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Carte Triestine

An updated design of Trieste's regional Italian playing cards, made and sold with classmates through an online pop-up shop.

Overview

Playing cards in Italy are different than the decks Americans are used to. They are used for hundreds of games throughout the country, and each region has a unique design. This is an update of the design from the region of Trieste.

An open red Carte Triestine Nuove box beside a spread of cards, with the seven of coins face up in the foreground

A sellout

I made and sold these as part of an online pop-up shop with my classmates, with the goal of sharing popular Italian games with people here in the States. Each box contained a deck of 40 cards (split into 4 suits, with 10 cards per suit), instructions and variations on 3 games, and a bit of playing card history. The cards were a success, and sold out within a few days.

Scattered cards including the five of coins and the ace of coins printed with the motto 'Non val saper chi ha fortuna contra'

A pile of number and face cards from the cups and batons suits, including the King of Batons and Knight of Coins

The ace of cups, illustrated as stacked blue and red goblets with the motto 'Una coppa di buon vin fa coraggio fa morbin'

The ace of batons, a tall red and blue baton card with the motto 'Molte volte le giuocate van finire abastonate'

The full suit of cups laid out in a grid from ace through ten, plus the jack, knight, and king of cups

The four ace cards for cups, batons, coins, and swords laid side by side, each printed with its own Italian motto

The Carte Triestine Nuove box standing upright beside a small stack of cards showing their red patterned backs

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