Avernum

Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet and philosoper had an eerie vision about the afterlife more than seven centuries ago. His vision has been included into one of the masterpieces of the Italian culture: the Divine Comedy (La Divina Commedia). Now, 750 years after the birth of Dante Alighieri, Stefano Protino has designed a deck permeated by his vision of afterlife. Prepare yourself for hell, prepare yourself for a new, limited deck from Passione – Italian Design Playing Cards! the deck (52+2 cards) wrapped in paper and sealed with wax (the sealing has been purposely done so that it’s not needed to break the seal in order to open the deck). The paper has a stamp on it saying “imprimatur expectant” (waiting for the permission to print). This is our interpretation of the mood of the deck: an unfinished work (you can see it on the faces, obviously) expecting a formal ok from the Catholic Church (in the past it was not possible to have a book printed without the Vatican’s approval, after that you would have granted the “imprimatur” that means “let’s print”); a cardboard box with a false bottom, designed to hold 2 decks (more on this later); a cardboard double message (“invenit qui quaerit”: a latin motto meaning “seek and ye shall find” and “dear friend please complete my artwork”: a direct message for you – more on this later); a “blank” card – the one the author wants you to complete, useful for card tricks or for entering the contest (more on this later); a little piece of charcoal wrapped in a shred of tissue paper, to enforce the mood of an unfinished work that needs to be completed.