Ancient Italian World

BSwett

I've had this deck for a couple of months already, but not until this weekend did I have time to really dig into it's art under proper lighting and fall head over heels IN LOVE with it. It's amazing and interesting to see how the Italians took their Tarot back in the 1800 and gave it such a fantastic artistic overhaul! That aesthetic eye and talent that so clearly flows in Italy's blood. Fantastic. I'm definitely a Marseille tarot fan and lover, but you have to take your hat off to those Piedmonteses...

Some questions though..

The burning wreath on the world: What does it mean? Is it the first 'global warming' warning? Does it just mean that 'this too shall pass'? And is this a Della Rocca addition or did it come later?

I'm wondering if I need to get my hands on the Soprafino deck now, or would that be redundant for my small collection?

B.
 

victoria.star

HI B.
I have both and am glad that I do. :) There is something about an il Meneghello deck, especially if you love the Ancient Italian.
I use the AIT frequently and break out the Soprafino on special occasions.
If it wouldn't put you in a fiscal bind, I would treat yourself.
If finances simply won't allow, enjoy your AIT!!!
 

Aeric

The Soprafino's World is more or less identical to AIT. Notably the burning section of the wreath is only the quadrant of the eagle, the animal that symbolizes St. John the Evangelist. It's not present on any other contemporary Italian decks that I could see, which makes me wonder if Dellarocca had a particular dislike of St. John or the Book of John.

I have both copies. I find Soprafino too nice and too fragile to use on others so I keep it as a personal reading deck, while the AIT is my go-to for people who want a stylish art deck that I can beat up over time. I've used it so much though that I find myself gravitating to it more than Soprafino.
 

Richard

.......I'm wondering if I need to get my hands on the Soprafino deck now, or would that be redundant for my small collection?

B.
I have the LoS Classical Tarots version of the Della Rocca. The images are extremely well done, and I just ignore the stupid multilingual keywords. Some day I mean to trim them off. I find the images to be stunning, but I cannot relate to them in a way which facilitates reading. Maybe I am just too much in awe of their artistic elegance. I am content to do without the Soprafino.

It will probably be a cold day in hell when I find a 'historical' deck which reads as well as the Marseille.
 

Le Fanu

I have such a soft spot for the Ancient Italian. When I had been away from tarot for many, many years and the urge to buy a deck again seized me in a far off country, this is the deck I bought after over an hour agonising in a New Age shop which seemed to have every single deck available in stock.

So the Ancient Italian will always have a special place in my heart.

I also have the LoS Classical (which I have trimmed the borders off) and love it too. Much sharper and richer in colouring than the Anc. Italian.

I also have two Soprafinos; one with the corners rounded and one with the corners left square. I use the rounded corner one when reading for others.

You might want to check out the LoS Ancient Tarot of Bologna. Much of the imagery is an earlier (1780) version of what later became the Anc. Italian/Gumppenberg deck. Meneghello also published a version of this deck (1780, by Giocomo Zoni). I also have two versions of this one :D :D... Again, corners left square and corners rounded...
 

Sherryl

The Ancient Italian has been my main reading deck for nearly a decade. It has some significant differences with the Soprafino, especially in the pips.

About the fire on the World's wreath. I read somewhere that it might be incense that was burnt to propitiate the gods (especially Fortuna).

Here's a link to a blog post that discusses the soprafino pattern. About three quarters down the page is a section titled "Avondo Brothers" about the Ancient Italian and some of the differences from Della Rocca's soprafino design.

http://tarot-heritage.com/2011/10/26/the-soprafino-deck-of-carlo-dellarocca/#more-687