Giordano Berti (born 27 February 1959) is an Italian writer and teacher of History of Arts.

Biography

Born in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

, Giordano Berti grew up in

Monghidoro Monghidoro ( Mid-Highland Bolognese: , also ; City Bolognese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Bologna in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, located about south of Bologna. Geography The territory of Monghidoro bor ...

, a town of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. After obtaining his college diploma he went on to study history and philosophy at

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in contin ...

and shortly thereafter started his career of editor and writer. Berti is an established and prolific author of many books about different subjects, such as History of

Esotericism Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas ...

( magic,

divination Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history ...

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim wo ...

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

, heresies,

gnosticism Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...

heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

and

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

and

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

s) in his relationship with Art. Some of Berti's books are translated in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Polish and Japanese. He has been co-founder and president of the Istituto Graf at Bologna, an association dedicated to the research and, often, rediscovery of the Arts and

Folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

. Berti frequently organises, with the patronage and support of local Councils, many Art and History exhibitions throughout Italy

Over the decades, Giordano Berti, as director of the Istituto Graf or author of editorial projects, has collaborated with famous philosophers, art historians and artists, such as

Michael Dummett Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett (27 June 1925 – 27 December 2011) was an English academic described as "among the most significant British philosophers of the last century and a leading campaigner for racial tolerance and equality." He ...

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of th ...

Tiziano Sclavi Tiziano Sclavi (born 3 April 1953 in Broni) is an Italian comic book author, journalist and writer of several novels. Sclavi is most famous as creator of the comic book ''Dylan Dog'' in 1986, for Italian publishing house Sergio Bonelli Editore. M ...

Angelo Stano Angelo Stano (born 6 January 1953) is an Italian comic book artist. He provided drawings for Dylan Dog, including for the first story. He was, up to the issue no. 363, the series' cover artist and was later replaced by Luigi Cavenago. Biography ...

Robert M. Place Robert M. Place (born 1947) is an American artist and author known for his work on tarot history, symbolism, and divination. Work as an artist Place has worked since the 1970s as a sculptor, jeweler and illustrator. His sculpture has been exhibi ...

Rachel Pollack Rachel Grace Pollack (born August 17, 1945 as Richard Pollack) is an American science fiction author, comic book writer, and expert on divinatory tarot. She is involved in the women's spirituality movement. Career Tarot reading Pollack has wr ...

. As a worldwide renown

Tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots ...

historian, Berti was invited, as special guest, at the third World Tarot Congress, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

(May 10 to 14 2001), where he delivered a long conference titled "The Babel of Tarot, or the evolution of the 22 allegoric Triumph cards as a transformation into an esoteric language

Berti is consultant for two Tarot and Playing Cards great editors: Lo Scarabeo (

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

) and

Dal Negro Dal Negro is an Italian company that produces playing cards, tarot cards, divination cards, chess, backgammon, roulette wheels, and toys for children. The company has its registered office, from 2002, in Carbonera in the Treviso area. Its origi ...

(

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Vene ...

). In 2012 Giordano Berti started the project ''Monghidoro: the Gateway to Europe'', in collaboration with art designer Letizia Rivetti and the municipal administration of

. The project consists in a series of artworks titled "The Stones of History", permanently fixed on the squares and streets of Monghidoro. In fact this ancient village, situated on the bolognese Apennine mountains roughly halfway between Bologna and Florence, over the centuries has been the required resting place of merchants, Lords, Princes, Popes, Emperors, writers, scientists and adventurers, who during their travels found shelter in country inns or were guests at the olivetani Abbey of San Michele at Alpes.DI BERNARDO, Bruno, ''La memoria storico di Monghidoro nelle targhe di Giordano Berti'', in Valli Savena Idice, n°1, September 2013. PAGANI, Giada, ''Monghidoro: un monumento all'emigrante'', in Il Resto del Carlino, August 31, 2013. PAGANI, Giada, ''La Liberazione di Monghidoro: un viaggio nel passato'', in Il Resto del Carlino, October 4, 2014. Giordano Berti is also author of articles for numerous magazines: Fenix, Il Giornale dei Misteri, Charta, The Cartomancer, Tarot Chronicles, RILKO, Atmosphere. In 2014 Giordano Berti created the project "Rinascimento - Italian Style Art" devoted to the reprinting of old Tarot, Sibyls and Playing cards that stand out for their beauty and rarity

Memberships and awards

* from 1985, member of Associazione culturale Le Tarot in Faenz

* from 1992, founder and member of Istituto Graf in Bologn

* 2010, winner of "Books to Taste Award" for the best novel ''Tobi and the Treasure of the Alba Truffle'', published by ArabaFenice, Boves, 2009 * from 2013, member of The International Tarot Society * from 2014, member of The International Playing-cards Societ

* from 2015, member of Tarot Association of the British Isle

* from 2015, author for the Order of the Knights of Truffle and the Wines of Alb

Tarot catalogs

Various exhibit catalogs

Together with important historians, Berti organized various History Exhibits and wrote the relatives Catalogues (availables in Italian only): *''Tarot. Game and magic at Estense Court'' (Le Carte di Corte. I Tarocchi. Gioco e Magia alla Corte degli Estensi), with A. Vitali, Michael Dummett, M. Dummett, C. Gatto Trocchi, P. Marsili, G. Algeri; Ferrara, Estense Castle, October 1987 – January 1988. *''The Mose's People'' (Il popolo di Mosè), with F. Cardini, C. Colafemmina, D. Liscia Bemporad, A. Grossato, A. Sermoneta;

Andria Andria (; Barese: ) is a city and '' comune'' in Apulia ( southern Italy). It is an agricultural and service center, producing wine, olives and almonds. It is the fourth-largest municipality in the Apulia region (behind Bari, Taranto, and Fogg ...

, Palace of the Dukes, September–October 1998. *''Giovanni Domenico Cassini and the origins of modern astronomy'' (G. D. Cassini e le origini dell'astronomia moderna), with P. A. Rossi e I. Li Vigni; Perinaldo, Municipal Palace, August–November 1997. *''Wonders of the Sea: divinities, monster, legends, dreams, illusions and discoveries in the history of Sea travelling'' (Mari delle meraviglie: divinità, mostri, utopie, leggende, sogni, illusioni e scoperte, nella storia del viaggio marittimo in Occidente), with F. Cardini, G. Costa, G. De Turris, C. Gatto Trocchi, P. A. Rossi, C. Widmann et al.;

Comacchio Comacchio (; egl, label= Comacchiese, Cmâc' ) is a town and '' comune'' of Emilia Romagna, Italy, in the province of Ferrara, from the provincial capital Ferrara. It was founded about two thousand years ago; across its history it was first g ...

, Bellini Palace, October 1995 - January 1996. *''The three jewels of Mediterranean Sea. Ritual objects of Hebrews, christian and muslims'' (I tre gioielli del Mediterraneo. Oggetti rituali e paramenti sacri ebraici, cristiani ed islamici), with D. Liscia-Bemporad, F. Cardini, S. Noja Noseda, F. Patruno; Finale Emilia, Castle, September–October 2000. *''Vine and Wine in the card games and playing cards'' (La vite e il vino: giochi di carta e carte da gioco), with M. G. Lungarotti, F. Cardini, C. Gatto Trocchi, D. Domini, A. Vitali;

Torgiano Torgiano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 10 km southeast of Perugia. Torgiano borders the following municipalities: Bastia Umbra, Bettona, Deruta, Perugia. History Pro ...

, ex S. Antonio's Church, November 1999 - January 2000. *''The Catholic Inquisition'' (L'Inquisizione, Santa, Romana e Universale), with F. Cardini; Finale Emilia, Castle, September - October 2001. * ''The Sons of Abraham. Judaism, Christianism and Islam in Ritual Objects and Art'', (I figli di Abramo. Ebraismo, Cristianesimo, Islam), with D. Liscia Bemporad, L. Volpi, M. Bargna;

Abbiategrasso Abbiategrasso, formerly written Abbiate Grasso. (local lmo, Biegrass ; lmo, label= Milanese, Biaa ), is a ''comune'' and town in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy, situated in the Po valley approximately from Milan and ...

, Visconti Castle, March 2004. * ''The Seventeenth Century in Bologna. Baroque culture, industry and popular life'' (Il Seicento a Bologna: cultura barocca, industria e vita quotidiana), with U. Mazzone, A. Vitali, S. Arieti et al.; Bologna, D'Accursio Palace, May 2004. *''Chronicles and Wonders of the Sea. Covers of illustrated Magazines from 1840 to 1960'' (Cronache e meraviglie di mare nelle copertine di riviste illustrate: 1840-1960), with M. A. Stoico, G. Costa e S. Alligo;

Cesenatico Cesenatico ( rgn, Ziznàtic) is a port town with about 26,000 inhabitants on the Adriatic coast of Italy. It is located in the province of Forlì-Cesena in the region of Emilia-Romagna, about south of Ravenna. Cesenatico's port canal was surv ...

, Marine Museum, December 2005. *''In the House of Andrea Mantegna. Artistic culture in Mantua during the fifteenth century'' (A casa di Andrea Mantegna. Cultura artistica a Mantova nel Quattrocento), with R. Signorini et al.; Mantua, House of Mantegna, September–October 2006. *''Ferrara: his history from a collection of maps'' (Ferrara:la storia del suo territorio in una collezione di mappe e vedute dal XV al XXI secolo), with A. Alberghini; Ferrara, Palace Renée of France, September 2008. *''Mathers and Lands: mystery and sacrality'' (Madri e Terre: Mistero e Sacralità), with A. Marini, M. Bargna, L. Volpi; Abbiategrasso, Annunciata's Church, October - November 2008. *''The Castle of Fortune: the search of good luck in the centuries'' (Il Castello della Fortuna: trenta secoli alla ricerca della Buona Sorte), with A. Marini, M. Bargna, L. Volpi; Abbiategrasso, Visconti Castle, October – November 2009. *''The Castle of Delights: tables and foods from antiquity to modern times'' (Il Castello delle Delizie: il mondo a tavola dall'antichità all'epoca moderna), with A. Marini, M. Bargna, L. Volpi; Abbiategrasso, Visconti Castle, October – November 2010.

Tarot exhibits and catalogues

Together with Andrea Vitali, Middle Age historian and President of the Associazione Le Tarot (

Faenza Faenza (, , ; rgn, Fènza or ; la, Faventia) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed ea ...

, Italy), and

, a British philosopher, Berti organized various exhibits on the History and Art of Tarot: * Este Castle of Ferrara (from December 1987 to February 1988), * City Archeological Museum of Bologna (Bologna, December 1994), * National Museum of

Castel Sant'Angelo The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (; English: ''Castle of the Holy Angel''), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausol ...

, (Rome, March 1995), * Barolo Palace (

, April 1997). With Vitali, Berti also published some important catalogues: * ''Tarocchi. Gioco e magia alla Corte degli Estensi'' (Bologna, Nuova Alfa Editorale, 1987) * ''Tarocchi. Le carte del destino'' (Faenza, Edizioni Le Tarot, 1988) * ''Tarocchi. Art and Magic'' (Faenza, Le Tarot, 1994).

Historical studies about tarot

In addition to the tarot exhibition catalogs, Berti published a lot of studies on Tarot and card games history: * ''Tarocchi Rider-Waite. Storia, riti iniziatici e pratiche divinatorie di Arthur Edward Waite'', with Rossella Ferrero (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 1993, in Italian). * ''Antichi Tarocchi Bolognesi'', with M. Chiesa and G. Crippa (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 1995, in Italian). * ''Antichi Tarocchi Liguri-Piemontesi'', with M. Chiesa and T. Depaulis (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 1995, in Italian). * ''Antichi Tarocchi Milanesi'', with M. Chiesa (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 1995, in Italian). * ''The Sola-Busca Tarot'', with M. Chiesa and S. Di Vincenzo (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 1995, in Italian). * ''Egyptian Tarot'', with T. Gonard (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 1997, in Italian, English and German). * ''Antichi Tarocchi Marsigliesi'', with T. Gonard (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 1998, in Italian). * ''Visconti Tarot'', with T. Gonard (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 1998, in Italian, English, German and Dutch). * ''Tarocchi di Aleister Crowley'', with R. Negrini and R. Tebani (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 1999, in Italian). * ''Tarot of the New Vision'', with T. Gonard (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 2005) (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

). * ''History of Tarot. Trues and Legends about the most mysterious Cards on the World'' (Mondadori, Milano 2007, in Italian). * ''Giuseppe Maria Mitelli and the Tarocchino Bolognese'' (Araba Felice, Boves 2017) (

). * ''Tarot in German countries from the 16th to the 18th Century'' (OM Edizioni, Bologna 2018) (

Old tarot decks (reprints)

Berti has supervised the reprint of some ancient Tarots, accompanying the decks with unpublished historical studies: * ''Vergnano Tarot 1830'' (2014, Araba Fenice and Rinascimento), 78 cards engraved by Stefano Vergnano (

, around 1830). * ''Perrin Tarot 1865'' (2015, Araba Fenice and Rinascimento), 78 cards engraved by Claudio Perrin (Turin, around 1865). * ''Sola Busca Tarot 1491'' (2016, Araba Fenice and Rinascimento), 78 cards engraved by Anonymous (

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, around 1491). * ''Oriental Tarot 1845'' (2016, Araba Fenice and Rinascimento), 78 cards engraved by Claudio Foudraz (Turin, around 1845). * ''Mitelli's Tarocchino 1660'' (2017, Araba Fenice and Rinascimento), 78 cards engraved by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli (

, around 1660) * ''Marseille Tarot of Lando 1832'' (2018, OM Edizioni and Rinascimento), 78 cards published by the widow of Giuseppe Maurizio Lando (Turin, 1832). * ''Marseille Tarot of Hes 1750'' (2018, OM Edizioni and Rinascimento), 78 cards published by Johann Christoph Hes (Augsburg, c. 1750). * ''Besançon Tarot of Miller 1780'' (2019, OM Edizioni and Rinascimento), 78 cards published by Josef Rauch Miller (Salzburg, c. 1780).

New tarot decks

Berti wrote, also, numerous reviews on Tarot of modern artists and himself invented new Tarot decks realized by great artists: * ''Celtic Tarot'' (1994), 78 illustrations by Giacinto Gaudenzi. * ''Celtic Tarot'' (1994), with Bepi Vigna, 78 illustrations by Antonio Lupatelli. * ''Enchanted Tarot'' (1995), 78 illustrations by Giacinto Gaudenzi. * ''Dante's Tarot ''(2001), 78 illustrations by Andrea Serio. * ''Ramses. Tarot of Eternity'' (2003), 78 illustrations by Severino Baraldi. * ''Golden Tarot of Renaissance - Estensi Tarot'' (2003), 78 illustrations by Jo Dworkin. * ''Bacchus Tarot'' (2005), 78 illustrations by Luigi Scapini. * ''Venice Tarot'' (2007), 78 illustrations by Davide Tonato. * ''Angels Tarot ''(2007), 78 illustrations by Arturo Picca. * ''Universal Wirth Tarot'' (2007), 78 illustrations by Stefano Palumbo. * ''Initiatory Tarot of the Golden Dawn'' (2008), 78 illustrations by Patrizio Evangelisti. * ''Prophetic Tarot of the Bible'' (2017), 78 illustrations by Severino Baraldi. * ''Kabbalistic Tarot of Papus 1909'' (2019), 78 illustrations by Gabriel Goulinat restored under the direction of Giordano Berti. * ''Egyptian Tarot by Schwaller del Lubicz 1926'' (2019), 25 illustrations by Lucie Lamy restored under the direction of Giordano Berti.

Sibyls and various decks

Various kind of divination cards: * ''Zodiac Cards'' (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 1990), 22 illustrations by Giacinto Gaudenzi. * ''Paracelso Oracle Cards'' (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 2005), 36 illustrations from an ancient book of prophecies. * ''Celtic Oracle'' (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 2006), 24 illustrations by Severino Baraldi. * ''Secret Games of the Elves'' (Araba Fenice, Boves 2012), 22 illustrations by Severino Baraldi. * ''The Sibyl of the Heart'' (Araba Fenice, Boves 2015), 40 illustrations by Rudolph Mayr (1617) painted by Stiliyan Stefanov (2015). * ''True Paths of

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

'' (with Daniel Missori and Letizia Rivetti), 33 illustrations by Alessia Coppola, Araba Fenice, Boves 2017,

Other studies

Apart from tarot studies, Giordano Berti wrote some historical books about different themes of western spirituality. Below are some of the most important works: * ''Hell's Visions. Sins and Tortures in the Art of Middle Age'' (Le Tarot, Faenza 1991) (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

) * ''Archangels: History and Legends'' (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 1997) (

) * ''The Heretics'' (Xenia, Milan 1997) (

) * ''Dictionary of Christian Religion'' (Vallardi, Milan 1997) (

) * ''The Other World and Afterlife'' (Mondadori, Milan 1998, in Italian, French, Japanese and Polish) * ''Dictionary of Mystics'' (Vallardi, Milan 1999) (

) * ''Prayers of all the World'' (Vallardi, Milan 1999) (

) * ''Oriental Religions in the Western World'' (Xenia, Milan 2000) (

) * ''Enoch'' (Armenia, Milan 2000) (

) * ''History of Divination'' (Mondadori, Milan 2005) (

) * ''Angel voices'' (Lo Scarabeo, Turin 2006) (

) * ''History of Witchcraft'' (Mondadori, Milan 2010) (

)

References

External links

Personal web page

Elevating Dimensions: Giordano Berti speaks about the Sola Busca Tarot

Article about Giordano Berti on Tarotpedia

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110722041730/http://www.librimondadori.it/web/mondadori/autori/scheda-autore?autoreUUID=631c8f77-9ea9-11dc-9517-454a8637094f Bibographical notes about Giordano Berti on Mondadori]
Books written by Giordano Berti
on ''Il Giardino dei Libri''

about ''Dante and Islam''
About the project “Monghidoro: the Gateway to Europe”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berti, Giordano 1959 births Living people Writers from Bologna Italian male non-fiction writers 20th-century Italian historians 21st-century Italian historians