Club Sportivo Firenze

Manifattura Tabacchi SOCIAL DISTRICT

A new meeting place for the residents and business that make up the micro-entrepreneurial fabric around Manifattura Tabacchi, where they can get to know each other and begin a new form of socialising.

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The Club Sportivo Firenze, active for 150 years, offers the chance to practice two historic sports amongst its activities: Palla Tamburello and Pallone col Bracciale.

As a member of the Manifattura Tabacchi Social District, Stefano Sani from C.S. Firenze presents these two traditional sporting disciplines which are still practiced today at the Sferisterio delle Cascine: the Palla Tamburello and the Pallone col Bracciale.

palla tamburello

Palla Tamburello has existed in Florence since time immemorial. The open court, situated at the Sferisterio della Cascine, a temple to the game of Pallone col Bracciale, is 80 metres long and 20 metres across. The teams are made up of 5 players with the following roles: 2 ‘backs’ who sit deep, one player in the centre of the court and two wide players, always using this formation. One of the backs serves the ball into play from the baseline.

Pallone col Bracciale

Pallone col Bracciale is a sporting discipline that was practiced for centuries in Florence, from the 16th century up until the beginning of the 20th century. There are numerous testimonies to the greatest ‘pallonisti’ to have played the game at Sferisterio delle Cascine.

The bracciale is a kind of sleeve generally made from a single piece of green oak wood, crafted by artisans and hollowed out to fit the player’s hand and wrist. Made up of seven circles surrounded by dogwood teeth or tips, its weight varies from 1.6 to 1.7kg.

The ball is made from tanned cowhide which is sewn into a spherical shape, and contains a pig bladder inflated with air through a horn or ivory tube.