This page shows a sheet with one of the most beautiful Italian regional patterns, the Fiorentine (today also known as Toscane Grandi), once played with in Florence and its surroundings; today the production of this pattern has not been discontinued by the main manufacturers, but the actual use of these cards is now quite uncommon. It is a French-suited pattern, whose composition consists of 40 subjects.

The sheet is the largest among the ones printed by the Pignalosa firm, measuring 69 x 42 cm (27 x 16½ in); this is due to the size of the Fiorentine cards, which are taller and wider than those of any other Italian regional pattern.

		All 40 cards of the deck are included, arranged in four rows. The ace of Hearts carries the name of the manufacturer and his full address. The court cards are undoubtly fascinating: their single-headed personages - this is the only French-suited pattern that still boasts such feature - wear beautiful coloured robes, and thanks to the oversized dimensions of each subject the richness of details, such as the embroidered dress of the queens, is greater than in any other pattern.

Other typical details of the Fiorentine cards are the scrolls, parchments and books carried by knaves and kings, which bear the maker's name in tiny letters: in this sheet they read PIGNALOSA · NAPOLI. The back of this sheet is generic, with a blue criss-cross pattern, such as the one featured by the mini-Napoletane cards shown in page 1. No date is mentioned.

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other pages in this gallery: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |

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OTHER GALLERIES




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INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY	MULTI-LANGUAGE GLOSSARY	THE FOOL & THE JOKER	INDEX TABLE	REGIONAL GAMES	PLAYING CARD LINKS