And I thought my kid’s soccer was rough?

For the last several years I have been reading about an interesting tradition in Florence called…”Calico Storico”…historic football. I have watched insane Youtube video’s of what looks like grown men playing in a huge sand pit with a ball…oh, and they are really bloody.

So this summer we decided to find this crazy game and consider watching the final match playe every year in June.

Although the game itself dates back to 1200-the “rules” were written down in 1500’s. The “football” match was made famous by the Medici’s, and at the time only the noblemen participated. The “rules” include pretty much anything goes except sucker punches and kicks to the head. The referee who is costumed in plump britches and a feather hat can’t see too much with all the sand in the air, hence the bloody faces and heads.

The teams are comprised of 27 men from the four neighborhoods, also known as “contradas” or districts. The blue, red, green, and white all stand for a different district. Like soccer, they have positions (defenders, attackers, goal keeper) but I am pretty sure it’s just every man for himself and looks as if everyone just beats each other up and somehow the ball gets tossed into a fake end zone area. The game itself gets kind of lost amidst all the fighting. The men are lovely, strong, muscular, and dressed in colorful medieval pants, leather colored shoes and a tan 6 pack instead of shirts.

The teams play for 3 weeks until the final match. The winner gets bragging rights for a year and beef steak the total weight of the team! ha

The game is played in the Piazza Santa Croce-bleachers and sand are brought in to make it look like a huge sand box. Tickets are sold at various locations through out the city.

Not into blood and sand? You can grab a seat at a bar along the parade route and watch the beautiful ladies, players, trumpet and drummers, the Mayor and his family, and more….

Isn’t Italy fun? Enjoy the parade with us…