Director and Writer: Alessandro Cassigoli
Broadcast by ARTE 360 GEO
Produced by Medienkontor, Berlin, Germany 2011

Calcio Fiorentino was an early form of football that originated in 16th century Italy. The Piazza Santa Croce of Florence is the cradle of this sport, that became known as giuoco del calcio fiorentino (“Florentine kick game”) or simply calcio (“kick”).

The official rules of calcio were published for the first time in 1580[1] by Giovanni de’ Bardi,[2] a Florentine count. 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