MINCHIATE

Reproduction of an Etruria deck created in

Florence during the 18th century.
The Minchiate are almost as old as Tarot. Unfortunately no complete decks of
Minchiate from before the seventeenth
century have survived. Of this game, on
the contrary to what happened with more
traditional Tarot, of which some splendid
illuminated decks of great value were created, only popular decks were produced,
and therefore the poor quality of the paper eventually led to their deterioration.
Only a few papers of Minchiate from the
seventeenth century have survived, while
the origins of another three older papers
are still uncertain. These can be traced
back to the sixteenth century and belong
to the Rosenwald Collection in the National Gallery of Art in Washington. In
order to find complete decks of Minchiate, we must look back to the eighteenth
century.
The cards of this edition of extraordinary
iconographic beauty and painted by hand
with Etruria written on the back, represent one of the most significant artistic
creations not only of Minchiate, but of
Tarot in general. Other than the deck in

our possession, there are very few other

examples: in the Bibliotque Nationale in
Paris, the British Museum in London, the
Museo Fournier in Vitoria in Spain, and
one made of silk and kept at the Museo
Civico in Pavia, Italy.
The origins of the Minchiate
As the originator of Tarot is unknown,
neither do we know who conceived of the
Minchiate, or better, the numeric variations
that led to the number of cards being 97,
rather than the standard 78 in classic Tarot.
The first sixteenth-century references can
be found in the work entitled Le Carte
Parlanti (The Talking Cards) (1543) by
Pietro Aretino, in the Novella Sopra un
caso accaduto in Prato (About a Case that
Occurred in Prato) by Agnolo Firenzuola
(1493-1543), in Capitolo in lode delle zanzare (Chapter in Praise of Mosquitoes) by
the artist Angelo Bronzino (1503-1572)
and finally in the little book entitled I Germini, sopra quaranta meretrice della Citt
di Fiorenza, dove si conviene quattro ruffiane, le quali danno a ciascuna il trionfo, che
a loro conveniente dimostrando di ciascuna
il suo essere, printed in Florence in 1553.
The term Germini would seem to be a
corruption of the Latin term Gemini,
the sign of the zodiac that is the last one
among those in the Minchiate.

The composition of the Deck

Although the Trionfi or Triumphs (Major Arcana) of Tarot number 22, in the
Minchiate they are increased to 41 as follows: 21 Triumphs analogous or somewhat similar to the traditional ones (the
missing Arcanum is The High Priestess,
while some have changed name and iconography), 12 Zodiac Signs, 4 Theological Virtues, and 4 Elements. If we add
to these the Minor Arcana, from the Ace
to the Ten, and the four court cards for
each suit, we reach a sum of 97 cards.
Each Major Arcanum of the Minchiate
is characterised by the presence of a Roman numeral, with the exception of The
Fool and the Arie or the five upper Triumphs: the Star, the Moon, the Sun, the
World, and the Trumpets, or the Angel
(listed in order of power or value in the
game).
From an iconographic point of view, the
most significant variations consist of the
fact that, as has already been mentioned,
The High Priestess is missing (having
been replaced by Faith, inserted in the
group of virtues), while The Empress,
The Emperor, and The Hierophant have
become respectively the Grand Duke, the
Emperor of the West, and the Emperor
of the East. Other variations in names
and in the traditional sequence can be

observed in the list below. It should also

be noted how, in the Minor Arcana, the
knights are represented by centaurs and
monsters, while the Knaves of Chalices
and Pentacles are depicted as female personages, called fantine.
The Triumphs of the Minchiate
In the list, the Traditional Arcana also
present in standard Tarot decks are indicated in blue, the Signs of the Zodiac are
in green, the Theological Virtues are in
violet, and the Elements are in orange.

I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
XV
XVI
XVII

The Fool
Juggler (The Magician)
Grand Duke (The Empress)
Emperor of the West (The Emperor)
Emperor of the East (The Hierophant)
Lovers
Temperance
Strength
Justice
The Wheel of Fortune
The Chariot
The Hermit
The Hanged Man
Death
The Devil
House of God (The Tower)
Hope
Prudence

XVIII
XIX
XX
XXI
XXII
XXIII
XXIV
XXV
XXVI
XXVII
XXVIII
XXIX
XXX
XXXI
XXXII
XXXIII
XXXIV
XXXV
XXXVI
XXXVII
XXXVIII
IXL
XL

Faith
Charity
Fire
Water
Earth
Air
Libra
Virgo
Scorpio
Aries
Capricorn
Sagittarius
Cancer
Pisces
Aquarius
Leo
Taurus
Gemini
The Star
The Moon
The Sun
The World
Trumpets (Angel)

Divining with the Minchiate

In order to allow readers to recognise the
Arcana more easily, we placed the Roman
numeral that distinguishes each Triumph
on the cards that originally had none,
thus enabling a more spontaneous interpretation. In fact, this deck is the only one
on the modern panorama of Tarot that,