived in the Sicilian tarot.

Here are the characteristics that distinguish, first, Iberian-Portuguese from Roman-Portuguese suits, and then "Portuguese" vs "Italian" and "Spanish" (p. 282):

Nella Penisola Iberica il sistema cosiddetto portoghese comprendeva un solo modello standard, propriamente detto. Il modello romano, senza dubbio dello stesso sistema, era chiaramente diverso dal modello portoghese. Una differenza è data dagli indicatori, che non erano mai usati in Portogallo o in Spagna. Un’altra è il tipo di drago sugli Assi — su quelli romani c’è un grifone, su quelli portoghesi un serpente alato. Nei semi portoghesi di Spade e Bastoni, le Fantine (Sotas in portoghese) vengono attaccate da sinistra da cani o altri animali, e impugnano armi per difendersi; le Fantine romane non subiscono minacce.

A parte i draghi, i tratti che differenziano i sistemi di semi italiano, spagnolo e portoghese sono:

la forma delle Spade: curve (italiane) o diritte (spagnole e portoghesi);

la forma dei Bastoni: mazze da cerimonia (italiani), randelli nodosi (spagnoli) o bastoni dentellati (portoghesi);

la collocazione delle Spade e dei Bastoni: intersecantesi (italiani e portoghesi) o separati (spagnoli);

la posa dei Re: seduti (italiani e portoghesi) o eretti (spagnoli);

il sesso delle figure più basse: maschili (italiane e spagnole) o femminili (portoghesi).

(In the Iberian Peninsula what was known as the Portuguese system consisted itself of a single standard model. The Roman model, no doubt of the same system, was clearly different from the Portuguese model. One difference is given by indicators, which were never used in Portugal or Spain. Another is the kind of dragon on the Aces - on those of the Romans there is a griffin, a winged serpent on the Portuguese. The suits of the Portuguese Swords and Batons, the Fantine (Sotas in Portuguese) are attacked from the left by dogs or other animals, and wield weapons to defend themselves; the Roman Fantine are not under threat.

Apart from the dragons, the traits that differentiate the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese suit systems are:

the shape of the Swords: curved (Italian) or straight (Spanish and Portuguese);

the shape of the Batons: ceremonial batons (Italian), gnarled clubs (Spanish) or notched sticks (Portuguese);

the placement of the Swords and Batons: intersecting (Italian and Portuguese) or separated (Spanish);

the pose of the King: seated (Italian and Portuguese) or erect (Spanish);

the sex of the lowest figures: male (Italian and Spanish) or female (Portuguese).

About dragons, in Chapter 1 he had said that dragons are not only characteristic of "Portuguese" vs. "Italian" suits, but are unique to "Portuguese" suits (p. 32).

Il mazzo con semi portoghesi ha tre caratteristiche principali che lo distinguono dal mazzo con semi italiani:
(1) le Spade sono diritte, anche se si intersecano;
(2) la figura più bassa di ciascun seme è femminile;
(3) ci sono draghi sugli Assi.
Di queste tre, solo la terza sembra essere stata un voluto distacco da una norma precedente; è la sola che si trovi unicamente in mazzi che possono essere definiti con semi portoghesi.

(The pack with Portuguese suits has three main features that distinguish it from the pack with Italian suits:
(1) The Swords are straight, even if they intersect;
(2) the lowest figure of each suit is feminine;
(3) there are dragons on the Aces.
Of these three, only the third seems to have been a deliberate departure from a previous rule; and it is the only one that occurs uniquely in packs that can be distinguished with Portuguese suits.)

So "Portuguese" suits have notched straight swords, notched batons, both intersecting, seated Kings, Maids in all suits, and dragons on the Aces.

And here is how Dummett characterizes the three regions of Spain (p. 283):

the shape of sticks: logs (Valencia), gnarled clubs (Barcelona), bent sticks (Vitoria);

the arrangement of Swords and Batons: intersecting (Valencia and Vitoria), separated (Barcelona):

the pose of the King:: seated (Valencia and Vitoria) , unknown (Barcelona);

the lowest figures: female (Valencia and Barcelona), male (Vitoria).

No mention of dragons, unfortunately. What is interesting to me is that the place that has the most "Portuguese" characteristics is Valencia: intersecting Swords and Batons, seated Kings, female Jacks, and batons as "logs", which I assume means with stubs of branches on them. On this last, when I Google "Valencia playing cards", just such knobby logs come up, except for one or two branches that are not lobbed off The particular deck shown online is a result of modifying the old decks to conform to the later look of the cards, the Wikipedia article says, including turning the former Maids into Queens.

The Borgias came from Valencia. But the Aragonese, from the same general region, probably had more influence.

In any case, Dummett says, to explain the Colonna's suit cards (p. 285f):

Quello che sarebbe diventato il sistema spagnolo ebbe origine in un gruppo di modelli che rivaleggiavano con i modelli suddetti, e giunsero a soppiantarli tutti. Ciò che ci interessa è che quello che diventò il modello nazionale in Portogallo era usato originariamente anche in Spagna, forse in Aragona.

(What would become the Spanish system originated in a group of models that rivaled the above models, and came to supplant them all. What concerns us is that what became the national model in Portugal was used originally in Spain, perhaps in Aragon.)

And:

Esistono comunque prove dell'impiego del modello ‘portoghese’ anche nella stessa Spagna. La prima è una coppia di fogli non tagliati per un mazzo completo di Francisco Flores del 1585 circa, conservata nelFArchivo de Indias di Siviglia; questi fogli furono fatti presumibilmente per l’esportazione in Messico9. Da ricordare è anche la scoperta del soffitto di una casa di Anversa coperto di fogli provenienti da un mazzo portoghese; la casa fu costruita fra il 1559 e il 1574 e gli esperti concordano che il rivestimento sia quello originario10.

Tuttavia, la prova inconfutabile è la presenza del sistema portoghese in Sicilia, nell’Italia Meridionale e a Roma nel XVII secolo: esso poteva venire solo dalla Spagna. Carte da gioco del tipo classico spagnolo erano realmente note a Roma in quel secolo, poiché il documento papale già menzionato si riferisce sia alle «carte spagnole» che alle «carte dell’ombra» (carte per il gioco spagnolo dell’ Ombre) come tipi di carte prodotte dai fabbricanti romani. Nondimeno, i modelli standard seicenteschi di Roma, del Regno di Napoli e della Sicilia erano tutti i forme diverse del sistema portoghese; non fu prima del XVIII secolo che vennero introdotti nuovi modelli, del tipo classico spagnolo, per il mazzo normale con cui di solito si giocava 11.

(There exists, however, evidence of the use of the 'Portuguese' model also in Spain itself. The first is a pair of uncut sheets for a full deck by Francisco Flores about 1585, preserved in the Archivo de Indias in Seville; these sheets were presumably made for export to Mexico 9. the discovery is recorded of the ceiling of a house in Antwerp covered with sheets from a Portuguese deck; the house was built between 1559 and 1574, and most experts agree that the lining is original 10.

However, there is irrefutable evidence for the presence of the Portuguese system in Sicily, in Southern Italy, and Rome in the seventeenth century: it could only have come from Spain. Classic Spanish playing cards were actually known in Rome in that age, because the papal document mentioned above refers to both "Spanish cards" and "Ombre cards " (cards for the Spanish game of Ombre) as types of cards produced by Roman manufacturers. Nevertheless, the standard models of seventeenth-century Rome, the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily were all [enf of 285] different forms of the Portuguese system; it was not until the eighteenth century that new models were introduced, the classic Spanish, for the normal deck as usually played (11).
_______________________
9 See Trevor Denning, Spanish Playing Cards, London, 1980, pp.. 23-81. The sheets were discovered independently by him and by Harold and Virginia Wayland.
10. See André Kint, 'An important discovery in Antwerp', The Playing Card, Vol. XIII, 1984, pp. 45-54.
11. See M. Dummett, ‘The Portuguese Suit-System in the Central Mediterranean', The Playing Card, Voi. XVII, 19S9, pp. 113-24.)

The Antwerp cards are at http://www.wopc.co.uk/portugal/dutch-portuguese.html. The Seville are at http://www.wopc.co.uk/spain/flores/index.html. The Portuguese are at http://www.tarotparis.com/shop/portugue ... s-replica/. Another such deck, probably 15th century, is at http://www.wopc.co.uk/spain/gothic/mac-sheet.html, with cavorting putti, probably related to the South German: http://www.wopc.co.uk/germany/sge.html. Germany exported cards to Valencia and other parts of Spain, according to Andy's Playing Cards.

As additional evidence, Dummett refers to Portuguese-suited cards in a deck in Malta. The Sicilian cards themselves, he says, are clerly adaptations of original Portuguese model. The oldest Sicilian cards even have dogs threatening the Fantinas (p. 292), as do Neapolitan cards (p. 286).

The oldest documentaiton Dummett can find of tarot in Sicily is from 1736 (p. 294), but it must have come long before. He says (p. 293):

È logico presumere che, quando i tarocchi furono introdotti in Sicilia, i fabbricanti si conformarono alla solita pratica di usare il modello standard del mazzo normale per le carte dei semi di mazzi di tarocchi. In questo caso, è probabile che le carte dei semi dei più antichi mazzi siciliani da tarocchi ancora esistenti rappresentino il modello standard usato in Sicilia nel XVII secolo per il mazzo normale. Quest’ipotesi è confermata dalla rassomiglianza quasi esatta dei Re, dei Cavalli e delle Donne degli antichi mazzi da tarocchi con quelli del mazzo d’Infìrrera. Il mazzo dei tarocchi deve essere arrivato in Sicilia nella forma romana; ma è chiaro dalle carte del 1639 che a quella data carte di tipo portoghese erano già usate dai giocatori siciliani. Le carte dei semi dei mazzi antichi siciliani rassomigliano alle carte portoghesi classiche molto più delle [end of 292] carte romane; e si può spiegare questo fatto solo se i fabbricanti usavano per i mazzi di tarocchi un modello già esistente.

(It is logical to assume that, when tarot cards were introduced in Sicily, manufacturers conformed to the usual practice of using the standard normal deck of cards for the suits of Tarot decks. In this case, it is likely that the suit cards of the oldest surviving tarot Sicilian decks represent the standard model used in Sicily in the seventeenth century as the normal deck. This hypothesis is confirmed by the almost exact resemblance of the Kings, Knights, and Ladies of the ancient tarot decks with those of the Infìrrera deck. The tarot deck must have arrived in Sicily in Roman form; but it is clear from the cards in 1639 that on that date Portuguese type cards were already used by Sicilian players. The suit cards of the ancient Sicilian decks resemble classic Portuguese cards much more than the Roman cards; and this fact can be explained only if the Tarot manufacturers used decks of an existing model.)

The "Infirrera" is a Maltese normal pack dated 1693; the 1639 cards are a Sicilian normal pack (both p. 288). Since Dummett wrote, Pratesi has written about an article on Sicilian tarot he ran across in a popular magazine while visiting Polermo, by a professor of Medieval History there, documenting a reference to tarot in 1630 (http://trionfi.com/kalos-tarocco-siciliano). That is even before the Duke of Sermoneta's time.

The Sicilian tarot has the unique feature of an unnumbered "Poverta card" under the Bagatto, smply the lowest triumph, with no point value. The Angel has become Jupiter flying over a city. "It will be recalled," Dummett observes, "that, in 1725, the papal authorities advanced reservations about the presence of the Angel in the deck of Bologna" (p. 298). The World card has been adapted to show Atlas holding a globe; it is called Palle, i.e. Ball. The Sun card has Cain and Abel. The Star card, as in Minchiate, has a man on horseback with a star in front of him. The Tower, explictly called by that name, has no lightning or sign of any destruction. Instead of the Devil, there is a Ship, borrowed from Minchiate, Villabianca explains (p. 299; in footnote 23, Dummett admits that the expression at the beginning, speaking of himself in the third person, is odd, but it is somethng he does elsewhere as well):

A tempi della mia età Villabianca rappresentavasi in queste Carte da Tarocchi le figure del Demonio e del novissimo dell’[anima], ma perché questi davan piùttosto motivi di tristezza ai Giuocatori che d’a [...] pcio fur° abboliti, e cambiati nelle figure del Vascello, e della Torre a spese della duchessa Massa Rosalia Caccamo, che né fè fare appostar spente i [...].

(In my time Villabianca represented these cards in the Tarot as figures of the devil and the final summons of [soul], but because these are reasons for sadness to the players, that of a[...]pcio was abolished, and changed to the figure of the Ship, and the Tower, at the expense of the Duchess Massa Rosalia Caccamo, that neither fe do appostar off the [...].)

Dummett tells us about this Duchess (p. 299):

. La duchessa a cui si riferisce Villabianca era la moglie di Cristoforo Massa, duca di Casteldaci, che secondo Antonino Mango «sposò Rosalia Caccamo che a 28 maggio 1749 otteneva investitura del titolo di principe di Castelforte, portando il detto titolo in casa Massa» 22. Giuseppe Massa diventa principe di Castelforte nel 1753, presumibilmente dopo la morte di Cristoforo Massa 23. Le sostituzioni [end of 299]ordinate dalla duchessa furono fatte probabilmente verso il 1750.
_____________________
22. Antonino Mango, Nobiliario di Sicilia, Palermo, 1919, Tomo I, p. 429.
23. Villabianca usa l’espressione «a tempi della mia età Villabianca» in un’altra sezione del suo opuscolo, quella sugli scacchi, dove dice: «H chiarissimo fu Viceré Duca Fogìiani, a tempi della mia età Villabianca,...». Giovanni
Fogliani d’Aragona (1697-1780), marchese (non duca) di Pellegrino, fu viceré dal 1755 fino alla rivolta del 1773: Vilìabianca aveva giocato ai Tarocchi fino ai 1766.

(The Duchess referred to by Villabianca was the wife of Christoforo Massa, Duke of Casteldaci, who, according to Antonino Mango 'married Rosalia Caccamo on May 28, 1749, obtained investiture if the title prince of Castelforte, and was said to bring the title home to Massa » (22). Joseph Massa becomes Prince of Castelforte in 1753, presumably after the death of Christoforo Nassa (23). The replacements [end of 309] ordered by the Duchess were probably made ​​around 1750.
_____________________
22. Antonino Mango, Nobiliario di Sicilia [Nobilility of Sicily], Palermo, 1919, Volume I, p. 429.
23. Villabianca uses the expression "at the time of my age Villabianca" in another section of his pamphlet, the one about chess, where he says: 'He was clear Viceroy Duke Fogìiani, at the time of my age Villabianca... ". Giovanni Fogliani of Aragon (1697-1780), Marquis (not Duke) Pellegrino, was viceroy from 1755 until the revolt of 1773: Vilìabianca had played Tarot up to 1766.

Needless to say, the Pope and Popess are also gone, replaced by Constancy, in position 4, and Poverty, below 1. He has no information on when this was done. Otherwise, the cards are numbered like the Colonna, the Strambotto, and the Charles VI (but not quite like Minchiate), except that Love is above the virtues in eighth position and the Hermit above the Hanged Man! (see again http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YlU6F53x-_E/U ... .35+PM.png). This is an eccentric arrangement, which speaks to me of the interfering Duchess. Why the Fool is called "Fuggitivo" is unclear; some 19th century versions have him beating a drum and playing a wind instrument, hardly conducive to fleeing without being caught. The drum changed to a ball soon enough, as though that made everything comprehensible. (viewtopic.php?f=11&t=345&p=10975&hilit=sicily#p10975).

The high point-getting triumphs are the highest, Jupiter, the lowest, the Bagatto (which is called "I Piccioti" or "I Bagotti"), and the Fuggitivo. But the Globe and the three celestials also have points, although half as many. Here is the schedule (p. 301; I don't think I need to give a translation; "ciascun" means "each"):

Giove (XX) —10 punti
i Picciotti (I) —IO punti
il Fuggitivo —10 punti
la Palla (XVIIII) — 5 punti
il Sole (XVIII) — 5 punti
la Luna (XVII) — 5 punti
la Stella (XVI) — 5 punti
ciascun Re — 5 punti
ciascuna Regina — 4 punti
ciascun Cavallo — 3 punti
ciascuna Donna — 2 punti

This is somewhat like in Minchiate. As in Minchiate and other type A games, the last trick gets 5 points. The old decks are all with 60 cards. Dummett explains (p. 292):

Gli antichi mazzi dì tarocchi siciliani pervenutici sono tutti ridotti a sessantatré carte per l’esclusione delle carte numerali dall’Asso al 3 di Denari e dall’Asso al 4 degli altri tre semi.

(The surviving ancient Sicilian tarot decks are all reduced to sixty cards, to the exclusion of the pip cards from Ace to 3 in the Coins and Ace to 4 in the other three suits.)

This reduction was also in Villabianca's day. He even calls the reduced deck "tarocchini" (p. 277).

Questo Giuoco di Tarocchi perlo più si suole giocare in quattro... Giuocandosi indi in tre si chiama Giuoco di tarocchini riformato di tarocchi, perché vi si lasciano alcune carte degli ultimi punti.

This Game of Tarot is only for playing in four... playing in three then was called the Game of reformed tarocchini of tarot, because there are left some cards for the last points.

In 1862 all decks in Sicily with Latin suits were required to have a tax stamp on the Ace of Coins. So the obliging manufacturers added a very un-Portuguese-looking Ace of Coins, for 61 cards altogether. The players mostly don't use it, Dummett says.

At the end of the chapter Dummett describes numerous small changes that were made to various cards; he does not mention what the Fugitive looked like at all. The oldest extant decks are apparently from Felice Cemino, who died in 1828.