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PAPESSA GIOVANNA

Pope Joan boardgame

cm 28x25
Pewter
color: grey

Price display: €

Ref: 10080

Designer: Alberto Tabellini

This game is the most complete and entertaining in the family of the "stop" games. In the first discovered boards, the stated tax amounted to one schilling, which dates back the origin of the game to the period between 1825 and 1860.

THE LEGEND

For the whole Middle Ages and further on, the story was told of a woman, who mysteriously ascended St. Peter's throne. She was dominated by the desire of learning and been wandering about the monasteries and the cultural centres of half Europe, skilfully disguised as a monk; she soon astonished everyone for her cleverness and her erudition and eventually she was ordained cardinal.

At the pope's death, the Holy concistory, exhausted by the internal struggles (it was a "dark" age), decided to elect to Peter's seat not a politician, but a learned man.
So the very learned monk, who went on hiding her true feminine identity under male clothes, was elected pope.
Once in Lateran, Giovanna dismissed prelates and servants, but kept with her a young and handsome manservant whom she made read the Holy Scriptures and the secret prophetic books.
Very soon the servant noticed the pope's odd behaviours, but he did not mention it to anybody, so much he was devoted to the pope.
But one day, while he was reading the Book of Jacob, the pope smiled at him and took his hand.

The female pope and the servant made love for a long time in the most secret room of the palace.
The female popekept her love secret as long as she could, but one day, while she was leading the Corpus Domini procession, her body started twisting and contracting under the fit of the childbirth pains.
Between the Basilica of St.John and that of St. Clement, in the place where until 1500 there was the ill-famed "Vicus Papissae". Giovanna gave birth to a small pope under the very eyes of cardinals, clergy and people.
In the light of such on abomination, the Curia was so upset that they established the custom to make the pope, as soon as he was elected, sit on the famous "gestatorial" chair, from where it was possible to ascertain his sex.

THE GAME

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: as many as desired.

GAME PURPOSE: to finish playing all the cards first or to play some cards in the way of winning as many fiches as possible.

GAME EQUIPMENT: 1 pack of cards; 30 or more fiches for each player.
(Red fiches are worth twice the green ones).