Wandering through the streets of Florence you will surely have come across people wearing purple jerseys. These jerseys, as you probably already know, represent the Fiorentina soccer team. The love Florentines have for Fiorentina goes beyond anything. Fiorentina is the pride of a city that holds the paternity of the most popular sport in the world and obviously in Italy: Soccer.
While it’s true that modern soccer, as we intend it today, had its origins in England, it is equally true that the first draft of this sport was drawn up in Florence, with the introduction of historical soccer (Calcio Storico) during the Renaissance period. A sport that dates back to the year 1530, which we have also talked about in previous posts, and that is still played once a year only in Florence. Even though this ancient sport is quite brutal and apparently has little to do with today’s soccer, it definitely inspired its birth.
But let’s go back to the color purple we mentioned at the beginning. Why was this color chosen, considering that in Italian culture, as in many others, purple is synonymous with bad luck? There are two versions that provide an answer to this question: a legendary one and an official one. The first one, much more fascinating, argues that the purple color was the result of a wash in the Arno River gone wrong: the originally red and white shirts after being immersed in the water of the river, came out faded with a purple color, so they decided to keep them that way further on.
The second version, on the other hand, claims that the then President, Luigi Ridolfi, fell in love with the color purple after seeing it on the shirts of a Hungarian team against which Fiorentina had played in 1928. The following year he imposed the same color for Fiorentina’s shirts and the rest, as they say, is history.
Today, not all of you may know that Fiorentina is owned by an American Businessman named Rocco Commisso, who is, as the name suggests, originally Italian and who acquired the team three years ago. The advent of new investors from the United States has brought a breath of fresh air and renewed hopes for a more successful future, even though, so far, results have struggled to arrive.
To be fair, during its almost centenary history, Fiorentina has only won two championships (1956 and 1969) but despite this, the passion of the fans for their team and the city has never ceased and has never faded. The relationship every Florentine has with their team though is very “particular” and often conflicting. Florentines in general like to complain a lot and this, of course, also happens in soccer. Nothing is ever enough, and there’s always room to do things differently, and better. That’s why along with a visceral love for the team there is always a reason to point out what is wrong, whether it’s the coach, the players, or the owner. It’s just inside our DNA.
The connection between Florence and Americans has always been a very strong one, especially thanks to tourism, but today there’s one more reason to feel even more linked together. If you want to support Fiorentina and live a unique experience, go to https://www.acffiorentina.com/en/tickets/punti-vendita-e-info to purchase your ticket and wear a purple jersey to the game (even if it’s a Minnesota Vikings one!).
FORZA VIOLA!
