A match of Calcio Storico Fiorentino lasts fifty minutes and is played on a rectangular field covered with sand. A white line divides the field into two equal halves, while nets are placed at both ends. Two teams of twenty-seven players, known as calcianti, face each other.
Historically, matches were usually organised during Carnival, although not exclusively. The most famous game was played on 17 February 1530 in Piazza Santa Croce. Florence was under siege by the imperial troops of Charles V, and the Florentines famously decided to play a game of ball in the square as a demonstration of courage and defiance.
The game remained popular throughout the seventeenth century, before gradually declining during the following century. The last official match known from that period was played in January 1739 in Piazza Santa Croce, in the presence of Maria Theresa, the future Empress of Austria.
Apart from two commemorative matches held in 1898 and 1902, almost two centuries passed before Florence saw the revival of its ancient game. Calcio Fiorentino, however, had never completely disappeared from the collective memory of the Florentines and continued to be practised in the city’s neighbourhoods.
The revival of Calcio Storico in Florence
The modern revival began in May 1930, during the celebrations for the four-hundredth anniversary of the Siege of Florence, when a tournament between the historic districts of the city was organised.
Since then, Calcio Storico Fiorentino has become one of Florence’s most important historical traditions. The four teams represent the historic districts: the Bianchi of Santo Spirito, the Azzurri of Santa Croce, the Rossi of Santa Maria Novella and the Verdi of San Giovanni.
The matches are traditionally held in June in Piazza Santa Croce, in connection with the celebrations for Saint John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence.
