By Miguel Angel Salvatierra
Florence, Italy, Jun 4 (EFE).- Every year in June, the Italian city of Florence returns to the 16th century – when it was the cultural center of the world – thanks to ‘Calcio Storico’ (Italian for ‘historical soccer’), an ancient sport that mixes soccer, rugby and wrestling that is the pride of locals.
The ‘Reds’ of Santa Maria Novella, the ‘Whites’ of Santo Spirito, the ‘Greens’ of San Giovanni, and the ‘Blues’ of Santa Croce are the four neighborhoods vying for local pride in a battle with scant rules and in which full physical contact is the key to victory.
Each team’s 27 players (‘calcianti’) are positioned in either half of the field, a rectangle of sand divided by a white line located in the Santa Croce square in central Florence.
They use punches, kicks, and all sorts of physical maneuvers to immobilize the opponent, while their teammates try to sneak a ball into a goal extending across the full width of the end line.
Soccer, rugby, boxing, and mixed martial arts turn the players into warriors from a bygone era during a 50-minute match, played after an exhausting training regime that pushes them to their physical and psychological limits.
The origins of ‘Calcio Storico’ date back to the ancient Roman “harpastum” – a popular form of ball game during the Empire.
But February 17, 1530, is also a key moment in the sport’s history, when a famine caused by the siege of the city ordered by Charles V saw Florentines take to the streets to play ball as a way to mock the enemy.
The game’s rapid rise in popularity attracted great figures of the time, such as the powerful Medici family, and even popes Leo XI, Clement VII, and Urban VIII.
“The Florentines did it to show their pride,” the president of the ‘Calcio Storico’, Michele Pierguidi, tells EFE after the 2024 semifinal between ‘Whites’ and ‘Reds’. The latter qualified for the grand final on June 15.
Before the start of the match, a hundred men dressed in flashy costumes recalled the moment when the Florentines decided to stand up to the troops of the Spanish empire, filling the streets with color and music.
The recipe for “the miracle” of this sport is based on three ingredients: the “fear, courage, and passion” of the ‘calcianti’,» Pierguidi adds.
But there is also “a lot of training in sports that are useful,” says Hervy, a ‘calciante’ for the ‘Reds’ of Santa Maria Novella who made his debut 11 years ago and now celebrates his team’s passage to the final.
“The first time you play it, the match starts and ends. You don’t understand what happens in the middle,” he acknowledges.
According to Pierguidi, this sport is “difficult to understand, even for some Florentines,” due to its extreme violence, with players suffering a range of issues, from bruises and cuts to broken bones and head injuries.
The ‘calcianti’, aged between 20 and 50, are encouraged to take part in the sport since they feel “part of a group, of a neighborhood, having brothers and sisters by their side,” Pierguidi adds.
On June 15, the reigning champions, the ‘Reds’ of Santa Maria Novella, will face the ‘Blues’ of Santa Croce in an arena that will be transformed into a modern day coliseum for these contemporary gladiators to become proud heroes of Florence. EFE
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