A PENCHANT FOR SPORT

It's as if Merlin, the wizard, had whizzed invisibly into Piazza Santa Croce and waved his wand over a seemingly orderly colorful parade turning it into a screaming melee. This is what the Calcio Storico is all about, beauty, brutality and brawn. Get involved with this ancient Florentine football game tinged with the fiery Italian passion and tradition. Did you know that the Calcio Storico or traditional football played in costume dates back to the 15th century? As an immensely popular game among aristocratic young noble men, Calcio Storico was played mainly in front of the Basilica of Santa Croce and some times in the areas of Via Il Prato, Piazza della Signoria or Piazza Santa Maria Novella. Held in celebration of the Feast of St. John, the patron of Florence, the matches were invariably held at the Piazza Santa Croce. Bringing in the elements of style, strength and a super hero image, the players used this as bait to win the hearts of the ladies who were present there. If you are there in June, don't miss this awesome pageantry which is mingled with sweat, sumptuousness and sensuality.

The ancient origins of the Calcio Storico whose matches were played for over 500 years, was also termed as 'calcio in costume' or 'costume football'. Come and cheer these giants dressed in the colors of a spirited sport. Faithful to their traditional districts the four teams are dressed in different colors, blue for St. Croce, red for St. Maria Novella, white for St. Spirito and green for St. Giovanni. Calcio Storico, 'calcio livrea' or 'football in livery', beats even the famous horse race, 'Palio' of Siena. Though a bloody and violent sport, it has been famous and is played every year on June 24th. Weave a path through the past and take a peek over the shoulders of the armies of Charles V, who had come to re-install the Medici government as the sound of the cannon reverberated around the Piazza Santa Croce. The Florentines proudly upheld their honorable game and continued in spite of the threat that hung perilously low over their heads. This was a feather in their caps, as His Royal Majesty and his Imperial army looked on in disbelief at the Renaissance costume clad players rough and tumbling all over the square with no regard even for battle!

Listen to the secrets of the game that bounce off the paved courtyard of the Santa Croce. Watch the Roman battle formation, written by Count Giovanni de'Bardi di Vernio in 1580 and open the pages of his 'Treatise on Football'. Turn the pages and absorb this blood-curdling game as it unfolds with 54 players divided into two teams which are lined up in three rows. Though the rules are practically non-existent the result has to be a 'caccia'. Dodge between the Florentine hunks and just about escape between the massive players as they enact Greco-Roman wrestling and go through the motions of rugby and soccer. This is how the game is played. Each end of the opposite walls has a four-foot wooden wall that runs its entire length. The round red and white ball is tossed over the wooden wall which denotes a 'caccia' or a goal. In the center of each goal wall a slim white tent with red trimmings and a red flag proudly guards its goal while the captain of the team with the flag bearer stand with the respective team's flag near the tent. The color of the balls and the tents vary according to the designated teams who are playing the match. Each year it varies and the finalists play the last match which decides the winner for that year.

THE BATTLE OF THE COLORS

Now it is time for the scene of battle. The entire square has been layered with sand for the national game of Calcio Storico in Florence. The ball seems to be too heavy to be kicked, so the players run with it, clutched in their hands and pass it to their team mates. Through a haze of sand and sweaty bodies, half the team runs to score a goal, while the other half battle and pin their opponents down in a bloody wrestle. If a player is pinned down too long, his team mate rushes up to rescue him. By the time the game is over, almost all the players have their colorful attire torn off their bodies and some of them get hurt to the point of being bloodied up but not too severely mauled. Like any other game, Calcio Storico is structured with a fair and just attitude. Clad in the colorful Renaissance outfit of smooth velvet caps with ostrich feathers, doublet of rich hues with knickerbockers, six referees are positioned at different angles of the square to watch the various aspects of the game. Calcio Storico is complete with a referee judge who wears a plumed hat and carries a sword. The plumed hat is swept with a flourish to acknowledge change of sides and winning of goals. Listen to the roar of the crowd as their favorite team scores a goal. The standard bearer runs around the square waving the team's flag whilst the losing team's standard bearer hangs his head!

Follow this rich and traditional sport filled to the brim with pageantry and the colorful spirit of the Renaissance. Stand on the bleachers structured around the sand-filled Piazza Santa Croce and listen to the deafening cheer and applause of the Florentines. Watch the fabulous parade that boggles the mind and which takes you back in to the medieval world in a split second! Before each game is played, a long and solemn procession starts from Piazza Santa Maria Novella at 4 p.m., and winds through Via de'Banchi into Via Rondinelli to Via Tornabuoni going through Via Strozzi, around Piazza della Republica and into Via degli Speziali and up the winding Via Calzaiuoli to the picturesque Piazza della Signora right to Via della Ninna and finally through Via de'Neri till it reaches Borgo Santa Croce with much fanfare and trumpets.

Watch in awe as horsemen gallop into the sandy arena followed by foot soldiers in armor or the 'alabardieri', completely suited with the ancient Florentine helmets of iron and corsalets of leather. Listen to the clank of their halberds and swords as it keeps an off-beat rhythm with the twenty drummers beating up a storm wearing dashing yellow and blue silk tunics with the famous crimson lily of Florence ablaze on their drums as a forerunner of freedom and peace. The Florentines passion and love of pageantry is displayed in their enthusiastic shouts of 'Viva Fiorenza'! Let your eyes follow the Ball Bearer as he carries the ball with the colors of the chosen teams. Close on his heels, twenty six infantry men clothed in uniforms ranging the colors of the rainbow follow with feathers waving in their caps. Then the prestigious prize is brought in that is awarded to the winners, a young heifer decorated with garlands of flowers led by two oxen drivers who are dressed in white smocks with leather vests.

SYMBOLS OF TRADITION

Meet the members of the rich aristocratic families who are announced by a presenter. Look at the gonalfiers, the keepers of the four ancient city quarters of Santa Croce, Santo Spirito, Santa Maria Novella and San Giovanni. Let your heart dance with excitement that crowds the ambience as the representatives of the old corporations, the musicians, the flag bearers, the mace carriers, the referees and the heroes of the day, the players walk in an orderly parade in their beautiful color combinations of the Renaissance, which is the calm before the storm. Though this gorgeous pageant was the order of the day, it was stopped for a while in 1739 by the Grand Dukes of Lorraine, but was re-started in 1930 by the Fascist Government. Come and acquaint yourself with this historical game. The Santa Croce area has the Blues or the Azzuri, San Giovanni has the Greens or the Verdi, Santa Maria Novella has the Reds or the Rossi and Santo Spirito has the whites or the Bianchi. Another astonishing fact is that if any player has a criminal record, then he cannot participate in the game.

Through the beams of sunshine making its way across the marble clad Santa Croce façade and the surrounding historical buildings, you can hear the sound of drums, trumpets, musical instruments and the blast of the cannon. Over 500 dignitaries that include military officers, politicians, bankers, judges, nobility and rich merchants walk behind the parade in their bright and rich Renaissance costumes. The shouts of 'Viva Fiorenza' reverberates around the square and echoes off its peripheries as groups of men march in carrying colored flags that blend with their uniforms of short tunics and soft leather boots with tights. Count the number of flags and you will find sixteen of them which represent different symbols. Look at the white flag and you will find that the red covered cup on it represents the Masters of the Salt, the guardians of the consumption of salt whose tax is paid by the citizens. The beautiful blue flag with embroidered gold coins symbolizes the Masters of the Mint in charge of the treasury. As the sound of the cannon tears through the air, the bandierai perform awesome acrobatics with their sticks as the parade retires to their respective seats.

Are you going to be there in Florence at the Piazza Santa Croce to watch this amazing ancient game? If you have already made up your mind, then be there on June 24th, though since the turn of the 16th century, two Sundays before the Feast of St. John are chosen for the pre-finals. Experience the Explosion of the Cart that takes place when a cart full of fireworks explodes in myriad colors with a cacophony of sound. Throw a colored smoke bomb into the sandy arena and look at the violent game through a misty colored haze. Come and partake of a winning feast of steaks with the brave winners and share their traditional prize of the white calf or bistecca fiorenta. Florence gives you a sport which is sensational, surprising and stormy. Entertain the mind and the senses while you sway with the crowds on Piazza Santa Croce to the echoes of 'Viva Fiorenza' and take home the passion of an extravaganza.

Participate in an ancient sport and carry home a fistful of memories...

Tickets range in price from Euro 15 to Euro 40 and can be purchased at Nuovo Box office, via L. Alamanni, 39. ++39 055-210804