Mariano de Vierna y Carles-Tolra wrote:

> So, I understand the system was/is (a.) syllabic and (b.) complete,
> including all relevant articulatory features?

As far as I remember, yes it was: every syllable of the Italian language
could be *written* with it.

All the existing documents (existing? unless dad cleaned up the garage) were
short inscriptions bearing the names of pretty teenagers (who must now be
ladies in their forties), along with some short comments about how blue
their hair and how blonde their eyes (or was it the other way round?).

But I could never determine whether someone would have been able to *read*
it... The inscriptions were supposed not to be read by anyone.

> It is interesting, I havent thought about a syllabic writting system
> of that kind.
>
> What about a writing system based in the (Jakobson's like)
> acoustic distinctive
> features of the fonems as elements for the symbolic representation?

That was in fact the principle of the above "script".

> I would be much more interested in that or something near
> that, particularly if some iconicity were intended.

Peter Constable et al. mentioned another such script invented by a French
lady. But it seems that the relevant documents disappeared.

I guess that such a writing system would require very few letters, but it
would also produce very long words.

Regards.
_ Marco