Re: Bolognese sequence

92
Huck wrote:
BAR ... made 1511/12 Bologna

Postby Huck on 16 Dec 2009, 11:05
Thanks for the date. I remember reading the first part of that post but not the part about1511. I must have had to break off reading and then when I got back remembered the earlier part and thought I had read the whole thing. Again it's frustrating that you don't show us that post-1530 Bologna Star card. I don't know what deck you mean. I'd love to be able to look at the change between the BAR's card and that one, so as to follow your argument better.
1. Trivulzio was in the position to start a French Tarot, which was exported to Milan.

2. Trivulzio had been in the period 1496-1499 variously in Piedmont and had an important position there.
Part of the argumentation of Ross for an early Bolognese Tarot position is, that he sees no logical reason, why the 4-papi-rule appears in Bologna and Piedmont, for which he sees no logical connection. For this connection (probably also some other reasons) he assumes, that the Bolognese pattern had to be "the oldest".
But if I assume, that the French Tarot as an import spread with Trivulzio and his intentions and took also an influence on Bologna, than I would have a scenario, which makes it logical, that Piedmontese and Bolognese rules have similarity.
It would be of interest to know whether the Piedmont cards have the same imagery as the BAR. That would tend to support your idea, since I would expect decks separated from each other during all the changes of the 15th century not to be alike in images—as I hope will be evident in what follows--although they might be in rules.

And are you saying that Trivulzio invented the equal "four papi" rule in 1496-1499? Why would he do that, so many years after all the tumult of Constance and even Basel is long over? That's the attractiveness of an early date in Bologna, at least to me. I don't see it happening in the ‘40s or before, for the reasons you give, but 1450-1455, when the prohibitions were relaxed, is a perfect window of opportunity, sponsored by Sante and some humanist, if not Bessarion then someone else.

Here is some more Ady:

"...in the sphere of architecture, it was Sante who led the way. Pagno di Lapo Portigiani of Fiesole came to Bologna in 1453, to make his home in the city and to practise his art as a sculptor and stone-mason. He was soon joined by another Florentine, Antonio di Simone Infrangipani, and their advent may be taken to mark the beginning of Renaissance architecture in Bologna. Enough remains of the work of the period to show the peculiar charm and distinction of the palaces which these Tuscan masons and sculptors helped to build. They cannot, for the most part, be ascribed to any one master, but are the work of Tuscan and Bolognese craftsmen acting in cooperation in order to meet the demand created by Sante's gift of peace and prosperity to the city. Chief among them was 'the palace, or great house, stately and honourable' [Ady is quoting from Giovanni II's will], conceived by its founder as a perpetual memorial to the house of Bentivoglio, and with the name of Portigiani as associated as architect.
There is no greater disaster in the history of art than the outburst of hatred which destroyed the Bentivoglio palace, an example of fifteenth-century domestic architecture worthy to be compared with the ducal palace of Urbino or the castle of the Gonzaga at Mantua. Although the palace itself is gone, the effects of the stimulus which it gave to build remain. During the long years when it was in process of construction Bologna became known as a place where work could be found. Gildds, religious houses, and private citizens vied with one another in building, expressing their loyalty to the ruling family by taking the Bentivoglio palace as their model..." (p. 150f)

Of course besides builders and sculptors, fresco painters are needed, and all manner of artists and artisans, some of whom might turn their hands to cards. Here is Ady again:

"Both in politics and in art Sante took Florence as his model. Giovanni, despite his friendly relations with the Medici, looked for inspiration to North Italy. If Milan was his political lodesar, in matters of art he, the godson of Leonello d'Este and the friend of Ercole, sought guidance from Ferrara..." (p. 155)

The difference is in degree, however, because according to Venturi (cited in a previous post) the Ferrarese painter Galasso Galassi came under Sante, and Filippino Lippi etc. painted for Giovanni (Ady p. 156).

Huck, I liked the way in which you compared the BAR to the B and C cards and found influences from both Florence and Ferrara. Such, it seems to me, is the sign of a living, changing tradition in iconography (if not in rules). That’s why I wouldn’t expect the BAR and the Piedmontese images to be similar if they both arose before 1455.

I have two more quotes about Bessarion. Bear in mind that the matter of the "sumptuary edict" was the only clash Ady finds recorded between Sante and Bessarion, and it has to do with lavishness rather than content.

"When the Emperor Frederick III visited Bologna, in January 1452, Bessarion presented young Giovanni Bentivoglio to him for knighthood" (p. 49).

And:

"When the Legate was called back to Rome in 1455 the people of Bologna wept as if they had lost a father. After his departure, the Popes, knowing the confidence which he inspired, frequently commended their proposals to the Sedici by saying that they were made in consultation with Bessarion. Sante showed his appreciation of his statesmanship when, a few years later, he advised Francesco Sforza to nominate him as the Milanese representative in the College of Cardinals.” [This last comes from the Milan Archives, Potenze Estere, Romagna, B161, 25 Feb. 1459.] (p. 50.)

Besides Bessarion, there were other humanists to go to for advice, perhaps less strict. The Bentivoglio were quick to defend the academics against suppression by the Church, as long as they supported the Bentivoglio. Here is Ady, writing about an event in 1491:

"Sometimes the speculations of the learned led their authors into heresy, as in the case of a doctor of medicine, Gabriele da Sala, in whose works the Dominican inquisitors detected thirty-four errors. He was saved from the stake by the intervention of Antongaleazzo and Allesandro Bentivoglio, and left the city for Florence, 'perhaps', says Fileno della Tuata, 'a greater heretic than before.'" (p. 183)

The university had an expert on palmistry, who practiced his trade with Giovanni II, and a whole department of astrology, of course. And when the Church persecuted the Jews of Bologna, it was the Bentivoglio who defended their rights (p. 188f).

Then there is Ginevra. Here are a few quotes about her:

"Ginevra had herself a direct interest in paper-making and printing, if we may judge from the description given by one Bolognese printer of his press, as situated in the 'edificio da carta della Illma Madonna Sforza di Bentivoglio." [Footnote: the printer is Ercole Nani, and the desciprion occurs in Diogene Laerzio's Vite dei filosophi, published 14 Jan. 1494, see Sorbelli, Storia della stampa in Bologna.](p. 162)

"In 1493 the Lent preacher was Girolamo Savonarola. According to the story told by Burlamacchi, he did not find favour with the Lady of Bologna, and she marked her displeasure by coming in late, with a crowd of ladies and attendants, and interrupting the sermon. When gentler methods failed, Savonarola rebuked her from the pulpit. Genevra, in revenge, sent assassins to attack him, but he was miraculously preserved from injury. The tale bears the mark of the hagiographer, but if, as is likely, Ginevra did not approve of Savonarola's preaching, she would certainly have made her opinion plain. Lent preachers, like ever one else in Bologna, were expected to increase the prestige and please the tastes of the Bentivoglio." (p. 183.)

"In 1498 Gentile Cimitri, the wife of a Bolognese notary, was burnt as a witch after sensational revelations as to her beliefs and powers. She had won the favour of Ginevra Bentivoglio owing to her reputation as a healer, and had been sent by her to Mantua to work a cure on her daughter Laura. It came to be believed that Gentile caused persons to fall ill in order to gain money by curing them. Bianca Rangoni and Sforza, the only son of Alessandro Bentivoglio, were held to have suffered at her hands, and she was reported to have had designs upon Messer Giovanni himself. On being examined by the Dominicans, she confessed to being as intimate with the devil as with her dearest friend, and said that, when she heard the priest reading the Gospel at Mass, she made answer to him with the words, 'You lie in your throat.' When the hour of her execution came, she mounted the scaffold on the Piazza with incredible confidence and went to her death undaunted. [Footnote: Ubaldini, Cronaca, f. 713, Fileno della Tuata, Cronaca, i. f. 337v, and Nadi, Diario Bolognese, p. 238, all contribute interesting details about Gentile Cimitri.] (p. 181f)

Obviously such a witch must have served the devil well, to be able to sicken people at a distance, In these witch-hunting times, there would seem to have been no need for a Trivulzio to conjure up the devil. The Dominicans did well enough by themselves. I observe that the heretic at the university was also in the field of medicine. Perhaps the physicians’ association colluded with the Inquisitors (although today they only jail people who use unorthodox methods).

Ginevra's problem, according to Ady, was that she could never get it through her head that in Bologna, a republic, there were no official aristocrats. There were only "first citizens for life"--and for the life of their first-born male heirs. “Bred in a Romagnol court,” Ady says, “she saw herself as the Lady of Bologna, and failed to appreciate the delicacy of her husband’s position as a citizen among citizens. In Bolognese opinion she was largely responsible for the prolonged persecution of the Malvessi, and hers was the motive force which provoked the attack on the Marescotti” (p. 148).

Of interest is a family portrait by Lorenzo Costa in the Church of S. Giocomo, ca. 1488 (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... ta_006.jpg, or a better one at http://cojicoviaggio.cocolog-nifty.com/ ... s-g-1.html), from which I take the detail below). Ady says of it:

“Giovanni is represented with the long straggling hair and roughly moulded features which his other portraits have made familiar. He wears a citizen’s dress and his usual close-fitting cap. His general appearance is unkempt and unfinished, conveying an impression of irresolution, if not weakness. On the other hand, every detail of Ginevra’s portrait—her clear-cut features and firm mouth, the neat precision of her dress and the very pressure of her fingers against each other as she kneels in prayer—suggests brain and will acting in effective co-operation.” (p. 142)
Image


So now I come to Bologna and Julius Caesar. When Sante came to Bologna, the letter-writer I quoted in a previous post compared his eloquence to Cicero's, who was the foe of the Caesars and defender of the Republic, at the cost of his life. And when Giovanni II successfully defended the city against Cesar Borgia, a medallion was cast. On one side was his profile. And:

“On the reverse Giovanni is seated, with an uplifted sword in his right hand, and in his left a model of Bologna, while the inscription records his defence of the city against the ‘pseudo-Caesar’.(Ady’s reference: Venturi, A., ‘Di un madaglista sconosciuta del Rinascimento’, Arhivia Storico del Arte 1888.] (p. 158)

Comparisons to Caesar (or Cesar)--assuming Ross's analysis of the Chariot card is right--were not compliments in the Bentivoglio’s republican Bologna.

Of course Trivulzio might not have known that. He also might not have known the sentiments of the city at that time. People were beginning to suspect the Bentivoglio of having destroyed their republic. In a downturn, it is easy to forget the rulers' positive side. They paid lip-service to the Republic, but the Bentivoglio had murdered or exiled some of the best minds and families of the city, all to establish their autocratic rule and satisfy personal whim. Their justice, temperance, and fortitude were wanting, and now they were paying the price. First they made an imprudent alliance with the French, destroying Italian unity against foreign invasion; and then they embarked on a foolish escapade (the sons’ armed attack on the city, at Ginevra’s urging) which only served to anger a people and Pope who might have saved them, as well as giving an excuse for the destruction that followed (Ady p. 200).

So a Chariot card with a French lily would have been an appropriate symbol, to show the Bentivoglio’s misplaced loyalties and delusions of grandeur, as Caesars who destroyed the Republic. Even if the flower were older than the alliance with France, a Florentine lily (or even a Bolognese lily dusted off and waved at their allies), it could now, in the hands of the unholy “Holy League,” be a symbol of Bentivoglio pretensions. (Or it could be a symbol of the foreign armies they invited in, if it appears very late in the sequence). So leave Sapientia to the priests, and see to your Fortuna, citizens of Bologna, I can imagine the new post-1512 rulers saying with their World card.

That one year of Bentivoglio rule, 1511-1512 (Ady p. 202), it seems to me, would not have been enough to establish such a deck as the BAR in the rocklike way that it was. But if the new rulers latched onto it as a morality lesson, in how the puffed-up ones fell, it didn’t matter when the images on the cards actually were introduced, whether by Trivulzi, by Giovanni earlier (but not, to be sure, before his glory days)--or later, by the new rulers.

“Imperious Caesar, dead and turn’d to clay,
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away.
O that that earth which kept the world in awe
Should patch a wall t’expel the winter’s flaw. “
(Hamlet 5.1.206ff)

The chronicler whom Ady quotes throughout her book can have the last word.. Here is Ady, speaking of 1512:

The devastation of the contado by foreign armies and the presence of soldiers within the city brought severe privation upon the city. Amid physical sufferings and spiritual misgivings Bologna was plunged in gloom, and the attempt of the Bentivoglio to cheer the people by running a palio to celebrate the anniversary of their return failed of its purpose. ‘Those feasted who should have wept for the destruction they have brought on our poor city,’ says Fileno della Tuata [footnote: Cronica della Citta di Bologna, Biblioteca Communale, Bologna, MSS 99, 100, ii, f. 212] (p. 204)

Re: Bolognese sequence

93
I think the figure on the left is actually a Popess in the Bologna tradition since the 17th century.

Here are various versions of the Star in the Bolognese trumps, in chronological order (with maker) -
Alle Torre, 17th century; Al Leone, 18th century; Al'Angelo, 1st quarter 19th century; Alla Fortuna, 3rd quarter 19th century; Tarocchini Murari, 1920; (unattributed); Dal Negro, late 20th century; Modiano, late 20th century.



For larger versions of these -
http://www.rosscaldwell.com/images/taro ... astar1.jpg
http://www.rosscaldwell.com/images/taro ... astar2.jpg

Other things seem to evolve over two to three centuries - the object held up by the Popess changes from a crown to an orb; first one then both of the other figures get crowns; the band at the bottom drops out after the 18th century (because of the double-headed style); the bursts at the corners drop out in the 20th century. Dal Negro's modern version (second from last) changes the former Popess' tiara into a mere crown.

Double-headed and numbers on the cards comes in the late 18th century.
Image

Re: Bolognese sequence

94
mikeh wrote:Huck wrote:
BAR ... made 1511/12 Bologna

Postby Huck on 16 Dec 2009, 11:05
Thanks for the date. I remember reading the first part of that post but not the part about1511. I must have had to break off reading and then when I got back remembered the earlier part and thought I had read the whole thing. Again it's frustrating that you don't show us that post-1530 Bologna Star card. I don't know what deck you mean. I'd love to be able to look at the change between the BAR's card and that one, so as to follow your argument better.
Ahem ... the thread was started by Ross, and he refers to the long stable Bolognese tradition, which I know by the book of Andrea Vitali (Il Tarocchino di Bologna), which I've at hand, but I've no scanner. I assume, that Ross has it also. There is no "deck of 1530", but decks of later productions, in it, who show 3 men, from which the left one is a pope (triple-crowned tiara) and he holds a crown in his left hand and one of the others is occasionally a king. So in Tarocchi alla Torre, Bologna sec. XVII, which is the oldest variant in this book. There are others, which only slightly variate the motif.
In 1530 was the last Emperor-crowning and it was in Bologna.
The emperor apple above the left crowned person at BAR does not reappear

... I see, that Ross meanwhile has responded to the problem. Thanks.
It would be of interest to know whether the Piedmont cards have the same imagery as the BAR.
That would tend to support your idea, since I would expect decks separated from each other during all the changes of the 15th century not to be alike in images—as I hope will be evident in what follows--although they might be in rules.
There are no cards, there is a report from Piedmont of 1565, which was recently discussed here, which was translated by Marco at Tarotpedia. Also there is information of Dummett/Mcleod, which I don't know.
http://www.tarotpedia.com/wiki/Francesc ... corso_1565
And are you saying that Trivulzio invented the equal "four papi" rule in 1496-1499?
No, I said, that he had been in Piedmont ... possibly these people played with 4 papi, I don't know. And he was important there, he had festivities with 1000 guests.
Trivulzio was important for the French command in Milan, after it was conquered. The Milanese didn't love him, they still took him as a traitor. Trivulzio could have managed, that mass production of Taraux started in France and were brought to Milan and other regions in Italy. These cards might have looked in a way, as Trivulzio wanted them to look like. I speak of the Taraux document in Avignon 1505 which had a parallel production of Tarocchi games in Ferrara in the same year (which had an alliance with France). This is the first time, that the exressions Taraux-Tarocchi are used. They are not called "Trionfi cards".

http://trionfi.com/0/p/23/

This action must have been not a very great success story immediately, the next note of "Tarocchi" follows in Ferrara 1516 - after Milan was lost to France in 1512 and after France got new victories with Francois I. in 1516. This second stage developed to the greater success story.
Considering this, an assumed Tarot production from the side of Trivulzio might have still had "private dimensions", though the change of production technique to cheaper decks, as they were known mainly in France, might have changed simply the number of existing decks considerably.

We have a document of earlier mass production of Trionfi cards in Bologna, a printing contract of 1477. 250 decks in a half year, that is not a gigantic production. The commissioner is an outside person, it is not a Bentivoglio action.
And there is no guarantee, that this edition was that, what we might think, that it was. Boiardo Tarocchi poem (1487) and Sola Busca (1491) are totally different.

Then we have the Ferrarese wars and between 1478-1487 festivity culture is generally going down, a development caused by the Medici-crisis 1478 (even the Giovanni festivities are stopped for a decade). The general "Trionfi-movement" went down in this time, revoked by the Lucrezia marriage and the theater festivities in Ferrara 1487, which was followed by a bombardment of festivities till 1493, especially through the marriages of the Este daughters. In this period, which knew even a sort of real peace between Venice and Milan, we have Trionfi card allowances in the Venetian region. Before we had an astonishing shyness in Venice against the whole Trionfi theme, as if the Venetian republic had political reason not to indulge in these egomanic customs of Italian nobility. One shouldn't overlook, that Venice had a very long war with the Osmanic forces and not a very successful war ... as the idea of Trionfi was connected to peace and victory, this might explain the Venetian behavior.
Well, these allowances are a sign of mass-production, but which cards were distributed? We actually only know of some participation to the Sola-Busca deck (actually a Ferrara production) and this is very different to Tarot standard.
1494 the French appear on the scene and since then the French theme is already already dominating. And Trivulzio is then already in Asti and in the Piedmont and provoked by shame pictures from the side of the Milanese dukedom. Personal attacks with Trionfi card use. Trivulzio had done earlier a lot for Milan and he had been born there.

Let's assume a number of once distributed Trionfi decks, which used the nowadays standard motifs, in the year 1500, let's say 10.000 decks for the whole 15th century. If the French filled the market with 20.000 decks with a cheap production method, for instance the Rosenwald Tarocchi deck, they would have changed, what the majority of persons would have known about this deck.
The Mantegna Tarocchi e-series shouldn't have produced more than 5000-10.000 pieces, there are limitations, how often a copperplate engraving might have been used. If you count, what is left from the Mantegna Tarocchi e-series, than it is more, what we have from all Trionfi decks together.

The Lyon production is said to have had a climax between 1490 - 1510. That's precisely the time, when Trivulzio was active. There's a French card printing offensive in this time.
Similar in the same time also Maximilian detects the value of printing and engraving techniques and uses it effectively to build up the enduring Habsburg power. The German existing book prints from 1500 and 1520 in comparison increase their number of around 600 %.
The leaders of the reformation detect the political value of the "Flugblatt", single page information. Whole Europe gets in a state of revolution.

Thanks for your further information from Ady. The most of it is rather interesting.
Last edited by Huck on 21 Dec 2009, 23:01, edited 1 time in total.
Huck
http://trionfi.com

Re: Bolognese sequence

95
Note that the presence of an apparent Popess in the Bolognese Star card does not imply some kind of subversive insertion after the prohibition of 1725 of all four of the Papi (changing them into Mori) - since these two figures are in the same Alla Torre pack as the first b/w image above, from well before the ban:
Image


They both look like they could be Popesses to me; or, they could both be feminine-looking Popes (Note that the numbers written on the cards must have been done in France (where the cards currently reside, in the Bibliothèque nationale), since every card is numbered (never done in Bologna), and the sequence is numbered according to the Tarot de Marseille (never attested in Italy before the 18th century on Tarot de Marseille style cards) - whoever chose to number one Pope "2" was obviously looking at the face, which is more feminine, since the figure with the book and cross is given to "5").
Image

Annibale Bentivoglio and Donnina Visconti, 1441

96
Two sources for the Bentivoglio-Visconti wedding of May, 1441.

Their value for my scenario is that if Tarot had been just invented a year or so before in Bologna, and was played by the educated classes, then this is a perfect time for both Ferrarese and Milanese upper-classes to have become acquainted with it (Florentine delegates/gifts are notably absent - in fact Pope Eugene was amassing an army to try to take Bologna back (and he was in Florence at the time, so Florentines would have been looked on suspiciously at this event). But, unfortunately, it adds no real historical indications for a Bolognese origin, since in general Florence and Bologna had close relations. But, it is a good occasion for a Bolognese point of diffusion to both Ferrara and Milan).
----------------------

Annibale Bentivogli in questi giorni procura di haver per moglie Madonna Donnina figliola di Lanzalotto Visconti nepote del duca, et la ottiene con consenso del duca; et a cui piacque assai questo parentado, parendoli che facilmente havrebbe il dominio di Bologna, havendo per parente Annibale che teneva il primato in Bologna. Passano dunque a Milano gl’infrascritti cittadini pomposamente ornati et vestiti a livrea a pigliar madonna Donnina Visconte sposa di Annibale Bentivogli per condurla a Bologna; et furono questi, cioè: Carlo Ghisilieri, Nicolò Sanuti amendue cavallieri, Gasparo dalla Renghiera dottore, Bernardino de’ Preti, Giovanni Felicini, Gabriele Manzoli, Alessandro da Sassoni, Andrea di Lambertino Battagli, Giovanni di Ventura Papazzoni et altri cittadini assai.

Alli 7 di maggio, la domenica, madonna Donnina fu condotta a Bologna, accompagnata da gran numero di gentilhuomini milanesi, et Annibale fece gloriosa festa, a cui furono fatti molti doni da vari signori d’Italia, cioè: dal marchese di Ferrara, dal marchese di Mantova, da’Venetiani, dalli Manfredi di Faenza, dalli cittadini di Bologna, dalle arti, dalli communi, dalle castella et contado. Furono anche addobbate le strade di panni et di festoni, ove la detta sposa passar doveva, et si fecero infinite altre allegrezze et pompe, sì in piazza come avanti la casa di Sante Annibale, dove si corse un palio di rosato.


At this time Annibale Bentivoglio obtained the lady Donnina, daughter of Lanzalotto Visconti, nephew of the Duke, in marriage, with the consent of the Duke. It pleased him very much to have this relationship, seeming that he would easily have the rule of Bologna, with Annibale, who held preeminent power in Bologna, as a relation. Thus the below-stated citizens went in full pomp to Milan, to claim the lady Donnina Visconti wife of Annibale Bentivoglio and take her to Bologna. They were the following: Carlo Ghisilieri, Nicolò Sanuti amendue cavallieri, Gasparo dalla Renghiera professor, Bernardino de’ Preti, Giovanni Felicini, Gabriele Manzoli, Alessandro da Sassoni, Andrea di Lambertino Battagli, Giovanni di Ventura Papazzoni and many other citizens.

On the seventh of May, a Sunday, lady Donnina was brought to Bologna, accompanied by a great number of Milanese gentlemen, and Annibale made a glorious celebration, to which were brought many gifts from different lords of Italy, that is: from the Marquis of Ferrara, the Marquis of Mantua, from the Venetians, from the Manfredi of Faenza, from the citizens of Bologna, from the Arti, the Communes, from the Citadel and the County. The streets were also decorated with pennants and festoons, where the betrothed would pass, and an infinity of other parade and pomp was made, both in the piazza and before the house of Sante Annibale, where a palio di rosato was run.

(Cherubino Ghirardacci (ed. Albano Sorbelli, Della historia di Bologna. Parte terza (RIS t. XXXIII p. I (1912/1932); pp. 68-69 (ll. 45-11))
------------------
But the growing power of Annibale Bentivogli, a magnanimous knight who, on account of his bravery and virtue was admired by everyone, eclipsed in the heart of the Duke of Milan his contemplated hope of holding full and absolute possession of the city, whereupon he thought not only to make him a close friend, but even more a relative, by offering his niece Donnina Visconti as a wife. Annibale Bentivoglio, seeking to found his Rulership ever more securely, called the Duke of Milan’s bluff and accepted the offered lady.

Never was a more splendid wedding celebrated in Bologna. The contract was formally concluded in April of 1441, and things being settled, Annibale sent friends to Milan to take the bride; which friends, passing through with great pomp and procession, arrived with welcome by the Duke, who consigned the young girl to them, they returning to Bologna with a great following of Milanese ladies and knights. On the seventh of May the wedding procession was at the gate of the city, where they were met with extraordinary honor by all the People, Arts, Colleges, Magistrates, and the Senate, at the head of which was Annibale.

Like a triumphal car, the bride ingressed in an open carriage drawn by four horses; she was dressed entirely in white with golden frills, and a sky-blue outer cape lightly covered the sides of her person from the shoulders almost to the knees. She had a simple pure-white veil on her head, which fell directly on her shoulders, closed with a thin ring of gold that encircled the temple, leaving to see placed in the middle of the forehead a diadem of immense value, given by the Duke for such weddings. She was of middle height, and white complexion; her face constantly pale, showing a gentle spirit; like her hair, she had thick and black eyelids, and her smile had something rare, signifying more melancholy than complacency. Altogether she was comely and beautiful.

Annibale Bentivoglio, charming knight, climbed to her side, grinning with the caress of love, absorbing it even while a great part of the applause that the festive people made was for the gentle signora. All the streets that led to the Bentivoglio Palace were decorated for celebration, and for several days the city danced with joy. There was a pallio run with barbary horses, as was the custom for great events, and for many evenings fires of joy were lit in the courtyard of the Bentivoglio Palace.

However, this year the city of Bologna had another reason to celebrate, from the fact that the peace between the Duke of Milan, the Pope, and the Republic of Venice was concluded, at the occasion of which peace Bologna held jousts, tournaments, and public entertainments; and by the major stability of the calm between the citizens, many noble ties were made in marriage, among which were that Romeo Pepoli married Isabella the sister of Annibale Bentivoglio, and Giacomo the brother of Romeo Pepoli married a daughter of Tommaso Gozzadini.

(Cesare Monari, Storia di Bologna, Bologna, 1862, pp. 306-308)
Image

Re: Bolognese sequence

97
I forgot to add that a dynastic wedding gives a great chance for women and children to be present in large numbers (Murari notes Milanese ladies, which Ghirardacci does not), which is not the same as the normal, and constant, diplomatic and commercial visits which account for the greatest amount of contact between cities, always done by men.
Image

Re: Bolognese sequence

98
Well, one shouldn't forget, that we have with the Bentivoglio the ascend of a family, which after its ascend had enough time to tell and spread their variant of the story.

Storiadimilano reports this marriage of May 1441 NOT. Either it's not known there or not important enough. Bernabo had many, many grandchildren.
And what is about this murder 1440, when Annibale killed a possible father-in-law? How does this fit in the story of the glamorous wedding?
And Filippo Maria is said to have arranged the killing of Annibale.
Huck
http://trionfi.com

Re: Bolognese sequence

99
Huck wrote:Well, one shouldn't forget, that we have with the Bentivoglio the ascend of a family, which after its ascend had enough time to tell and spread their variant of the story.

Storiadimilano reports this marriage of May 1441 NOT.
This Storia di Milano or another? -

http://www.storiadimilano.it/Personaggi ... ancillotto

"Donnina

Figlia di Lancillotto, ebbe il nome della nonna, Donnina de Porri. Nel 1441 il duca Filippo Maria la fece sposare con Annibale Bentivoglio di Bologna. Nel 1442 il duca le concesse il feudo di Granozzo nel Novarese, ma in quello stesso anno Annibale venne fatto prigioniero da Francesco Piccinino e rinchiuso nella rocca di Varano. Liberato e tornato a Bologna, non scampò al suo appuntamento con la morte, perché venne assassinato dai suoi avversari il 24 giugno 1445. Donnina continuò ad occuparsi dell'educazione del figlio Giovanni che, raggiunta la maggiore età, divenne signore di Bologna."
Image

Re: Bolognese sequence

100
I thought of the timeline.

But "Nel cortile di Palazzo Borromeo Michelino da Besozzo affrescò il Trionfo dell’Amore, ossia l’unione delle destre o matrimonio tra Filippo Borromeo e Franceschina di Lancillotto Visconti, sullo stile della carta da gioco “il Matrimonio”.

Lancillotto had another daughter of some interest.

But what do you have about the murder of 1440?
Huck
http://trionfi.com
cron