TAROTS

The earliest references to tarot all date to the 1440s and 1450s and fall within the quadrilateral defined by the northern cities of Venice, Milan, Florence, and Urbino.The first tarot card decks were created in Italy in the 1430s. Regular playing cards had become popular in Europe in the preceding half-century, which led to wealthy families commissioning customized decks from artists.Tarot decks were invented in Italy in the 1430s by adding to the existing four-suited pack a fifth suit of 21 specially illustrated cards called trionfi (“triumphs”) and an odd card called il matto (“the fool”).