Calcio Storico Fiorentino: Bare Knuckle Football

The Offside ^ | April 10th, 2007 | Bob

[1rudeboy]

Calcio Storico Fiorentino: Bare Knuckle Football

By: Bob | April 10th, 2007

Before football became the civilized and tidy sport that it is today it was Wild in the Streets in both England and in Italy. By some accounts, the early form of Italian football began in the 59 BC in the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence. The sport of giuoco del calcio fiorentino - a mix of soccer, rugby, Greco-Roman wrestling and bare-knuckle fighting - was played by the aristocrats on every night between Eipiphany and Lent.

According to the occasionally reliable Wikipedia:

The official rules of calcio were published for the first time in 1580 by a certain Giovanni Bardi. Just like Roman harpastum, it was played in teams of 27, using both feet and hands. Goals could be scored by throwing the ball over a designated spot on the perimeter of the field. The playing field is a giant sand pit with a goal running the width of each end. There is a main referee, six linesmen and a field master. Each game is played out for 50 minutes with the winner being the team with the most points or ‘cacce’.

And then there is this description:

A bit like American Football, or Harry Potter’s Quidditch, the 27-strong teams are divided into an attack force using all means possible to get the ball to one end of the pitch and a defense unit who’ll try anything to stop them.

In practice, that means two sets of lusty warriors trying to hoist a red-and-white sphere over two low wooden walls at each end of a sand-filled Piazza Santa Croce, one of Florence’s most famous squares.

In the meantime, one-on-one grapple bouts break out all over the arena, where a Green or a Red has a chance to grind a White or Blue’s face into the sand - perhaps because he stole his girlfriend or cut him off in traffic one time.

The wrestling ends when the ‘caccia’ is achieved and a point is scored.

After falling by the wayside for a couple of centuries, the ancient sport of calico was brought back to life in the Piazza Santa Croce where it is now played in the third week of June each year. But there is word today that the 2007 competition has been called off because some of bloody brawls that took place the past two years.

Below is an Italian documentary that shows a bit of how the game is played. It is not a game for the weak. One can only imagine what the hooligans would be like if they attended these games. Oh wait, they do attend them. They are the players.

More video fun with some music that is NSFW [contains profanity, etc.]. Link

[1rudeboy]

There is an Italian documentary (YouTube) at the link.

[1rudeboy]

For your NFL list.

[1rudeboy]

For your list also.

[SShultz460]

Crazy, I might like it

[SoCal Pubbie]

It is interesting to note that the myth of rugby springing from soccer is just that. If you look at the actual history of football you will find a wide range of such games, many of which included tackling in the rules, going back a long time. From an ancient Chinese game similar to soccer, to Roman Harpastum (itself derived from an earlier Greek version) to English mob football, use of the hands, forward passing and tackling were often part of the game. It was not until the 1800’s that soccer (association football) and rugby (named for the school at which its rules arose) were codified and developed as distinct sports.

American football, of course, grew from rugby and ironically was introduced to the U.S. by a visiting Canadian team. As in many things, like the English language, we were not content to do things the same way just because of tradition, and we changed the game and made it our own.

[SShultz460]

Could go over well in LA

[martin_fierro]

Muslim yoots playing giuoco del calcio fiorentino in Paris.

[Rummyfan]

By some accounts, the early form of Italian football began in the 59 BC in the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence. The sport of giuoco del calcio fiorentino - a mix of soccer, rugby, Greco-Roman wrestling and bare-knuckle fighting - was played by the aristocrats on every night between Eipiphany and Lent.

Ummm...how could they they be playing in Holy Cross Square, between Epiphany and Lent, in 59 BC?????

[SunkenCiv]

LOL!

[SunkenCiv]

Romans invented football, hence the crying need for a ping:

By some accounts, the early form of Italian football began in the 59 BC in the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence. The sport of giuoco del calcio fiorentino - a mix of soccer, rugby, Greco-Roman wrestling and bare-knuckle fighting - was played by the aristocrats on every night between Eipiphany and Lent. According to the occasionally reliable Wikipedia: The official rules of calcio were published for the first time in 1580 by a certain Giovanni Bardi. Just like Roman harpastum, it was played in teams of 27, using both feet and hands.

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[blam]

"Could go over well in LA"

LOL. My thoughts too. The picture at the top looks like an LA riot.