Tarocco Genovese - Playing Cards by Elettra Deganello

https://shop.elettradeganello.com/collec......genovese

A 79 card bridge-sized Tarot-inspired game deck with 21 trumps, extra court cards, and a companion booklet

Price: 39 euro



The Tarocco Genovese Playing Cards is a Tarot style deck that also can be used for regular card games requiring a traditional deck. The ad copy describes it as follows:

The Tarocco Genovese is a 79-card bridge-sized deck, including 21 trumps, 16 court cards, and 40 numerical cards, plus a Fool and an Invexendon, tribute to an unnumbered trump mentioned by Sir Michael Dummett in his list of Unresolved Problems Concerning Tarot and Italian Cards. The set also includes a companion booklet written by Jean Maillard, who co-created the project.

Compared to the Genoese Tarot released in 2022, this edition introduces several innovations, among which are new suits, all four illustrated aces, and more. The updated colour palette immediately stands out, inspired by an 1830 Tarot de Marseille printed by the Recchi brothers in Oneglia, a town in Liguria (now part of Imperia).

The card backs echo the design of the Ace of Hearts, with the iconic red cross of St George at the centre.

Published and printed in Italy by Dal Negro, this deck features gold accents on both faces and backs. The packaging, crafted by Boschiero & Newton, is made from high-quality cotton paper using letterpress and foil techniques.



The court cards feature the standard King, Queen, and Jack, but in each suit there's also an additional Cavallo (C), which translates as Knight. If you really wanted to, you can easily strip the deck of the four Knight cards to play games that require a regular 52 card deck.

To quote from the creator: "The idea behind the Tarocco Genovese stems from the awareness that tarot cards first emerged in 15th-century Italy as an extension of standard playing card decks. As confirmed by historical sources and recent studies, Liguria has long been a hub for tarot card production and a region where tarot games have remained popular over time.

Like the Genoese Tarot released in 2022, this deck celebrates Genoa’s long and often overlooked tarot-playing tradition, blending the elegance of classic Genoese playing cards with the alluring imagery of the Tarot de Marseille."









The number cards have a relatively standard look, although there are indices on all four corners, and each suit uses a different colour.





All of the Aces are numbered with a 1, as is more common in Tarot-style decks, and feature additional line artwork.







The Ace of Hearts is especially noteworthy. "The Ace of Hearts, being the most prominent of the four aces, draws inspiration from a Bolognese tarot made by Genoese cardmaker Solesio in the 1820s and pays homage to the historical tax stamp once required on playing cards. The design incorporates an image of Janus, accompanied by the Latin inscription: Janus, primus rex Italiae de progenie gigantum, qui fundavit Genuam tempore Abrahae (Janus, first king of Italy from the race of giants, who founded Genoa in the time of Abraham) – a direct reference to an inscription from Genoa’s San Lorenzo Cathedral."



The 21 trump cards feature colourful illustrations. We've seen something like this before in Elettra's Genoese Tarot, but this new version features some changes, although the iconic Marseilles Tarot is still represented here:

"The revised edition, published and printed in Italy by Dal Negro, introduces several innovations, among which new suits, all four illustrated aces, and more. Notably, the updated colour palette – inspired by an 1830 Tarot de Marseille printed by the Recchi brothers in Oneglia, Liguria (now part of Imperia) – stands out, marking a clear departure from the previous edition."







Finally there's a Fool card.



Besides the deck, you also get a booklet by Jean Maillard.





This is a lovely deck, that follows up a deck that Elettra Deganello produced in 2022. It is beautifully presented, with quality and elegance typical of what we've come to expect from Elettra, and is a welcome addition to the ranks of Tarot-inspired playing cards.

A final word about the creator: Elettra has emerged as one of the foremost designers of custom playing cards in recent years. As proof of her success is the fact that she has been nominated as Artist of the Year for the Diamond Awards, and invited to design the 2024 Club Deck for the 52 Plus Joker club, the world's largest club for playing card collectors and enthusiasts. She's a respected freelance visual designer and illustrator who hails from Italy, and has a love for creativity, artistic vision, and tradition, all of which are evident in the Tarocco Genovese.

Product page: Tarocco Genevese

As close to my perfect deck as I have come across