Calcio Storico Fiorentino

Twenty-seven calcianti per side face each other in the sand arena set up in Piazza Santa Croce for the Calcio Storico Fiorentino, a discipline originating in the 16th century in which rugby, wrestling and football merge into a regulated physical clash.

Codified in 1580 by Giovanni de' Bardi, the game comprises 50 minutes of continuous play where fist fights and tackles are permitted to stop opponents and deposit the ball into the opposing net to score a caccia. A hierarchical system composed of a Referee, six linesmen, a Match Commissioner and a Master of the Field oversees the legality of the duels, which are strictly limited to one-on-one combat and free of strikes to the head or neck.
To curb off-field violence, modern regulations impose stringent requirements: participants must be under forty years of age and hold a clean criminal record regarding major offences.

The 2018 edition registers a structural anomaly: due to the withdrawal from the competition by the Azzurri of Santa Croce, the arena hosts an unprecedented match between the Rossi of Santa Maria Novella and a mixed team made up of athletes from the Bianchi of Santo Spirito and the Verdi of San Giovanni.
The event, officially revived in 1930 after centuries of decline, traditionally culminates the following week, on 24 June for the feast of San Giovanni Battista, and is preceded by the Corteo Storico della Repubblica Fiorentina, which moves over 500 participants in Renaissance costume from Santa Maria Novella to Piazza Santa Croce.