Drop in on any beach bar in Italy and you will spot a recurring cast of characters: tanned and concentrating, dedicated cardplayers sit around a shaded table that they will barely leave all entire afternoon.
Cardplaying is not only a seaside activity: from social clubs to neighbourhood bars, parks and ferry-terminal queues, Italians love to whip out a deck and get stuck into one of their favourite games – be it briscola, scopa, scala quaranta or canasta – using cards that, like the country’s traditions, look different from region to region.
