The Calcio Storico, the most brutal sport on earth – in pictures (2024)

FAQs

Is calcio storico violent? ›

Calcio was reserved for rich aristocrats who played every night between Epiphany and Lent. Even popes, such as Clement VII, Leo XI and Urban VIII, played the sport in Vatican City. The games could get violent as teams vied to score goals.

It should be said: No one has ever died during a modern calcio storico match. But there was, once, a spleen that required removal, and it is not uncommon for the medics stationed alongside the field to bring out their stretchers six or seven (or eight or nine) times in a given game.

Italy's brutal 54-man game of football – the Calcio Storico Fiorentino. The scene resembles the awesome contests held 2,000 years ago in Rome's Colosseum. Fifty-four modern gladiators enter a sandy arena, most stripped to the waist to display bulging muscles, fearsome scars and warlike tattoos.

Lethwei is considered to be one of the most brutal martial arts in the world, as the sport is practiced bareknuckle with only tape and gauze while fighters are allowed to strike with their fists, elbows, knees, and feet, and the use of headbutts is also permitted.

When a team "goes on a hunt" the teams change their playing field. If you cross the net it is a "half hunt", a half point that goes in favor of the opponent. The ball players (calcianti) must be men born or resident in Florence for at least 10 years, they do not win cash prizes and are not paid.

An early form of football played in 16th-century Florence, Italy, that became known as the Florentine kick game (calcio means 'kick'). Its documented rules allowed the use of hands as well as feet, and specified teams of 27.

Pound for pound, the toughest sport in the world is . . . Boxing. The Sweet Science. That's the sport that demands the most from the athletes who compete in it.

BASE jumping is the deadliest extreme sport in the world. The acronym BASE stands for the four fixed objects from which a BASE jumper can jump: buildings, antenna (radio masts), spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).

It's not the only sport with an extreme fatality rate. A health care study found that the deadliest sport is base jumping with 1 in 2,317 jumps resulting in a death. Other dangerous sports listed included skydiving and skiing.

What is the riskiest extreme sport? ›

Experts consider activities that are non-contact and don't require intense physical exertion to be the least harmful. Examples include swimming, yoga, and golf. You should always remember to warm up and use proper techniques to minimize your risk of injury.

The teams change sides with every caccia or goal scored. Every time a player throws or kicks the ball above the net, the opposing team is awarded with half a caccia. The game ends after fifty minutes and the team which scored the most cacce wins.

The rules of the game

The rules have not changed much since the 16th century. A modern-day calcio storico match lasts 50 minutes. Two teams of 27 players known as calcianti challenge each other to score the largest amount of cacce (goals) on a 50-by-100 meter sand arena.

The game is played out in 50 minutes. Players can use both their hands and feet to play. A goal is called a caccia and it's scored by throwing the ball over the designated spot at the end of the field. If the player misses the spot, the other team gets half a point (mezza caccia).