Calcio Storico Series is Italian for “historic football (soccer)”. The sport, which is also known as Calcio Forentino goes back to the 16th Century in Italy, when it was a game played by the rich, including several popes. As an aside, we think Pope Francis, a former bouncer, would be awesome this.
It may have been a revival of the Roman sport of Harpastum. At the very least, the players get medieval.
The rules were laid out formally in 1580, and have been refined since:
The playing field consists of sand;
On either end of the field is a net;
If get the ball over the net, you earn a goal (cacce);
Teams switch sides with each goal;
There are 27 players per side;
Officials consist of a head referee, six linesmen, and a field master;
Choking, head-butting, punching, and elbowing, are permitted;
Sucker punches, kicks to the head, and two on one attacks are forbidden, and result in removal from the field;
No substitutions for injury or expulsions are allowed;
Who ever gets the most cacce in 50 minutes wins.
Interest waned in the early 1700s, but it was restored in 1930, and has been played since.
Today, three games are held each year, in the third week of June, in Piazza Santa Croce, Florence, Italy. The event consists of four teams, with two semi-final matches, and a final on June 24, San Giovanni Day. St. John is the Patron Saint of Florence.
The four teams each represent a neighborhood:
Santa Croce – Blue
Santa Maria Novella – Red
Santo Spirito – White
San Giovanni – Greens
The game begins when a cannon is fired, and the ball is thrown into the center of the field. Then the players do what they have to get the ball over the net.
The winning teach gets a free meal. The losing team, nothing.
