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The decks above are authentic decks of Italian playing cards as played in the country of Italy. Italian playing cards most commonly consist of 40 cards (4 suits from 1-7 and 3 face cards). The three face cards in each deck are the King, Cavallo (calvary man) and Fante (Infantry Man), except in the French region (see below) which uses a Queen instead of a Cavallo.

Italian playing cards first appeared in the late 14th century when each region within Italy was a separately ruled province. There is no official pattern for the country of Italy and each region uses its own type of playing cards. In fact, there are 16 accepted patterns of Italian playing cards divided into 4 Regional styles: Northern Italian, French, Spanish, and German.

Playing with Italian playing cards gives any player a wonderful historical perspective on this great country. Don't worry if you don't know any Italian Games. We send out free instructions for 2 of Italy's favorite games: Scopa and Briscola.

Modiano is an iconic business entity in Italy. Modiano is located in Trieste' and has been in business for over 140 years. The Modiano brand is synonymous with quality and excellence in printing. Modiano manufactures some of the most beautiful playing cards in the world and their designs are considered by many to be the most artfully depicted in the industry.

Modiano distributes regional decks to all regions within Italy. The decks above is genuine and are actual decks that are distributed within Italy. Just imagine that you can give the gift of authenticity with this Modiano deck. A true Iconic Italian brand!

We have presented a map below to demonstrate the different regions of Italy. Within each region we have presented the different card types that are popular in that region. This should help anyone that wants to buy a truly authentic gift for someone with Italian heritage. By analyzing the map, you will be able to find which cards people play in any region within Italy. Below the map we discuss the stylistic differences between each regional style of playing cards.

-Click to enlarge-

Click to enlarge-

About the Regions

Of course any Italian deck would make a great gift for anyone, but for those more interested in the stylistic differences of Italian regional decks here is a quick description

Northern Italian regional style includes Triestine, Trevigiane, Trentine, Bergamasche, and Bresciane

The northern Italian decks are primarily played in the north eastern portion of the country. They feature the Spanish style suits of coins, cups, swords and batons (also known as clubs). There are 40 cards in the deck. This regional style features dark reds, blues and yellows on the face of the card. The face drawings typically use solid colors absent of shading with solid block type coloring. The actual card sizes tend to be narrow relative to other regions and especially narrow compared to traditional US playing cards.


King of Cups	Cavallo of swords	Fante of batons	7 of coins
Triestine	Bresciane	Trevigiane	Bergamasche

Spanish regional style includes Napoletane, Sarde, Siciliane, Piacentine, Romagnole

The Spanish style decks are primarily used in the southern half of the country including the island of Sicily. They feature the Spanish style suits of coins, cups, swords and batons (also known as clubs). There are 40 cards in each deck. This regional style features a full range of colors. The images are full with ornate details and the use of shading gives the playing cards a life like appearance. The actual card sizes tend to be wider than the northern Italian cards, but are still a little smaller than their US counterparts.


King of Cups	Cavallo of swords	Fante of batons	7 of coins
Siciliane	Sarde	Napoletane	Piacentine

French regional style includes Genovisi, Lombarde, Piemontesi, Toscane.

The French style decks are primarily used in the north western half of the country. They feature the French style suits of spades, clubs, hearts and diamonds. There are 40 cards in each deck. This regional style features a full range of colors to depict the face cards. However, the 1-7 are depicted in solid single colors. The French style cards are similar to the US version of playing cards as they share the same suit pattern. Both also use a queen instead of a Cavallo. The actual card sizes tend to be wider than the northern Italian cards, but are still a little smaller than their US counterparts.


King of Clubs	Queen of hearts	Fante of Spades	7 of Spades
Toscane	Lombarde	Genovesi	piemontesi

German regional style which include Salisburghesi

The german style playing cards are only played in the central northern most section of Italy and is used by a minority of the population. We currently do not have any further details on this style of playing card.

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