COSTUMED WITH A MEDIEVAL AIR
 A
sport for all times, the Calcio Storico or traditional football
played in costume, in Florence, Italy, dates back to the 15th century.
Woven with Italian brain, brawn and passion, the Calcio Storico
was played by the aristocratic young noble men in front of the Basilica
of Santa Croce and some times in the areas of Via Il Prato, Piazza
della Signoria or Piazza Santa Maria Novella in celebration of the
Feast of St. John. Held every year on June 24th, the awesome pageant
of the Calcio Storico takes you to its ancient origins where ‘calcio
in costume’ or ‘costume football’ was played for
over 500 years.
 With
traditional districts to identify each of the four teams, the Calcio
Storico, ‘calcio livrea’ or ‘football in livery’,
colors the spirited pageant with the teams dressed in different
colors, blue for St. Croce, red for St. Maria Novella, white for
St. Spirito and green for St. Giovanni. Stimulating and involving
body, mind and soul, the bloody and violent sport of the Calcio
Storico stunned even the armies of Charles V, who had come to re-install
the Medici government with the sound of firearms and the cannon
tearing through the air. The Florentines continued their game as
if nothing had happened as His Royal Majesty and his Imperial army
stared in utter shock at the Renaissance costumed players as they
proudly upheld their traditional game.
 Written
by Count Giovanni de’Bardi di Vernio in 1580 in his ‘Treatise
on Football’, the Calcio Storico has 54 players divided into
two teams which are lined up in three rows. Though there are no
major rules in this game, the final result has to end in a ‘caccia’
or goal. Each end of the opposite walls has a four-foot wooden wall
that runs its entire length. The round red and white ball is tossed
over the wooden wall which denotes a ‘caccia’ or a goal.
In the center of each goal wall a narrow white tent with red trimmings
and a red flag guards its goal while the captain of the team with
the flag bearer stand with the respective team’s flag near
the tent. The color of the balls and the tents vary according to
the designated teams who are playing the match. Each year it varies
and the finalists play the last match which decides the winner for
that year. The game resembles Greco-Roman wrestling simulating the
movements and motions with a mixture of rugby and soccer. The color
of the balls and the tents vary according to the designated teams
who are playing the match.
 With
sand layering the entire square, the players run with the ball in
their hands and pass it to their team mates. As they run, the opponent
team tries to stop the player and pin them down till they are rescued
by their own team players. This often results in their costumes
being torn to bits and the players bloodied up but not too severely.
There are six referees positioned at various points dressed in colorful
Renaissance outfit of smooth velvet caps with ostrich feathers and
a doublet of rich shades with knickerbockers. The referee judge
with a sword has a plumed hat that he sweeps with a flourish to
acknowledge change of sides. The goal scored by the winning team
spurs the standard bearer to run around the square waving the team’s
flag, whilst the losing team’s standard bearer looks down-faced.
Before each game is played, a long and solemn procession starts
from Piazza Santa Maria Novella at 4 p.m., and winds through Via
de’Banchi into Via Rondinelli to Via Tornabuoni going through
Via Strozzi, around Piazza della Republica and into Via degli Speziali
and up the winding Via Calzaiuoli to the picturesque Piazza della
Signora right to Via della Ninna and finally through Via de’Neri
till it reaches Borgo Santa Croce with much fanfare and trumpets.
 Horsemen
follow with foot soldiers in armor or the ‘alabardieri’,
completely suited with the ancient Florentine helmets of iron and
corsalets of leather. Twenty drummers perform in sync, wearing dashing
yellow and blue silk tunics with the famous crimson lily of Florence
emblazoned on their drums as a symbol of freedom and peace. The
Ball Bearer carries the ball with the colors of the chosen teams
followed by twenty six infantry men in colorful uniforms with feathers
in their caps. A young heifer bedecked with garlands being the traditional
prize of the winners is led by two oxen drivers who are dressed
in white smocks with leather vests with enthusiastic shouts of ‘Viva
Fiorenza!’ echoing around. A presenter announces the members
of the aristocratic families who are followed by the gonalfiers,
the keepers of the four ancient city quarters of Santa Croce, Santo
Spirito, Santa Maria Novella and San Giovanni. Then the representatives
of the old corporations, the musicians, the flag bearers, the mace
carriers, the referees and the players in their beautiful Renaissance
attire walk with the parade. This fantastic pageant was a traditional
festival it was stopped for a period in 1739 by the Grand Dukes
of Lorraine, but was re-started in 1930 by the Fascist Government.
The historical game of the Calcio Storico follows its traditional
rules with the Santa Croce area having the Blues or the Azzuri,
San Giovanni with the Greens or the Verdi, Santa Maria Novella with
the Reds or the Rossi and Santo Spirito with the whites or the Bianchi.
The game does not allow anyone with a criminal record to participate
in it. Over 500 dignitaries that include military officers, politicians,
bankers, judges, nobility and rich merchants walk behind the parade
in their bright and rich Renaissance costumes. The flag bearers
in their costumes of short tunics and soft leather boots with tights
carry sixteen flags with different symbols. The sound of the cannon
heralds the bandierai who perform awesome acrobatics with their
sticks as the parade retires to their respective seats. The game
ends with a sumptuous meal of bistecca fiorenta and fireworks.
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