Giordano Berti
Giordano Berti (born 27 February 1959) is an Italian writer and teacher of History of Arts. Biography. Born in Bologna, Giordano Berti grew up in Monghidoro, a town of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. After obtaining his college diploma he went on to study history and philosophy at University of Bologna 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 (magic, divination, witchcraft, alchemy, astrology, heresies, gnosticism, heaven and hell, angels and devils) 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. 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, Umberto Eco, Tiziano Sclavi, Angelo Stano, Robert M. Place, Rachel Pollack. As  a worldwide renown Tarot historian, Berti was invited, as special guest, at the third World Tarot Congress, in Chicago (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, Italy) and Dal Negro (Treviso, Italy). In 2012 Giordano Berti started the project "Monghidoro: the Gateway to Europe", in collaboration with art designer Letizia Rivetti and the municipal administration of Monghidoro. 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. 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. Various exhibits catalogs. Together with important historians, Berti organized various History Exhibits and wrote the relatives Catalogues (availables in Italian only): Tarot exhibits and catalogues. Together with Andrea Vitali, Middle Age historian and President of the Associazione Le Tarot (Faenza, Italy), and Michael Dummett, a British philosopher, Berti organized various exhibits on the History and Art of Tarot: With Vitali, Berti also published some important catalogues: Historical studies about Tarot. In addition to  the tarot exhibition catalogs, Berti published a lot of studies on Tarot and card games history: Old Tarot Decks (reprints). Berti has supervised the reprint of some ancient Tarots, accompanying the decks with unpublished historical studies: New Tarot Decks. Berti wrote, also, numerous reviews on Tarot of modern artists and himself invented new Tarot decks realized by great artists: Sibyls and various Decks. Various kind of divination cards: 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: