October 31, 2018

A Halloween Treat

Tarocco Siciliano cards by Modiano
Thanks Ernie from E. Rossi & Company (193 Grand St.) in Little Italy, New York for the Tarocco Siciliano cards by Modiano. It's a much-appreciated gift that brings back a lot of memories of my younger “Bohemian" years, to put it nicely, when friends gathered in smoke-filled rooms to talk shop and play cards. 
Though never a skilled player, I’ve always found the artwork on playing cards fascinating, especially the macabre imagery of tarot cards. Having dated a couple of streghe back in the day, I’ve seen my share of less generic decks, including a beautiful handprinted one from Benevento.
Popularly used to seek hidden knowledge by practitioners of divination, it is little known that tarot is actually a traditional card game like scopa and briscola, and has no connection to the arcane arts. I never actually played the game, but now with my new deck I look forward to learning how and introducing it to my family on game night. Happy Halloween!