St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence, is celebrated on June 24th. This day and the days leading up to it are days of great celebration for Florentines. Activities for St. John include Calcio Storico and fireworks.
Calcio Storico is a medieval soccer tournament that takes place in the square of Santa Croce. There are four teams: red, blue, white, and green. These teams play a game similar to soccer with no rules and earn points by throwing the soccer ball against the opposing team's wall. Most years the two teams who move on to the finals are the white and blue team with this year being no different. Typically a few days before the final game the tickets are sold out and come game day the stands are packed tighter than a tin of sardines. The opening ceremonies commence at 5:30 and as the teams are paraded out, hundreds of smoking, shirtless Italian men go crazy in support of their team. The opening ceremonies last about 45 minutes and include flag bearers, noblemen on horses, and religious officials, all dressed in medieval attire. When the game actually starts, the two teams attack one another with fury. These men try with all their might to score a goal but, just like in normal soccer, very little scoring is actually done. This year the blue team emerged from this blood bath victorious scoring 3 points while the defeated white team scored 1 1/2. The game itself lasts only an hour or so but the participants all end up looking like this war has waged for ages. This year the hour long fireworks spectacle began at 10:00 pm. Many Florentines watch the show from the banks of the Arno or from one of the many bridges.
Three words you need to know for San Giovanni are: biglietto or ticket, Santa Croce which is where the game is held at, and fuochi or fireworks.
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