Tarocchi, le origini, le carte, la fortuna

Italy during the Renaissance presented itself as a fragmented entity, the scene of fierce political rivalries, yet it was also a culturally rich and vibrant environment, which later brought it universal renown. This politically fluid situation was due, in part, to the lack of legitimate claim to power held by those who exercised governmental authority in Italy at that time. By the end of the 14th century, however, there was an initial reversal of this trend with Gian Galeazzo Visconti of the title of Duke of Milan from Emperor Wenceslaus of Luxembourg: for the first time, a noble dynasty of civic origins obtained a title of sovereignty far more noble and prestigious than the now outdated and worn-out title of Imperial Vicar, which would allow its representatives to act as sovereigns, seeking to emulate their European counterparts. In little more than a century (1416–1523), others would follow suit: from the Savoy to the Gonzaga, from the Montefeltro to the Este, from the Varano to the Medici. By the mid-15th century, therefore, the political landscape was still divided, but more balanced than in the previous century, thanks to a process of political consolidation among some of themajor powers, in particular the Duchy of Milan and the republics of Florence and Venice, which had absorbed other smaller entities, reaching regional and supra-regional dimensions. Alongside these major powers (which also included the Kingdom of Naples and the Papal States), other powers emerged in succession, on an increasingly smaller scale. A new political order, therefore, was established and formally cemented by a treaty (the Peace of Lodi of 1454), which was never truly threatened by the wars that were, nonetheless, to follow from the second half of the century onwards. A landscape, therefore, that was still fragmented but generally stable, settled and enduring, corresponding to the Italy of the courts, each with its own history and social and cultural dynamics, yet, taken as a whole, inspiring a true civilisation—that of the courts—in which games, festivals and sporting activities played a fundamental role. This paper aims to outline the recreational and social context in which tarot spread.