Sicilian Pattern
The Sicilian pack has a similar composition to the Neapolitan pack, and is small and squat in appearance.
The Sicilian pack has a similar composition to the Neapolitan pack, and is small and squat in appearance. Each court rank stands on a different coloured plot - the kings on green, the knights on yellow and the (female) pages on red. Many of the numeral cards have vignettes on them, such as a small fish, dog, ship, house or a person, and the ace of coins has a single-headed eagle. The pattern is not confined to Sicily: in some southern regions of Italy, many players prefer it to the 'Napoletane'. Cards of Spanish style occur in those parts of Italy formerly under Spanish influence, such as Napoletane, Piacentine, Romagnole, 'Sarde' and Sicilian patterns.
Above: Sicilian pack made by Masenghini of Bergamo, dated 1942, with small vignettes on the numeral cards.
Above: Sicilian pattern by Modiano, c.1950. The ace of coins has an export stamp in pale green. See the Box► Images courtesy Rex Pitts.
Above: Sicilian pack by Martino Azzarello, Palermo, c.1910. Image courtesy Monica Thomas.
Further References
Salvatore Bonaccorsi, Nicola De Giorgio, Emilia Maggio: The origins of the “Portuguese” suit system for playing cards and tarots in Sicily►
By Rex Pitts (1940-2021)
United Kingdom • Member since January 30, 2009
Rex's main interest was in card games, because, he said, they were cheap and easy to get hold of in his early days of collecting. He is well known for his extensive knowledge of Pepys games and his book is on the bookshelves of many.
His other interest was non-standard playing cards. He also had collections of sheet music, music CDs, models of London buses, London Transport timetables and maps and other objects that intrigued him.
Rex had a chequered career at school. He was expelled twice, on one occasion for smoking! Despite this he trained as a radio engineer and worked for the BBC in the World Service.
Later he moved into sales and worked for a firm that made all kinds of packaging, a job he enjoyed until his retirement. He became an expert on boxes and would always investigate those that held his cards. He could always recognize a box made for Pepys, which were the same as those of Alf Cooke’s Universal Playing Card Company, who printed the card games. This interest changed into an ability to make and mend boxes, which he did with great dexterity. He loved this kind of handicraft work.
His dexterity of hand and eye soon led to his making card games of his own design. He spent hours and hours carefully cutting them out and colouring them by hand.
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