23 February 2020

La Scherma della Sciabola e del Bastone a Due Mani by Alberto Falciani

Seeing as it has been a while since I have made public any original fencing treatises, I thought I should get around to completing a transcription of Alberto Falciani's La scherma della sciabola e del bastone a due mani ('Fencing with the sabre and two-handed stick'), published in Pisa in 1870.

Transcription: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1okZkYb02Xpuky_KnIUfZ6BbATDv_Bx9L

As the name implies, this treatise is devoted to both sabre and bastone, the latter being the practice of fencing with two-handed sticks, which was quite popular in the middle of the 19th century, before going out of fashion around the time this treatise was published.

Although it contains no illustrations, the language is clear and simple enough for them to not be required, such as the description for the typical northern Italian lunge ('... the right breast is almost directly above the right knee').

In an article from Corriere dell'Arno, published 31 October 1886, the writer states that Falciani was a volunteer in the 2nd and 3rd Italian Wars of Independence, and he is now a 'master of fencing, gymnastics, and military exercises' in Pisa.

Thanks to Biblioteca Universitaria di Pisa for providing the scans for this transcription.

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