16th-Century Soccer in Florence

The Calcio Storico Fiorentino, also known as Historic Football, is a traditional team-game event in which four districts of Florence are pitted against each other in a mixture of soccer and rugby. The modern-day rules of Calcio Storico closely resemble those of contemporary rugby, in that players are allowed to use practically any means necessary to get the ball from one side of the playing field to the other.

The game, which originated in the 16th century, is re-enacted in the Italian city every June. Two semi-final games culminate in the grand final at Florence’s Piazza Santa Croce on 24 June. Traditionally, the winners were rewarded with a very special prize: a Chianina cow. Nowadays, this has wisely been changed to a celebratory dinner for the winning team.

Italian photographer Stefano Schirato spent two months accompanying the teams, documenting their training for this year’s event, shooting behind-the-scenes images and, of course, capturing the game itself.

The resulting photographs, shot with the Leica Q and SL, will be on display at the Leica Store in Florence until 11 October 2017.

For further details visit Stefano Schirato and Leica Store Firenze