The Emperor [Dante Tarot] by Andrea Serio

So, here is another beautiful outcome of that gloriously unhinged Lucca trip last year.

By a happy chain of events, and thanks [as is often the case] to a great friend, I ended up with this gorgeous Emperor piece by Andrea Serio.

The piece here belongs to the Dante Tarot, that was published in 2001 by Lo Scarabeo. Its concept and structure were devised by the renowned esoteric historian Giordano Berti, but the visual soul of the deck lies entirely in Andrea Serio's beautiful, slightly surreal pastel work. This piece is Trionfi IV - Governo. In Tarot, the Major Arcana are often referred to as the Trionfi [the Triumphs] and card IV is universally The Emperor. The subtitle, Governo, means "Government" or "Rule", immediately placing the image within a more explicitly political frame.

The Dante connection is especially interesting here. In Dante Alighieri's philosophy [particularly in his political treatise De Monarchia] the Emperor was the supreme authority of the secular world, charged with guiding humanity toward earthly happiness and maintaining justice, while the Pope presided over the spiritual realm. The figure in this piece holds the sceptre of worldly power, while the bird of prey perched behind him evokes the Imperial Eagle [or falcon] and serves as a direct nod to the Holy Roman Empire, which Dante fiercely supported as a unifying governing force in a fractured Italy. He gazes out beyond fortified walls toward the sea, projecting both stability and vision.