Today was a very full day and it is the Festa di San Giovanni – the patron saint of Firenze. Many local stores are closed, but the tourist area shops are open. I have not bought anything for myself so far, and had seen some cool T-shirts while strolling around with my family earlier in the week, so I set out to find the stores. I bought a shirt at one store near the Duomo, but the one I wanted with a bicycle on it was at their other store, just across Ponte Vecchio. Walking back toward the bridge I passed the Duomo and a small celebration of the Festa with a number of priests and people dressed in Renaissance-period clothing. While continuing along there was one of the priest walking in front of me. I caught up and wished him “Buon festa di San Giovanni” and he replied “anche tu” (you also). I found the other T-shirt store fort my second shirt and headed back to the apartment before calcio storico this afternoon, in Piazza Santa Croce. Andrea had purchased tickets for us and we met near Sant’Ambrosio at 4pm.
Calcio Fiorentino or calcio storico (historic football) is an early form of soccer combining soccer, rugby, boxing and wrestling that originated during the Middle Ages and is thought to have started in the Piazza Santa Croce. Today, three matches are still played each year in Piazza Santa Croce in the third week of June, and a team from each quartiere (quarter) of the city is represented:
Santa Croce / Azzurri (Blues)
Santa Maria Novella / Rossi (Reds)
Santo Spirito / Bianchi (Whites)
San Giovanni / Verdi (Greens)
After playing each other in two opening games, the two overall winners go into the yearly final on June 24. For decades this violent match has resulted in severe injuries, including death. During the early decades, in order to encourage wagering and achieve a bettable winner, there were times when bulls would be ushered into the ring in hopes of adding confusion and inciting victory. The modern version of calcio storico has not changed much from its historical roots, which allow tactics such as head-butting, punching, elbowing, and choking. However, due to sometime fatal injuries, sucker punches, hits from behind and kicks to the head are currently banned and it is only one-on-one fighting.
Matches last 50 minutes and are played on a field covered in sand, twice as long as it is wide (approximately 100m × 50m or 109 by 55 yards). Each team has 27 players and no substitutions are allowed for injured or expelled players. The teams are made up of four goalkeepers, three fullbacks, five halfbacks, and 15 forwards.
There are 7 officials including the referee, and he is responsible for making sure the game runs smoothly, stepping into the field only to maintain discipline and reestablish order when major fights occur. The game starts when the ball is thrown and kicked toward the center line, then at the first whistle as the ball first rests on field, 15 forwards begin fighting. It is a wild mixed martial arts match - punching, kicking, tripping, hacking, tackling, and wrestling with each other in an effort designed to tire opponents' defenses, but which often descends into an all-out brawl. They try to pin as many players to the ground as possible so they can’t participate in moving the ball forward. Once there are enough incapacitated players, the other teammates come and swoop up the ball and head to the goal. When a play is happening at the goal line, the fighters take a break to watch that action, then go back to pummeling each other.
From that moment on, the players try by any means necessary to get the ball into the goal. It is important to shoot with precision, because every time a player throws or kicks the ball above the net, the opposing team is awarded a half point. The game ends after 50 minutes and the team which scored the most points wins – this year the final score was 11½ to 7½ and Blue (Azzurri) won.
After the game we stopped for a drink before Andrea drove to Tonfano for a concert. I headed home before meeting some InterNations people at the Arno to watch the holiday’s fireworks from 10-10:45 – great fireworks, but it sounded like a war zone. We all then went for a very late dinner (11pm) at Ristorante Boccanegra and I got home around 1pm.
Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/WcqsgGoFxjvNLPUQ8
Calcio Fiorentino or calcio storico (historic football) is an early form of soccer combining soccer, rugby, boxing and wrestling that originated during the Middle Ages and is thought to have started in the Piazza Santa Croce. Today, three matches are still played each year in Piazza Santa Croce in the third week of June, and a team from each quartiere (quarter) of the city is represented:
Santa Croce / Azzurri (Blues)
Santa Maria Novella / Rossi (Reds)
Santo Spirito / Bianchi (Whites)
San Giovanni / Verdi (Greens)
After playing each other in two opening games, the two overall winners go into the yearly final on June 24. For decades this violent match has resulted in severe injuries, including death. During the early decades, in order to encourage wagering and achieve a bettable winner, there were times when bulls would be ushered into the ring in hopes of adding confusion and inciting victory. The modern version of calcio storico has not changed much from its historical roots, which allow tactics such as head-butting, punching, elbowing, and choking. However, due to sometime fatal injuries, sucker punches, hits from behind and kicks to the head are currently banned and it is only one-on-one fighting.
Matches last 50 minutes and are played on a field covered in sand, twice as long as it is wide (approximately 100m × 50m or 109 by 55 yards). Each team has 27 players and no substitutions are allowed for injured or expelled players. The teams are made up of four goalkeepers, three fullbacks, five halfbacks, and 15 forwards.
There are 7 officials including the referee, and he is responsible for making sure the game runs smoothly, stepping into the field only to maintain discipline and reestablish order when major fights occur. The game starts when the ball is thrown and kicked toward the center line, then at the first whistle as the ball first rests on field, 15 forwards begin fighting. It is a wild mixed martial arts match - punching, kicking, tripping, hacking, tackling, and wrestling with each other in an effort designed to tire opponents' defenses, but which often descends into an all-out brawl. They try to pin as many players to the ground as possible so they can’t participate in moving the ball forward. Once there are enough incapacitated players, the other teammates come and swoop up the ball and head to the goal. When a play is happening at the goal line, the fighters take a break to watch that action, then go back to pummeling each other.
From that moment on, the players try by any means necessary to get the ball into the goal. It is important to shoot with precision, because every time a player throws or kicks the ball above the net, the opposing team is awarded a half point. The game ends after 50 minutes and the team which scored the most points wins – this year the final score was 11½ to 7½ and Blue (Azzurri) won.
After the game we stopped for a drink before Andrea drove to Tonfano for a concert. I headed home before meeting some InterNations people at the Arno to watch the holiday’s fireworks from 10-10:45 – great fireworks, but it sounded like a war zone. We all then went for a very late dinner (11pm) at Ristorante Boccanegra and I got home around 1pm.
Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/WcqsgGoFxjvNLPUQ8