The final 2017 of Calcio Storico Fiorentino will see Bianchi of Santo Spirito versus Rossi of Santa Maria Novella; as every year the match will take place in Piazza Santa Croce in the afternoon of June 24th, feast of St. John, Saint Patron of the city of Florence.
Calcio Storico Fiorentino is an ancient tradition of the city of Florence, which for the occasion is divided into 4 Districts, each associated with a color.
Residenza d’epoca Torre dei Lari, located in Oltrano, belongs to the District of Santo Spirito characterized by the white color and the dove of peace.
Calcio Storico Fiorentino in the past was also known as Calcio in Costume because it played with representative clothes of a historical period or as Calcio in Livrea for the lavish livery (dresses with colors and coat of arms of noblemen, or pre-established colors that the Knights wore armor or even divided to differentiate groups of persons belonging to two different parts). In Florence for the Football Game, the livery was used for games performed with particular solemnities: weddings of reigns, official visits of Cardinals, Popes and Grand Duke.
The “Giuoco del Calcio Fiorentino” has far distant origins, it comes from the ball games of the Greeks who called in the Sferomachia case, then passed to the Romans by the name of Harpastum (literally strapping to Force) and during the Middle Ages, evolving, Florence played football on the streets, squares, and even organized matches that were left in the city’s history. The most important match of Calcio is played in Piazza Santa Croce on February 17, 1530, during the Emperor Carlo V’s siege to the city of Florence to submit the Florentine Republic to the return of the Medici family.
The Florentines, despite being hungry and exhausted by the war, came down from the walls, organized a grand procession and started playing Calcio in Piazza Santa Croce in the face of the enemy. From that day in Florence, whoever ruled the city, he played or made celebrations of Calcio Storico Fiorentino.
In our days, after the resumption of Fiorentino’s Historical Football in 1930, the teams of the City Districts, Bianchi di Santo Spirito, Rossi of Santa Maria Novella, Verdi of St. John and Azzurri of Santa Croce in A tournament that includes two semifinals and one final between the winners on June 24th of the Patron Saint, San Giovanni.
Information and pictures shown are from the official website of Calcio Storico Fiorentino managed by the City of Firenze