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in this issue
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Greetings,
Think ahead to what you will do to pass time while waiting
on or for planes and trains or while you are hanging out in a
piazza or in your hotel room. Instead of a video game or
television, try something new and fun by collecting and
playing with Italian playing cards. Another game with deep
connections to Italy is Chess.
(c) Copyright Kids Europe 2004.
Italian Playing Cards 
When you look at these Italian playing cards you can tell
that the designs are very old. Not only does their origin go
back hundreds of years, there are 29 different regional
versions. Why so many? It might help to know that Italy
consisted of dozens of small, separate countries and
city-states until the 1860s. Each little country had its own
version. Consider making a collection as you travel; buy a
deck in each town you visit. They are inexpensive and fun to
play with and look at.
The bright colors and interesting, antique patterns of the
cards may inspire you to some crafts. Think about a mobile out
of Italian cards, glueing cards back to back and sandwiching
the string between them. A collection of cards might look nice
framed. You could use them to decorate pre-made craft boxes.
If you are a crafty person, your imagination can take it from
here...
I have been trying for months to get some of these cards in
the US for you. I tracked down a US distributor and he sent me
two dozen decks, the smallest order he would take. They just
arrived!
So, now you can order and enjoy lovely Italian playing
cards even before you go to Italy. I printed out and will
include the rules for three popular Italian card games:
Camicia, Scopa and Briscola. All are fun to learn and fun to
play. You can order the cards a deck at a time or packaged
with the Italy Discover Journal. There are twenty two decks
left!
Order
Italian Playing Cards...
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Chess, Le Dame |
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Chess is an ancient
game that originated in the 6th century (700s) in India.
It came to Italy in the 15th century (1600s) and spread
from there throughout Europe. The Europeans elaborated
the game to have the most powerful piece represent the
Queen. This reflected the knightly culture in which
courtiers venerated their lady, the ultimate lady being
the queen. So the game in Italy is called "Ladies," Le
Dame.
And if you find you love chess, as many do, I
recommend that you shop for a beautiful Italian-made
chess set in Italy as a life-long souvenir of your trip.
Look for the T, tobacco shops, that often carry a
selection.
Take a look at this online history of chess
and learn, for example,
why the Tower piece can sometimes be an elephant.
Harry
Potter Wizard Chess looks just like the game he and
Ron played almost to their doom. You can imagine
yourself as Harry or Ron as you practice with this set.
 This little Touch
Screen Travel Chess Computer is a great way to take
chess with you when you travel and to improve your game
in spare moments. The whole family can use it!
This
little chess computer will keep you amused »
Tuscany
Villa Rentals
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Cards and Card Games |
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A pack of cards and a
book of card games is an easy and handy item to put into
your backpack or carry-on bag. Here is
The
Complete Book of Solitaire in paperback, always a
handy travel companion. And if you'd like to explore
card games from around the world, visit the wonderful Pagat website.
Today's playing cards, English and Italian styles
alike, trace back to the Tarot deck which is now used
for telling fortunes. In Italy and France it continues
to be used for card games. There are many beautiful
Tarot decks. If you would like to see if you have the
ability to tell fortunes, look at different decks and
their designs for one that that really appeals to you.
That will be the right one for you.
The Alida
site has more than 500 Tarot decks. The prices for
their Tarot and other cards are reasonable, it is just
that postage from San Marino will double it. You can
visit the tiny Republic of San Marino while visiting
Italy. It is the third smallest country in Europe and
the oldest and is inside Italy. Visit the Alida store
while you are there.
You can find Tarot decks elsewhere, too. Here are
links to a few sold by Amazon.
Universal
Waite Tarot Deck
Aleister
Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck
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 Travel tip:
You'll see stores marked with a prominent "T" sign.
Those are the handy Tabaccaios, tobacco stores.
Originally, they sold only special taxable luxury items
including tobacco, salt, gambling/gaming supplies (such
as cards), stamps, and lottery tickets. Today they still
sell most of those things and more. Some have a great
selection of games and beautiful chess sets. They are
good sources of postage stamps, phone cards, and
bus/metro tickets.
Kids
love to travel by train in Italy... » |
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Bored by Churches? |
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Does the thought of
visting churches and museums strike boredom into your
heart? You aren't alone! There are two reasons, in my
experience, that the historic sites most recommended by
guide books are not enjoyed by visiting kids and their
families:
1. you don't know why this church/museum/statue,
etc. matters and even if you do, 2. you don't care!
So, how the heck do you enjoy Italy that has a
church or museum on every corner?
A. Learn something about history and architecture in
a palatable way. That is the main mission of this
newsletter. For example, the recent newsletter about geology
led to an example of the power of volcanoes and the
burying of Pompeii. There are books and videos about
Pompeii from the perspective of kids or geology that
will help a young tourist appreciate this outdoor
museum. Another example is the newsletter about Gladiators,
once again, movies and books can help ancient Rome come
alive.
B. Find something about churches and museums that
might just interest you. That is the role of the Italy Discovery Journal
(IDJ). Within its pages are ideas for kids on how to
actually enjoy visits to churches, and suggestions on a
few churches to visit that have kid appeal, for example,
a church filled with art work made entirely of human
bones! Or you can visit museums in Italy just looking
for clues to solve a mystery.
C. When you've run out of A and B above, stop visting
churches and museums! Again, the IDJ comes to the rescue
with suggestions like looking for special, unusual, and
rare vehicles (future newsletter). Or, think about
enjoying Italian
fashion for the art that it is. One page in the
Italy Discovery Journal is dedicated to three very
unusual outdoor parks, amusement parks only in the sense
that they are amusing, but filled with strange statues
and mysteries. Observe drama of everyday Italian life,
again, the IDJ helps you observe things you might
otherwise miss.
Italian
charms are great souvenirs » |
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Word of the Week:
Gioco |
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Gioco pronounced -gee oh
ko-, means game. So, Carte da Gioco are playing cards.
Giocare -gee oh car eh- means to play. Where do you
think the English word joke came from? |
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email:
news@kidseurope.com
web: http://www.KidsEurope.com
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