Carte Bolognesi

Don’t be fooled by the title or the writing on the box – this is not a Bolognese pattern pack! Far from it. First and foremost, it celebrates Bolognese people and their culinary traditions. The suits are tortellini, calici di rosso Bolognese (goblets of the local red wine), coltelline (knives), and mattarelli (rolling pins). All the courts in the suits of tortellini and mattarelli represent female figures in honour of their contribution to Bolognese cooking. The only element remaining from a traditional Bolognese pattern pack is the double-ended tassel on the 2 of tortellini. Otherwise, this pack has many of the elements of a Piacentine pattern – a bird (a cock rather than an eagle) on the Ace of tortellini, a Cupid on the Ace of tortellini, and a tree stump on the Ace of mattarelli. Even the size is that of a Piacentine pattern pack. The motto on the Ace of tortellini is amusing – “In brodo we trust” (“In broth we trust”)!

Above: ‘Carte Bolognesi’ made by T. Dal Negro, Treviso, for Boh! Edizioni, Bologna, Italy, c2023 (or earlier). 40 cards in tuck box. Size: 51 x 91 mm. Purchased in Bologna, June 2023.

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