The La Corte Dei Tarocchi deck is both beautiful and unique. While other collector and theme decks seem to make a point of exploring everything but classic Italian Tarot, the art in this deck is clearly a modern take on Italian Renaissance art and life.

The deck is printed on very thick, high quality card stock. The cards measure 2 1/16 inches wide by 5 1/4 high, which makes the deck relatively narrow. Generally the images are muted and have the feel of finely done watercolors. According to the deck's publisher the cards are printed from zinc etchings using the complex aquatint method. Once printed D’Onofrio further refined the cards by hand.

When I first looked at the deck my immediate thought was D’Onofrio's art is strongly influenced by the Twentieth Century masters Chagall and Madiglioni. Overall the spirit of the deck is optimistic, even joyous at times. After viewing the cards I am always left with a feeling that all is well.

The card images revisit the era when Italy was dominated by families, mighty city-states and The Church. The passion for God was intense, art flourished, and discovery was commonplace. Everything seemed to be on a grand scale. Europeans would discover America. The plague would decimate the population of all Europe. The arts would awaken from medieval dormancy to explode into new directions that still move us today.

There was also a collective innocence driven by faith that all things are possible, and it is this innocence that D’Onofrio captures in her deck. There are no knarly rulers or intensely morbid scenes. Instead, you are presented with the happiness and contentment of a people that not only knew, but liked who they were.

The question is can this deck be used for readings? While the deck is definitely a collector's edition, it is usable. Shuffling the deck can be a bit of a challenge, but the solution to that is to mix the cards on the table. Since the card's symbolism is in the spirit of traditional tarot you shouldn't have trouble with the meanings of individual cards. Plus the deck imparts such a sense of well-being that it can raise the spirits of the most forlorn soul. It is unlikely you would want to use this deck regularly, but, with some minor accommodations it is a very nice deck to work with.