On Friday 12 and Saturday 13 August, the streets and squares of the village come alive with magic,
with many stations dedicated to divination and a wide variety of esoteric disciplines.

Until 15 August, visitors can also view the historical exhibition ‘Tarot Cards: Game, Divination and Magic’ at the Oratorio dei Disciplinanti. Finally, on 13 August, there will be a conference entitled ‘The History of Tarot Cards: Truth and Legends about the Most Mysterious Cards in the World’.

Finale Ligure (SV), 11 August 2022 – On Friday 12 and Saturday 13 August, Finalborgo will once again host “La Notte dei Tarocchi” (The Night of Tarot): two evenings, from 8 p.m. to midnight, that will enliven the ancient streets and squares of the village, with many stations dedicated to tarot reading, holistic practices, messages for the soul, astrological consultations and meetings dedicated to a wide range of esoteric disciplines. An ‘open-air conference’ that attracts thousands of people every year, making one of the ‘most beautiful villages in Italy’ even more magical.

An opportunity to be captivated by an ancient art and to discover the history of Finalborgo in an original way. From the first half of the 17th century and for almost two centuries, it was an important centre for the production of playing cards, Tarot cards and Minchiate cards.

Until Monday 15 August, the Oratorio dei Disciplinanti, in the monumental complex of Santa Caterina in Finalborgo, will also host the historical exhibition ‘Tarocchi. Gioco, Divinazione e Magia’ (Tarot Cards: Game, Divination and Magic), promoted by the Municipality of Finale Ligure and the Finalborgo.it Association.

The exhibition project, curated by Giordano Berti, historian of esotericism in art, focuses on the most evocative aspects of this “game of human life”: the origins of the Tarot, its iconographic evolution and esoteric use. In a fascinating scenographic setting created by art designer Letizia Rivetti, there are faithful reproductions of the precious hand-painted golden Tarot cards from the 15th century for the courts of the Visconti (from the workshop of Bonifacio Bembo), the Sforza (workshop of Bembo and Antonio Cicognara) and the Este. Then there are the first “Marseille” Tarot cards, the popular Ligurian-Piedmontese Tarot cards and the refined 19th-century Milanese Tarot cards, leading up to the Arcana of the 19th-century occultists. The historical journey is accompanied by ancient books, manuscripts, period engravings on the theme of cartomancy, magical objects and a stone (donated by ALP in Cortemilia) engraved by Maestro Ivano Ghiglia with figures from a Piedmontese Tarot dating back to 1830. The exhibition in Finalborgo sheds light on some popular beliefs, such as the legend of the Egyptian origin of the Tarot, and highlights how these cards were, in fact, the product of an artistic culture and a way of thinking typical of the Po Valley Renaissance.

On Saturday, 13 August, at 9 p.m., as part of the exhibition at the Oratorio dei Disciplinanti, Giordano Berti will give a lecture entitled “The History of Tarot Cards: Truth and Legends about the Most Mysterious Cards in the World”, presenting the book recently published by Rinascimento and OM Edizioni. The lecture will be accompanied by a slide show and a temporary exhibition of valuable historical Tarot cards faithfully reproduced by Rinascimento Italian Style Art. The event will be enriched by a toast with prestigious wines from the Montaribaldi Winery in Barbaresco (CN), to commemorate the close link that existed in the past between Tarot cards and tavern games, as demonstrated by some ancient prints on display.

USEFUL INFORMATION

TAROT CARDS. GAMES, DIVINATION, MAGIC.
Oratory of the Disciplinanti, Monumental Complex of Santa Caterina, Finalborgo (Sv)
curated by Giordano Berti
from 2 to 15 August, 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
FREE ENTRY.

Info: ArtStudioLetizia@gmail.com – Cell. 349 2602198