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[Facts] Italian and Latin variations of Johanes/Giovanni/Joanna/Giovanna, etc.
I am researching Sicilian genalogy in Catholic Church records, Carini, Palermo, Sicily, about 1550-1650. The records are neither pure latin nor modern italian.The name Jotta appears frequently. I belive it is actually an abbreviated form of Joanella, which is the diminutive of Joanna. Why do I think this? The letter "n" is often abbreviated by a curving line above the body of a word. In this case, the curving line is drawn through the double "l"'s and therefore look like "tt". Can anyone shed any light on this and other abbreviations used?
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