History of Calcio Fiorentino,

Calcio Fiorentino is like a rugby death match played with hands and feet, but mostly fists. It may have begun as early as the first century A.D., as some believe, but it can definitely be traced to the early 16th century, when these basic rules were established: two teams of 27 members each are allowed to throw the ball over the goal in 50 minutes.

Each major Florentine neighborhood has a team as follows:

Santa Croce: Blue team or Azzurri
Santa Maria Novella: Red team or Rossi
Santo Spirito: White team or Bianchi
San Giovanni: Green team or Verdi

update: November 13, 2014, see this article for updated rules:

http://theflorentine.net/articles/article-view.asp?issuetocId=9653&browse-by=News&level=Florence-News