Vsqve ad finem is a Latin motto meaning “to the very end”, primarily used by Gladiators and Roman legionaries.
Often used in reference to battle, implying a willingness to keep fighting until you die.
In this spirti began Calcio Storico – ‘historic football’ – also known as Calcio Fiorentino. – most brutal sport on Earth, held in tournament.
It could be argued that the latter group has an allegorical advantage, since the spectacle plays out in their city’s main square each year.
Still the blood soaked calcianti (players) will clash on a temporary sand court, under the merciless Tuscan sun.
No team is short on symbols and regalia, nor zeal for its next generation of near-gladiators.
Calcio fever swirls in the Florentine until the final on June 24, feast day of John the Baptist, the city’s Patron Saint. “
Just like any other sport, it’s staged on a giant sandpit in an ancient piazza, involving period costumes, bare-knuckle street fighting, and a general tolerance for maiming.
It is also considered the progenitor of modern football ,soccer, and the ancestor of rugby, including other disciplines such as wrestling and boxing.
Best described as a sporting event with deep roots and historical significance, the game is more than 500 years old and is played with the same rules that were in force in the 16th century. It is played only once a year due to it’s violence.
In 1574, when Henry III of France was staying in Venice, a fight was staged in his honor.
He said that the event was :
June 2006 , the first match of the tournament, between the Bianchi team (from the Santo Spirito district) and the Azzurri team (from Santa Croce) was suspended immediately after the start because the beatings had turned the game into a real fight.
The gravity of the fact forced the city council to cancel the entire 2006 tournament
In 2007, city officials handed out a one-year ban to the Calcio Storico after a brawl that saw 50 players taken to court.
Also because there were not enough guarantees of security.
In 2008, the sporting event was reintroduced with changes to the rules of the game to ensure smooth running and avoid uncontrolled fights: the players must now be under 40 years of age and must not have received serious criminal convictions. (eg for murder)
These rules led to the re-edition of the 2008 tournament to more fair competition, without serious altercations.
The semifinal between Azzurri (Blues) and Bianchi (Whites), won by the first 5 to 3½, inaugurated the tournament; the Verdi (Greens) did not participate in protest against the new rules and so the Rossi (Reds) went straight to the final.
In 2017,proceedings were called to a halt after a player punched the referee and refused to leave the pitch, sparking a 40-man brawl.
Even riot police were called when the calcianti (players) couldn’t be separated.
Now a penalty of 5,000 Euros will be imposed for each player who has not left the field.
Pain is weakness leaving the body.
The game may have started as a revival of Harpastum the ancient sport played by the Gladiators and the Legions of the Roman Empire.
Florence (Italian Firenze, Latin Florentia) was first built in the style of an army camp and established by Julius Caesar in 59 BC as a settlement for his veteran soldiers.
Historians don’t have much knowledge on what the exact rules were, but the sport involved physical exertion, speed, and agility.
It was said to be an “inverted” form of football (soccer).
The ball was probably full of rags, or made of leather, if not inflated with air.
The game took place on sandy grounds with precise rules and the players obviously divided into the same number for each row.
A “line was drawn in the dirt” and teams would make an effort to keep the ball behind their side of the line and stop the opposing team from snatching it.
In the past, the game was used to train the body and spirit of citizens for military service as well as to keep the legionaries already in the army well-tempered.
Suetonius himself mentions it by placing it among military exercises.
360 days of physical and psychological training, broken bones, broken noses, brain traumas, insults, jubilation, comas, death, glory, serves as a brutal history lesson of Florence’s once gloried past.
As for the players, they are not allowed to receive any compensation for taking part, as no professionals are permitted.
In 2014, the rules regarding participation in the tournament were changed, so only people born in Florence or who have lived in the area for at least 10 years without interruption, and three foreigners, can take part.
(Until very recently, those who fit the foreigner description could play for each team at once, but a heated May 21 city council meeting introduced new regulations for 2018, eliminating the possibility for foreigners to take part in the proceedings).
Those rule changes also aimed to cut down on violence, for example banning head-to-head clashes.
There are no protections aside from a teeth and shin guard (and jock strap, of course) so you will likely get hurt.
But, if you fit the rules, have skills the team can use, and train with them, you’re part of the team.
There are 60-70 players although only 27 are selected to play at a match. They change every year but you still create a special bond.
It is a large community, it becomes an extended family.
Rodrigue Nana, a Cameroon-born transplant to Italy, played for the Bianchi, representing the Santo Spirito quarter of Florence.
His ears focused on the dull noise of the fists hitting his teammates’ jaws, his neck combing around for brothers to lift up while dodging punches; his mind recalling, like a mantra, the old masters’ recommendations: ‘gladiator, make your plans in the arena—any expression of your enemy, any movement of his hand, even a slight leaning of his body will warn you during the fight’.
Then, all of a sudden, a ferocious flying elbow hit him on the back of his head. His body collapsed on the sand followed by the sound of a coin echoing into an empty charity box.
Referees and teammates gathered around his body looking for the coward culprit.
A massive brawl followed. His body was carried out on a stretcher. The referees broke up the fight. The game started again.
“Do you want to know what I am afraid of?” he said, his fingers tracing the meaty scar above his left eyebrow. Nana, a Cameroon-born transplant to Italy, leaned forward, as if to share a secret. “I am afraid of showering.”
He did not laugh. Neither did any of his teammates sitting nearby.
This was not a time for joking; Nana and the rest of his team were about to begin their last training session before the final match of the sort of human wreckage generally associated with the days of the gladiators.
Nana and his friends have endless stories. There was the player whose ankle shattered at the bottom of a dog pile.
The guy whose ear was bitten off in the middle of a scrum.
The one who went into a coma after being punched in the back of the head.
In one game, Nana had his shaved scalp cut open the way a letter opener slices an envelope.
“The thing is,” Nana continued, “when you’re playing, you don’t feel any of it. But then you calm down and take a shower. And that is when everything starts to burn.”
Yet, the instinct for the hunt never leaves.
Admission is free with voluntary donations which will be given to ANT, a non-profit that provides home care to cancer patients
One story I have heard is that the four Florentine neighborhoods were not willing to go into combat together, so the governor or overseer of this area decided that using the Roman Harpastum game would help build a bond between the communities and allow those involved to fight together and protect this area against outsiders.
This may be true, but at first, there were only two districts , the Whites (Bianchi) and the Greens (Verdi). Today the city is divided in four districts.
Origianlly, Calcio was reserved for rich aristocrats who played every night between Epiphany and Lent.
The players (Calcianti) were mostly nobles (even future Popes) between 18 and 45 years old and dressed the gorgeous liveries of the time, which gave the common name of the sport.
Teams wear the colors of their Florentine neighborhoods .
Priests from each neighborhood church bless their team’s flag at special ceremonies held in the buildup to each year’s tournament
Father Giuseppe Pagano, the prior at Santo Spirito, has performed marriage ceremonies for players and baptized their children.
To be a Calciante–a player who represents his color with pride and drive and purpose–is nothing less than an honor.
Today, men of all ages and occupations seize this responsibility, many following what their fathers and grandfathers did before them.
Some, work in bakeries or restaurants or construction sites or cooperate offices.
Their background doesn’t matter; all who step into the dirt do it only out of love.
Santa Maria Novella
Characterized by the color Rossi (Reds).
They are slightly better at scoring than the Azzurri but they prefer to toss people out of the arena and waste the clock
Classic Rossi tactics.
It is in the north-west quadrant of the city, that comprehends the Arno, Ponte Vecchio, Porta al Prato up to half of the Fortezza da Basso.
Santa Croce
Here the color is Azzurri (Blues).
Some are terrible at offense but through their sheer determination and willingness to sacrifice their bodies are able to give any team a struggle.
The quadrant is the south-east of the city, which includes from Porta a Pinti to the Arno on the side of the Mint and westwards the Via di Calimara and Por S. Maria up to the Ponte Vecchio. The name, as you can imagine, come from the Santa Croce church.
Among others, the Basilica of Santa Croce contains the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo Galilei and Dante.
San Giovanni
Characterized by the color Verdi (Greens).
An all around solid team with offensive flair and long range sharpshooters. They are not afraid to get physical. They are a team with illustrious history and a deep respect for the Calcio tradition.
Many years have passed since Dante Alighieri was baptized in Florence’s Baptistery of San Giovanni on March 26, 1266.
In his ‘Divine Comedy’, Dante described the building as “my beautiful San Giovanni,” yet he was not the only famous Florentine to be baptized here.
Navigator Amerigo Vespucci, historian and diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli and Grand Duke Cosimo I de Medici are all believed to have been dunked in the building’s original marble font. In fact, until the end of the 1800s, the baptisms of all Christian Florentines took place under its ceiling.
Santo Spirito
The color of the neighborhood is White.
A dynasty riding high, built on speed. A complete team with some of the best offensive players in the game. Top down leadership and success in their veins.
Together with the San Frediano and San Niccolò quarters, Santo Spirito forms the Diladdarno, literally “the other side of the Arno”, the Left Bank in fact and similitude, to all effects the part of the city that conserves the authentic soul of being Florentine.
A variation of Calcio Storico was most likely played in the 15th century as well,
The match was organized on the Arno river in 1490, notable as a day so cold the waters were completely frozen.
Even popes, such as Clement VII, Leo XI and Urban VIII, played the sport in Vatican City.
The Malice at the Palace:
In May 1527, Florence declares itself free from Medici rule.
The Signoria was chosen by the Gonfaloniere (titular ruler of the city), who was elected every two months by Florentine guild members.
The names of all guild members over thirty years old were put in eight leather bags called borse.
Every two months, these bags were taken from the church of Santa Croce, where they were ordinarily kept, and in a short ceremony drawn out at random.
Only men who were not in debt, had not served a recent term, and had no relation to the names of men already drawn, would be considered eligible for office.
The exuberance of this event turned ecstatic when the Medici Pope, Clement VII was imprisoned in Castel Sant’Angelo during the Sack of Rome, once free from his captors, however, the Pope began to plan new ways to return Florence to his family’s control.
So, the finically ruined Papacy found a new friend in the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
When Pope Clement VII and the Republic of Venice also concluded treaties with the Emperor.
It was during the siege by the Imperial troops of Charles V that the Florentines were threatened by the Germanic Spanish army.
In order to keep morale up they organized feisty game designed to demonstrate to the enemy what the Florentines were made of.
The Florentines, now exhausted by the scarcity of food, decided not to give up the Carnivalle celebrations and even, as a sign of defiance towards the besiegers, they wanted to organize a football match in the square of Santa Croce, which due to its position was clearly visible from the enemy troops encamped on the surrounding hills.
54 nobles faced each other to demonstrate the superiority of the Florentines over their enemy. Just like today.
To further ridicule the opponents, a group of musicians began to play on the roof of the church so that the imperials had a clearer idea of what was happening.
Suddenly a cannonball from the besieging batteries was fired towards the square but it flew over the heads of the musicians and ended up beyond the church doing no damage, greeted by the mockery of the crowd and the blare of the Florentine trumpets.
There is no news of the winners of that match, probably because it was felt more like a collective effort against the enemy than a real tournament. But according to an old diary of the 16th century that was found and preserved in the
library of Santa Croce, the victory was for the Verdi/Greens.
That is why the uniforms, date back to that historical period. Interesting to note the Vatican’s Swiss Guard uniform, also still dates back to this period.
For the common matches the players were usually chosen in the square at the time of playing, in the official ones or organized for some particular occasion the choice of the components of the teams was meticulously made months before in the palaces of the main gentlemen of the city.
It was therefore common for real personalities of the time to come onto the pitch who, for challenge or passion, wanted to try their hand at this sport in person.
Among the most illustrious personalities who practiced the game of football were
- Piero II de ‘Medici , son of Lorenzo the Magnificent
- Lorenzo II de ‘Medici , Duke of Urbino
- Alessandro de ‘Medici , Duke of Florence
- Cosimo I de ‘Medici , Grand Duke of Tuscany
- Cosimo II de ‘Medici , Grand Duke of Tuscany
- Lorenzo and Francesco, sons of the Grand Duke Ferdinando I de ‘Medici
- Henry , Prince of Condé
- Giulio de ‘Medici , Pope Clement VII
- Alessandro de ‘Medici , Pope Leo XI
- Maffeo Barberini , Pope Urban VIII
The Republic resisted this incursion; but, left without allies and betrayed by many of the mercenaries in her employ, Florence was unable to keep fighting indefinitely.
After ten months of resistance, the city was forced to capitulate on August 12, 1530, due to disease and famine.
After this, a Spanish Medici government took control of the city. It is believed that this medal refers to Clement’s relations with his native Florence.
The Medici arms which adorn the side of the throne on the reverse of the medal make obvious the interpretation of Clement VII as Joseph in the scene.
Thusly, his brothers are the fraternal citizens of Florence, whom he graciously loves and forgives.
The reverse inscription is taken from Genesis 45:4, Ad quos ille clementer: Accedite, inquit, ad me. Et cum accessissent prope: Ego sum, ait, Joseph, frater vester, quem vendidistis in Aegyptum
(And he said mildly to them: Come nearer to me. And when they were come near him, he said: I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt).
Modern Day:
The rules on the field are worth less than the unwritten code, there is only you and the opponent, you against the unknown to measure yourself and f you are really able to overcome any obstacle, even the strongest and most threatening one.
Then you understand why in the past illustrious personalities such as Cosimo de ‘Medici I Grand Duke of Tuscany, Vincenzo Gonzaga Duke of Mantua or even two popes (Clement VII and Leo XI for example, both of the de’ Medici family for example) have ventured into Calcio Firoentino .
In Florentine matches, any open space could be used as a playing field where more or less important matches could be improvised.
1605 – It was played once again on the frozen Arno from 24 December to 20 February
Like a banner slowly falling, in the 17th century, enthusiasm for the Calcio Storico waned because, during the period of its greatest popularity, football was so widespread, measures had to be taken to ensure the tranquility of the inhabitants-prohibiting its practice in places where it could be particularly annoying.
Even today it is possible to observe, in various points of Florence, walled tombstones in which this prohibition is reported.
The last official game that we know of was played in January 1739 in the square of Santa Croce, in the presence of Maria Teresa, future empress of Austria.
The first match in Calcio Storico of the 20th century provided the starting point for one of the first “commentary” of the nascent cinema.
Rodolfo Remondini from Ferrara, a pioneer of cinematography filmed some phases of the match on 23 May 1902 in Piazza S. Maria Novella, and the film thus made was screened on 3 June 1902 in Florence in the Edison room.
Fascist Dictator Benito Mussolini revived the game in the 1930s, promoting it as part of his regime’s focus on glorifying Italy’s past, and amateur games were held up and down the country.
Before discussing quite why the Fascists sought such hands-on involvement in football, it is worth considering the state of the nation that Fascism came to rule in the 1920s.
Italy was in crisis after the First World War.
In the 1860s, Italian statesman and novelist, Massimo D’Azeglio, stated that “l’Italia è fatta, restano da fare gli italiani” – “We have made Italy.
This problem still needed to be solved when Mussolini came to power.
Italy at this time was barely 60-years-old, a nation where regional and linguistic differences undermined national unity. Italy’s first national league was created in 1929 with the aim of promoting national unity.
Alessandro Pavolini, Federal secretary, he wanted the game that had its origins in Florence to be rededicated to Florentine traditions […]
Such a league, though, offered an opportunity to cling to regional identity and compete against other cities and regions. The mentality persists; “Welcome to Italy” banners have sometimes greeted southern Italian teams when playing in the north.
So, Calcio Friorentino returned to show in Piazzaa Santa Croce, suitably covered by a mantle of sand and transformed into a playing field, in 1930 , on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Siege of Florence.
The newspapers on Sunday 4 May 1930 celebrated the resumption of the first Florentine football match.
Yet, fascism changed, a new government began, but Calcio Friorentino persisted as always.
In, Italy there is a saying, Venice is Venice. In this case, Florence was Florence and the spirit lived on.
From 1930, except for the war period, the games between the players of the four historic districts of Florence took place on time.
However, on 5 April 1942 at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, after sixteen long months of inactivity, the Italian national football team returned to the field for the first of two friendlies organized in the middle of the WWII Croatia is the opponent
A game that, as we will see by reading the 1930 rules, had nothing in common with the classic game of calcio (soccer or football).
Present Day:
In recent years, as part of the effort to keep the event local, tickets are only sold in person at the local box office.
If you are not able to score a ticket to see the game in person, the event is always live-streamed or you can watch on t.v. or in a local pub.
Some fans watch from bleachers and nearby buildings.
Over a weekend in early June, three games are played
: the two semifinals are played between the four teams and one final.
The two semi-final winners, then play against each other in the final match, which is always played on June 24th (at 5 pm) in grand style on Florence’s feast day for its patron saint, St. John the Baptist.
A Parade that precedes the final, because Calcio Storico is not just a sporting event, but a celebration of Florence.
This is an all-day event. Starting in the morning, with people in costume taking over the streets and celebrating throughout the day.
The parade starts roughly around 4pm since the final should start around 5pm.
Just head downtown, you’ll run into the fun!
Born on the occasion of celebrations for the 4h centennial of the Siege of Florence, the Battle of Gavinana and the death of the Florentine and Italian hero Francesco Ferrucci.
Becuase hundreds of years ago, Florence had an enemy army camping outside its walls; war was imminent.
Did they cancel Calcio Fiorentino? No! The trumpeters and drummers paraded on top of the walls in the enemy’s face as the Florentines played their game of Calcio.
The procession is made up of 530 figures with splendid Renaissance costumes, representing the ancient institutions and corporations of the Florentine Republic, armigers, musicians, drummers and players with their neighborhoods.
The Historical Parade is made up of reenactors who play precise roles including:
- Regimental Commanding Officer. He is entrusted with the responsibility of enforcing the rules of the challenges;
- Captain of the County and District Guard. He is responsible for the parade, its organization and the development of the demonstrations. Order the ‘salute to the voice’ according to the military etiquette of the sixteenth century which makes the moment of presentation of the procession to the authorities suggestive;
- Pageboy with the ‘palio‘ for the winning team;
- Gruppo dei Bandierai: they carry the main insignia of the Florentine Republic;
- Pallaio: bring the balls of the color of the two teams. He starts the hostilities by throwing the ball into the air in the center of the field;
- Commissioner Judge: validates the scores of the teams during the match and detects irregularities. Gives the signal to the culverins to fire their shots when a hunt is scored;
- Court Judges (8, 2 per district). They have the task of controlling the lines and report to the referee every exit of the ball;
- Captain General of the Artillery: commands all artillery in the parade.
Bonfiglio
Bonfiglio embodies the spirit of Calcio Storico.
Bonfiglio is the leader of last year’s winners in this case the the Bianchi.
Each of the four districts is also in the parade, you’ll see the players going by as they go to play the final, even those that won’t be playing the last match.
Then a race is held on a rectangular field covered with sand and externally surrounded by a fence, on the shorter sides above the fence the net is erected.
Then in the field, divided in half by a central line there are two teams of 27 players on each side
Shots from a small Cannon or Colubrine signal the beginning of the match.
Each team has 27 players divided into two groups: Front Givers and Back Datons.
First Employers are:
- Corridori or Innanzi/ Front (6 players) – are the players who are in the front row on the sides of the field;
- Mediana (4 players) – first line that is in the middle of the field;
- Jumpers (2 players) – the second line, those who try to catch the ball after the throw-in;
Back Datons are:
- Sconciatori /halfbacks (4 players) – block and push opponents;
- Tiratore/ Ball carriers (3 players) – lighter and faster;
- Datori Innanzi / Full Backs (5 players) – are in defense;
- Datori Indietro / Goalkeepers (3 players) – the last line
The Referee and 6 Linesmen officiate the match in collaboration with a Judge Commissioner while the Captain and Standard Bearer’s tents sit at the center of each goal net.
A referee and 6 linesmen control the game along with an Off-Field Judge.
It was donated by the Rotary club Firenze Bisenzio.
The Referee is above everyone else and deemed Master of the Field.-responsible for making sure the game runs smoothly, stepping into the field only to maintain discipline and reestablish order when fights occur.
Players will break rules if they feel like they can get away with it and justice is arbitrarily dished out.
However, players can and frequently do, get ejected for breaking the rules. This usually occurs after the most ferocious of hand gesturing
The team is like a military squadron: there is a captain who carries a sword and a standard bearer, then the rest are the troops.
This is where the “violence” in the game comes from: consider we are men fighting over the ball who can defend it with physical contact and “energetic” fights, “conquering” territory following military techniques and strategy.
The Tiratore (ball carrier) is lean and agile, his offensive role has him run and snake between opponents and team members alike on the field score the “Cacce“, or points, at the far end of the piazza.
We don’t have real metal weapons, just our bodies so those are the weapons we can use to attain our goal.
Yes, it is a violent game as anything goes and there are no rules except for one: respect for the adversary. It is the ancient code of honor, chivalry.
This means respect for the adversary. The essential restrictions are as follows:
- No striking an opponent from behind (striking refers to punches, kicks and similar tactics; rugby-style tackles are still permitted).
- No striking an opponent who is already on the ground. You may pin somebody down, however.
- No ganging up. If an opponent is already physically engaged with one of your teammates, you may not touch him unless he is carrying the ball.
Physical 1-on-1 fights are allowed in the match only if the affected players both prove that they have accepted the fight.
Due to often fatal injuries, sucker punches and kicks to the head are currently banned, but headbutting, punching, elbowing, and choking are all allowed.
Fights between a greater number of kickers are prohibited and a man who has been knocked down by tackle cannot be hit, however, it is possible to try to immobilize him.
You break that rule, you can get disqualified for years.
There are other rules imposed by politicians to try to make the game more attractive for spectators, to curb some of the ferocity.
But the origins and essence of the game is violence, so those rules are not part of what Calcio is for Florence.
The game starts when the Pallaio throws or kicks the ball toward the center line.
Then at the first whistle as the ball first rests on field 15 forwards or Corridori begin fighting in a wild mixed action.
Typically, the team which wins possession from the tipoff will shift the ball back to a deep position and protect it while this scenario plays out.
The strategy of the game is for the Corridori (forwards) of the team to injure, incapacitate, or exhaust the opposing team, while the backs run the ball and score.
Tactics and strategies based on tackle and penetration usually disappear after five, at best 10 minutes.
When oxygen stops organizing thoughts and adrenaline takes over, then it becomes about nerves, concentration, scope of sight, and communication with your teammates.
Martial arts match- punching, kicking, tripping, hacking, tackling, and wrestling are an effort designed to tire opponents‘ defenses, but which often descends into an all-out brawl.
From this moment on, the players try by any means necessary to get the ball into the opponents’ goal.
Goals (or Cacce) are scored by throwing the ball over into the netting at the end of the field.
The aim of the game is to hunt , that is to let the ball enter the opponent’s net in any way thus obtaining 1 point, if the ball passes the net you lose half a point.
Because of the penalty for missing, players try to get fairly close to shoot with precision.
The teams change sides with every Caccia or goal scored.
When it comes to tackling a Tiratore (ball carrier) anything goes including kicking his legs out from under him.
The team with the ball tries to preoccupy the other team by beating them down or taking them down to the point where a gap is created and the ball runner can go on a run towards goal.
What essentially happens is the two teams line up and beat on each other.
Then, try to pin and force into submission as many players possible.
Any violation can lead to expulsion from the match.
The match is played for 50 minutes without interruption even if players receive injuries and are stretchered off the pitch.
No Substitutions are permitted.
Once there are enough incapacitated players, the other teammates come and swoop up the ball and head to the goal.
Many of the players train as boxers and have been in this event 25 years.
They’re baying for blood.
The sound of flesh beating flesh resembles a butcher’s hand slapping a side of beef.
Sicchè So, then
The game ends after 50 minutes and the team which scored the most Cacce wins.
The game-changing bounce shot. Utilized heavily by the Whites and Greens.
Grand Standing Dunks
The winners get a year of bragging rights, a Palio (banner) which is painted by a local artist, and a free dinner, instead of the Chianina .
The winning team used to receive a Chianina ox – butchered, not live as used to be part of the menu in the neighborhood parties to celebrate the victory
It isn’t like that anymore. Wthe ox is now just symbolic, rented for the day for show and parades with horns painted in gold, a symbolic prize for the winning team.
Now the champions simply have the cost of their postgame dinner picked up by the federation.
The banner of the winning district of Calcio Storico Fiorentino is displayed all year round in front of the Palazzo di Parte Guelfa (also called Palagio di Parte Guelfa) in Florence.
The Guelphs were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of central and northern Italy.
The construction, halted during the war with Lucca and Milan, was restarted probably from the 1430s onward. Around 1452, Maso di Bartolomeo completed the decoration.
It currently houses meetings and conventions, cultural exhibitions, and is the seat of the organization of Calcio Storico Fiorentino and of the historical re-enactments of the Florentine Republic.
In 2015,a Catholic archconfraternity Parte Guelfa was established by the mayor of Florence in the Palagio di Parte Guelfa.
This organization considers itself a spiritual successor to the Guelf confraternity established in 1266 by Pope Clement IV.
Either way, there is no money paid to Calcianti (players) for participating, no trophy raised after the final match.
The players endure the concussions and lacerations and fractures simply because it is what Florentines have always done.
After the game, many people spread out to the pubs to continue the celebrations. There are even fireworks (Fuochi di San Giovanni) over the river.
I agree with Henry III of France.