Filippo Maria Visconti made a famous prisoner in Juli ca. 1424, Agnese becomes pregnant around this time. The prisoner was Carlo Malatesta.
http://www.condottieridiventura.it/tabe ... a/1420.htm
1424:
ZAGONARA – luglio
Visconti: 4000 cavalli, 4000 fanti; fiorentini: 8000/9000 cavalli e 2000/3000 fanti. Durata: 5 ore. Scontro tra due cavallerie pesanti sotto una pioggia dirotta che colpisce di traverso i fiorentini (stanchi peraltro per una lunga marcia) quasi accecandoli, mentre i viscontei l’hanno alle spalle. I milanesi incominciano a ritirarsi portando i fiorentini su un luogo paludoso dove sono disfatti da Angelo della Pergola. Secondo i calcoli del Morelli i fiorentini perdono 5000 cavalli e 2000 fanti; per l’Albizzi 2600 cavalli; per l’Ammirato ed il Cambi 3200 cavalli e tutti i bagagli. I fiorentini subiscono un danno valutato sui 300000 scudi.
(Between the prisoners Carlo Malatesta as military leader of the Florentine army)
Carlo had educated Parisina Malatesta and there's a connection between Parisina (who is still living then) and playing cards (she appears in 3 documents since 1422). It somehow seems possible, that Parisina made playing cards acceptable (or popular) in Ferrara. Likely she already knew their use from the Malatesta court.
http://trionfi.com/0/d/13
Carlo had been an important man at the council of Constance, he arrived with the duty, to abdicate for one of the 3 current popes. As everybody wished the popes to abdicate, Carlo had a pleasant duty. German playing card behavior should have been more relaxed about playing cards than Italian behavior (more prohibition), also there were more freedom in questions of nakedness and in matters of sexuality. And the council became rather important for the distribution of different styles of music.
A lot of Italians traveled to Constance and were impressed by these differences between Southern and Northern culture.
Carlo imported Dufay, a Northern musician (ca. 1420). Filippo Maria made tolerant playing card laws (known since 1421). The conservative reaction (San Bernardino) started to preach against modern developments in 1417.
Luxury playing cards reached prices (in Ferrara 1423, in Milan with the Michelino deck), which before or later never were paid.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_I_Malatesta
http://trionfi.com/0/m/64/
Carlo became prisoner in July and was treated with high honors and all respect, finally he even got presents (released ca. April 1425).
Similar behavior we know from Filippo Maria Visconti only in 1435, when Alfonso of Aragon had become his prisoner. At this later occasion it's known, that playing cards were used. We don't have such a declaration for the visit.
Filippo Maria had in this time (1424/25) a war with the emperor Sigismondo, which ended in an arrangement of peace also around April 1425. So the celebrations in June 1425 had more than one reason.
*****************
Filippo Maria himself knew playing cards sine his youth (according Decembrio). Filippo had been 3 years old, when a Milanese delegation arranged in Prague, that Giangaleazzo got the duke title in 1395 from King Wenzel. Wenzel paid a high prize for this, as this decision caused much trouble in Germany and finally stranded in the condition, that Wenzel was abdicated as King of the German Emperor in the year 1400.
Johannes of Rheinfelden knew in 1377 a deck with 60 cards, 10 number cards and 5 court cards for each suit. In structure this deck mirrored the Michelino deck with (likely) also 60 cards, 16 trumps + 4 kings (= 20 court cards) + 4x10 number cards.
In Bavaria (West of old Bohemia) and the Riesengebirge (North of old Bohemia) a game is known called Schafkopf (at least since ca. 1700), in which Ober and Unter (or Queen and Jack) are used as trumps, but the Kings are not trump.
A similar trumping rule seems to have existed in the time of 1432 near Strassburg, when Master Ingold wrote his "Guldin Spil". The proposed rule has internal logic, if one assumes Ober and Unter as marshalls (the way, in which Johannes of Rheinfelden perceived them) and as military leaders (according this the military leaders were trumps), but the Kings just rule in their kingdom (their suit).
The 60 cards of Johannes 1377 had been (very probable) a court deck, the number cards were designed as professions (similar to the chess pawns). Similar motifs reappeared ca. 1455 in the deck of Ladislaus posthumus, the 15 years old king of Bohemia (though then shortened to a 4x12-deck). From the political conditions of 1377 (the Bohemian court was dominant, Emperor Charles IV. still lived) it seems probable, that Johannes saw a version of the Bohemian court deck.
And likely also Giangaleazzo saw the Bohemian court deck, when his delegation returned successful from Prague in 1395. And this or some decks of a similar structure stranded as education decks in the youth of Filippo Maria Visconti. And Pier Candid Decembrio knew about them, as his father Uberto had been part of the delegation.
Filippo Maria knew the structure of the deck, but changed the content. The dominant marshalls (in Italy they would have been condottieri) disappeared, instead "gods" took the trumping function.
So there's not really a problem, where Filippo Maria got his "16" from. But possibly he got a favor for the number 16 in his early years.