In June, No Mercy: 120 Days Inside Florence’s Calcio Storico
Every June, in the Renaissance heart of Florence, a centuries-old ritual erupts in Piazza Santa Croce. It is called Calcio Storico: a brutal, magnificent collision of sport, history, and identity.
Born in 1530 during the siege of Florence by the imperial troops of Charles V, it was then — and remains today — an act of defiance, pride, and unbreakable Florentine spirit.
Four teams represent the historic quarters of Florence, each fielding twenty-seven players:
Verdi (Greens) of San Giovanni
Azzurri (Blues) of Santa Croce
Rossi (Reds) of Santa Maria Novella
Bianchi (Whites) of Santo Spirito
Matches last 50 minutes — no timeouts, no substitutions — and (almost) anything goes. The aim is simple: get the ball into the opponents’ net, by any means necessary.
“In June, no mercy”: Luca Cèpparo’s photo essay
“Born and raised in Milan, at 14 I experienced my first Palio in Siena, and at the same time I began to feel the absence of an authentic tradition in my own city — something to celebrate its history, culture, and values,” Luca told FUL Magazine.
“I’ve always been drawn to Florence’s Calcio Storico, and in February of this year I began a photo essay with the Verdi of San Giovanni, deliberately focusing on just one of the four teams, with the idea of telling the story of Florence and its people starting from the gioco della palla (the ball game), in the city that claims to be its birthplace.“
“As I approached the visual writing of the reportage, I drew inspiration from contemporary Italian photography of the second half of the twentieth century, an era when great photographers traveled across Italy driven mainly by curiosity, experimenting with an unconventional photography that often placed unusual subjects at the center of the frame.“
“Without daring to draw comparisons, I wanted to observe and document, guided by the desire to discover.“
“That spirit allowed me to create a profound body of work, spanning 120 days, made up of photographs that seem far removed from the Calcio Storico as it is usually known, yet somehow capable of catching the viewer’s eye and feeding their curiosity.“
Cover image: boxing gloves resting on the railing at the Verdi of San Giovanni’s training ground. ©Luca Cèpparo
Photographs by Luca Cèpparo.
