Etruria Minchiate

Published May 30, 2013 • Updated August 01, 2023

The Cavaliers are man/beast creatures. The Valets (or Pages) are male for clubs and swords, and female for cups and coins.

Minchiate Etruria Card game, divination tool or teaching aid?

This antique “Minchiate Etruria” deck by Pietro Alligo was originally published in Florence in 1725, printed from copper plate etchings and hand coloured with water colours. Minchiate is a late-medieval card game employing a specially extended pack of 97 cards, related to tarot but including 12 zodiac signs, 4 virtues (faith, hope, charity, prudence) and 4 elements (fire, water, air, earth). The trump cards are untitled but are numbered with roman numerals in a scroll.

The game, like other Tarot games, is a trick taking game in which points are scored by capturing certain cards and sets of cards. However, the deck has also been popular with card readers who see it as a variant of the esoteric tarot because of the allegorical and symbolical content. The Cavaliers are man/beast creatures. The Valets (or Pages) are male for clubs and swords, and female for cups and coins. Further features include the replacement of the Papess, Empress and Pope by the Western Emperor, the Eastern Emperor and the addition of the Grand Duke. Some scholars believe that these cards may have served as teaching aids, because several trump allegories (Virtues, Elements, Zodiac signs) belong to categories upon which classical learning was based at that time.

Above: "Etruria" Florentine Minchiate deck, 97 cards, facsimile edition published by Il Meneghello, Milan, Italy, 1986 & 1994. Another edition was published by Lo Scarabeo in 1996. A stamp with the text 'CARTE DI ETRURIA' appears on trump number XXX 'Cancer', hence the name "Minchiate Etruria" used for this facsimile edition.

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By Simon Wintle

Spain • Member since February 01, 1996

I am the founder of The World of Playing Cards (est. 1996), a website dedicated to the history, artistry and cultural significance of playing cards and tarot. Over the years I have researched various areas of the subject, acquired and traded collections and contributed as a committee member of the IPCS and graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal. Having lived in Chile, England, Wales, and now Spain, these experiences have shaped my work and passion for playing cards. Amongst my achievements is producing a limited-edition replica of a 17th-century English pack using woodblocks and stencils—a labour of love. Today, the World of Playing Cards is a global collaborative project, with my son Adam serving as the technical driving force behind its development. His innovative efforts have helped shape the site into the thriving hub it is today. You are warmly invited to become a contributor and share your enthusiasm.