Alfonso had celebrated the victory with a Trionfi in 1443, later in the time aroun 460-62 his son had attempted to regain the kingdom of Naples again.
This case was researched a few years in the LTarot group, but finished without sure results bout the real context.
2. Montefeltro was invited to interfere in the siege of Citta di Castello by papal troops under Giulio de Rovere, Giulio de Cesare and Lorenzo Zane in August of the year 1474. When Vitelli, the defending signore of the city, heard, that Montefeltro participated in the siege, he offered resignation.
After this (or parallel) Montefeltro was invited to Rome and got the title "duke of Urbino". Likely (according Trionfi.com research) at this opportunity Montefeltro got the manuscript of Lazzarelli, which included pictures, which the author had collected in a Venetian bookstore, which had at least to a part strong similarities to motifs of the Mantegna Tarocchi. The manuscript reports in poetical form about 27 motifs totally.
Montefeltro had in this year a series of honors: According ...
http://www.condottieridiventura.it/cond ... Gubbio.htm
... he had a militaric success in Volterra 1472 and in 1473 ... "promette a Girolamo Riario di dargli in prestito 5000 ducati necessari per acquistare dal duca di Milano il titolo di conte di Imola" (promises to give Jerome Riario borrowed 5000 ducats needed to buy from Duke of Milan the titel Count of Imola)
Girolamo was in 1473 not so important as later. His importance raised, when the favored cardinal Pietro Riario died under not very clear conditions (3rd of January 1474) ... was it due to this investment of 5000 ducats, that Montefeltro ...
* got in May 1474 the agreement, that his daughter Giovanna should marry Giovanni el Rovere
* received the order of the Ermelin in Naples in June 1474
* got the title duke in August 1474 in Rome
* became member in the order of the Garter in October 1474
* got a "rose d'oro" in Vatican camera del pappagallo in April 1475
... ?
Lazzarelli had before worked for Giulio Cesare Varano, lord of Varano, and had a friendly relation to Lorenzo Zane, both participating in the Citta di Castello conflict.
It is assumed by the Trionfi.com theory to the Mantegna Tarocchi, that it was formed in a 5x10-scheme in 1475 in Rome, based mainly on pictures which were collected by Lazzarelli.
The general alternative to this assumption is the far spread theory based mainly on the research of Arthur Hind, that the 5x10-scheme + engravings were made before 1467 - in 1467 a Bolognese manuscript is dated, which in one picture has strong similarities to some of the Mantegna figures, from 1468 4 virtues engravings exist in St. Gallen, which (in their central figures) definitely are identical to the engravings in the usual Mantegna Tarocchi, but had differences in the border and background and which had no names or numbers.
Research to this can be found at the Trionfi.com Mantegna Tarocchi page:
http://trionfi.com/0/m/00/
(surely in a state, which is not in all points up-to-date with the current state of research)
3. In the Urbino library (famous in the time) also appeared a Capella manuscript (interpreted to have been made in 1470's), which was decorated with Artes liberalis pitures with further similarities o Mantegna Tarocchi motifs.
http://trionfi.com/0/m/06/
4. Montefeltro appears together with his wife at 2 pictures with triumphal chariots, which were used as inside decoration of two doors, the frontside showing portraits of him and his wife:

Inscriptions are readable at
http://www.rositour.it/Arte/Piero%20del ... tro%29.jpg
The left chariot shows Montefeltro with Fama and 4 cardinal virtues, the right chariot his wife Battista with 3 theological virtues (cardinal and theological virtues are part of the Mantegna Tarocchi)
5. Trionfi edition of Montefeltro:
Sribe: Contugi of Volterra (wrote also a richly decorated version of Dante's Divine Comedy between 1478-82, illuminated by Giuglielmo Giraldi and others, completed by unkown artist of 17th century)
"Written on parchment ... was Federico's copy of Trionfi and Conzonieri of Petrach. This was richly illuminated by Bartomeo della Gatta, and the initials FD appear within the Garter (an honour conferred on Federico by Edward IV in 1474). The triumphs, for instance tht of Chastity, drawn by unicorns, are reminiscent of those on the back of the double portrait of Federico and Battista Sforza of the double portrait of Federico and Battista Sforz painted by Piero della Francesca."
http://books.google.com/books?id=VTV4Xa ... q=&f=false
Pictures would be interesting.
6. Montefeltro engaged also for the liberal arts (another Mantegna Tarocchi motifs series)

http://www.philipresheph.com/a424/galle ... emish1.htm
[quote]Justus of Ghent (Joos van Wassenhove)
c. 1480
Seven Liberal Arts (Music)
National Gallery
Part of Justus's work for Federico da Montefeltro's studiolo in his new palace in Gubbio.
Inscribed on the entablature behind the throne is I (?)ECLESIE CONFALONERIVS. This draws the viewer's attention to Federico's office as Standard Bearer (Commander in Chief) of the papal armies.
Music, one of the Seven Liberal Arts, is enthroned and points to an organ. The kneeling youth may be Costanzo Sforza (born 1447), whose imprese was a spray of laurel which is seen hanging behind him.[/largeimg]
Rhetoric

See also Astronomy and Dialectic(with description):


It's assumed, that this picture series was intended for the studiolo in Gubbio, which was undertaken 1479-82. Another theory says, "made for the library in Urbino"
As far I remember, two pictures still exists and two others were lost 1945 in Berlin (?).
7. Chess
As already said, Montefeltro got the Lazzarelli text with "27 figure" around 1474/75
a. A chess variation called Tamerlane Chess existed at least since ca. 1340 in Persia and used 112 fields and 28 figures for each side. It contained totally 21 different kinds of figures and 56 figures ... somehow in its numbers a relative to Tarot.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... imur-1.gif
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=460
b. An 8x14 chess board with 112 fields (and probably 28 figures for each side) appears at a painting of Franceso di Georgio, who is said to have worked for Montefeltro since begin of 1475. Probably this game was played with 28 figures for each side.

c. A series of "28 famous men" was made for the studiolo of Montefeltro in Urbino, probably arranged around the relevant time 1474 - 1476
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=493
d. At the festivity of the wedding of Costanzo Sforza and Camilla Aragon, which was attended by Montefeltro and possibly also influenced by him, the festivity book presents a banquett with 28 mythical persons.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=418
e. In 1474 Montefeltro should have become interested in knight orders, because he became member in two of them. Earlier other knight orders were founded, that of Renee d'Anjou (1449) with a limit to 29 members, the order of the crescent (the member-number likely chosen cause is relation to the days of one moon, 29.53), and Louis XI.' order of St. Michel (1469) with a limit to 31 members, both numbers near to 28. Did Montefeltro consider to found a knight order himself or a knight order for the papacy or for "Italy"? He was then the most far accepted "first condottiero" of his time, who, if not him, should have done such an attempt?
http://trionfi.com/0/p/24/
f. A strange chess ring (containing aboard 4x32 fields) appears in the marqueterie of the studiolo in Urbino, somehow connected to astronomical contents.

... somehow similar to the upper art of Montefeltro's sword ...

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=418&start=60
g. Tamarlane chess with 28 figures was played at the court of Tamerlane and naturally also at that of Uzun Hassan, who was contemporary to Montefeltro and an ally to Venezia-Rome-Naples, which engaged to attack the Osmans. Uzun Hassan still was of Mongolian descend.
Other Mongolian variants might have been also known, one of them, the version Hiashatar ("bodyguard chess") .....

..... knows the move of a modern European Chess Queen for a mythical animal, which has the position of the usual chess queen.
http://history.chess.free.fr/hiashatar.htm
There is not enough material in the web to be sure, but it is said, that these variants are 500 years old or medieval.
In Spanish chess history there are worked out lot of good arguments, that the modern bishop and the modern queen were introduced in Spain possibly mid of the 1470's or at least with evidence in 1497. But, what, if these moves existed in combination already in a Mongol chess variation?
Then the question is there, how and if this version might have found to Europe ... ca. in Montefeltre's time.