CALCIO STORICO
Reenactors in period costumes are a frequent sight in Italian cities with a claim to history and culture— which is to say, most Italian cities.
Few, however, can rival Florence when it comes to liveried heralds, gowned damsels, armored warriors, robed officials and caparisoned horsemen —wave after wave of them, day after day, tromping through the streets.
These exponents of living history are always perfectly turned out, painstakingly rehearsed and at the absolute top of their reenactor game. But meanwhile, they crack smiles, joke with the police and share the fun.
Leaving the past aside, the present-day event belongs to people like them. And that's the essential fact of the matter.
For all of its imaginative elaboration, Florence's Calcio Storico recalls a documented occurence.
During the autumn and winter of 1529-30, a coalition of forces assembled by the Holy Roman Emperor laid siege to the city. The Florentines knew they were in trouble, but reacted with a bravura gesture for the ages.
On 17 February 1530, they processed in splendor to Piazza Santa Croce, with bells ringing and canons firing, There, in the public space most visible to the enemy in the hills, they enacted a festive contest— showing the world that they were neither down nor out.
"If destiny is against us, that's its problem! Florence Super-fans."
Thumbing one's nose at fate still comes naturally to Florentines —especially supporters of regular (rather than historic) football, who cherish the vagaries of their perennially problematic home team.
In later centuries, there was ongoing fascination with this historic event and sporadic revivals under Medici patronage.
However, the Calcio Storico we know today dates back only to 1930. Alessandro Pavolini, its chief proponent, was a man of exquisite culture, fervently committed to local tradtions. So, he resurrected this sport in his home town for the greater glory of the Tuscan race.
Pavolini was also a loathed and despised fomenter of Fascist terror. He ended his days hanging upside down in Piazza Loreto in Milan, alongside Benito Mussolini.
There is much to say about the Calcio Storico, both in fact and theory.
Commentators usually focus on the exuberant pagentry of the spectacle or the thuggish violence of the actual game— both of which are notable.
Perhaps most intriguing, however, is the meaning of the event to the contenders on the field and their family, friends and neighbors in the stands.
"TO OUR GODS", with a green heart, a massive fist and celestial wings.
It might seem that the Verdi are channeling a whole range of outside influences, from Heavy Metal to Hells Angels to the WWE.
What is the Calcio Storico all about...really? Florence as a whole or four conflicting quarters —as they are now or as they used to be?
But how do you even ask a question like that, in a city where antagonism is the chief common bond?
You can't be Florentine without being part of a neighborhood and you can't be part of a neighborhood without mercilessly deriding the others. Any Verde (Green), Bianco (White), Rosso (Red) or Azzurro (Blue) will be glad to share that wisdom, usually with a laugh.
"Total chaos out there, mate!" I remember the reaction of an Australian beer-drinker to a television replay of the Calcio Storico in a Florentine bar decades ago.
Chaos, not hardly... Apart from the essential chaos baked into the event.
The hyperactive fellow above, second from the left (with the sunglasses and the fresh fade), is just one of the guys but also a community leader with a designated role in the big show.
He pops up more or less everywhere in my brother's photos, since he was just a a few rows in front of us.
It all begins with some intricate counter-programming. We see Florence in the main ring—out on the field —while the Verdi and the Bianchi do their own things in the stands.
Meanwhile, on the Green side...
...a choreography worthy of Broadway.
Or rather, a scenografia as they call it. A total work of art, with green fumogeni (smoke bombs)...
...and a vast super-striscione (the English word "banner" is hardly adequate) covering much of the stand and everyone in it...
...sheltering them in the comforting shadow of the Baptistry, the defining feature of their quarter.
The Verdi clearly triumphed when it came to scenic effects, although the Bianchi had their share of banners, chants and colored smoke.
On the field, however, the Bianchi ran away with it— as everyone knew they would.
These days, the chief prize is an artistic banner (the cencio, or rag, as it is affectionately called). Back in the day, the victors also took home a calf— mainstay of their celebratory banquet.
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