Pallone (; Italian for an inflated ball, source of the English word ''

balloon A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or lig ...

'') is the name of several traditional

ball games This is a list of ball games and ball sports that include a ball as a key element in the activity, usually for scoring points. Ball games Ball sports fall within many sport categories, some sports within multiple categories, including: *Bat-an ...

, played in all regions of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, with few differences in regulations.

Forms

Pallone col bracciale

Pallone col bracciale or simply ''bracciale'' was particularly popular throughout Italy and it was considered the most popular sport of ancient Italian national sports since the 16th century and its first official regulations invented by Antonio Scaino from

Salò Salò (; la, Salodium) is a town and '' comune'' in the Province of Brescia in the region of Lombardy (northern Italy) on the banks of Lake Garda, on which it has the longest promenade. The city was the seat of government of the Italian Social ...

date back to 1555. This sport and its champions were described by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

Karl Philipp Moritz Karl Philipp Moritz (Hameln, 15 September 1756 – Berlin, 26 June 1793) was a German author, editor and essayist of the '' Sturm und Drang'', late Enlightenment, and classicist periods, influencing early German Romanticism as well. He led a ...

, Christian Joseph Jagemann, Richard Colt Hoare, Jacob Burckhardt,

William Wetmore Story William Wetmore Story (February 12, 1819 – October 7, 1895) was an American sculptor, art critic, poet, and editor. Life and career William Wetmore Story was the son of jurist Joseph Story and Sarah Waldo (Wetmore) Story. He graduated from ...

Giacomo Leopardi Count Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (, ; 29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist. He is considered the greatest Italian poet of the nineteenth century and one of ...

, Edmondo de Amicis,

Giuseppe Baretti Giuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti (24 April 1719, Turin, Piedmont – 5 May 1789, London) was an Italian literary critic, poet, writer, translator, linguist and author of two influential language-translation dictionaries. During his years in Engla ...

, Antonio Francesco Grazzini,

Ottavio Rinuccini Ottavio Rinuccini (20 January 1562 – 28 March 1621) was an Italian poet, courtier, and opera librettist at the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. In collaborating with Jacopo Peri to produce the first opera, '' Dafne'', i ...

, Gabriello Chiabrera,

Tommaso Grossi Tommaso Grossi (20 January 179110 December 1853) was an Italian poet and novelist. Biography Grossi was born in Bellano, on Lake Como, and graduated in law at University of Pavia in 1810. He then went to Milan to exercise his profession but the ...

, Giuseppe Gioachino Belli. Bracciale was played also in France, Germany, Austria, England, Netherlands and famous Italian champions organized tournaments in USA, Argentina, Egypt. ''

Where Angels Fear to Tread ''Where Angels Fear to Tread'' (1905) is a novel by E. M. Forster. The title comes from a line in Alexander Pope's ''An Essay on Criticism'': "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread". The BBC adapted the novel for television in 1966 as ...

'' (1991) includes a brief film depiction of this game. Balls are struck back and forth with a wooden cylinder, called a ''bracciale'', worn over the forearm: if carelessly played, a broken arm can result because a bracciale weighs 1 to 2 kilograms. Originally the ball was inflated, but now a hard rubber ball is used: this ball has circumference of 39 centimetres and weighs 350 grams (originally 750 grams). Scoring is by fifteens and tens, as in tennis, in this manner: 15 – 30 – 40 – 50 or victory of a game but early was 15 – 30 – 45 – 60; the team which wins 12 games is final winner of the match. A notable feature is that the ball is put into play by a designated server, called the ''mandarino'', who otherwise is not part of the game. The receivers can reject serves at will. Pallone is often played on courts marked out on town streets. Four kinds of pallone are now played: *it is played in particular sports venue called

sphaeristerium Sphaeristerium (Latin; from the Greek σφαιριστήριον; from σφαῖρα, ball) is a term in Classical architecture given to a large open space connected with the Roman thermae for exercise with balls after the bather had been anointed. ...

, or in Italian sferisteri, 80 metres long and 18 metres wide with a lateral wall which is 20 metres high and permits the rebound of the ball. In this version each team has 3 players: ''battitore'', ''spalla'' and ''terzino'' *it is played in an open playing field without lateral walls. In this version each team has 4 players: ''battitore'', ''spalla'' and 2 ''terzino'' *it is played by 2 players versus other 2 players with a

net (device) Nets have been constructed by human beings since at least the Mesolithic period for use in capturing or retaining things. Their open structure provide lightness and flexibility that allow them to be carried and manipulated with relative ease, ...

in central position of court *it is played by 1 solo player versus other 1 solo player with a net in central position of court.

Pallapugno

Pallapugno, or formerly ''pallone elastico'', is a game originally played in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

with a bandaged fist. This sport and its champions were described by Cesare Pavese, Beppe Fenoglio, Giovanni Arpino. In the second half of the 20th century a championship was organized in California and played during various years. The professional Italian pallapugno league is the top level of competition: in 2008 ten teams competed.List of professional teams
/ref> Each team has four players. The court, or ''sferisterio'', is 90 metres long and 18 metres wide; the rubber ball has a diameter of 10.5 centimetres and weighs 190 grams. Scoring is also by fifteens and tens in every game, but a second bounce can result in a "chase" rather than an outright point, similar to real tennis; the team which wins 11 games is the winner of the match.

Pallapugno leggera

Pallapugno leggera is played in a court the same size of a volleyball court, but without a net. Each team has 4 players with 2 reserve players. A match consists of one set or three sets. This game is played in all Italian 20 regions and they dispute regular championship.

Pantalera

Pantalera or ''pallapugno alla pantalera'' is generally played on urban streets. The first action of every match consists of playing the ball onto a roof called the ''pantalera'' in

Piedmontese language Piedmontese (; autonym: or , in it, piemontese) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, northwestern region of Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regard ...

. Other rules are the same as pallapugno.

Hit ball

This form was invented by Italian

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

teacher Luigi Gigante in 1986 and in 1992 started a regular championship. Each team has 5 players and there are 2 goals at ends of court.

Pallonetto

Pallonetto or ''pallonetto ligure al lungo'' is generally played on urban streets with tennis balls without covering

felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...

. The playing field is long, between 60 and 90 metres, with a width of 18 metres, with or without a lateral wall. Players strike the ball using one bandaged hand in these version: *1 player versus 1 player *2 players versus 2 players *3 players versus 3 players. Whoever wins 5 games is the winner of the match; other rules are the same of pallapugno. Other versions of this game are: *pallonetto al corto *pallonetto ai tetti *pallonetto of

Chiusavecchia Chiusavecchia ( lij, Ciusaveia) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northwest of Imperia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 488 and an ...

*baletta *ciappetta

External links

Italian Pallone Elastico Federation

Italian Union of Pallone Elastico Players

Photo of ancient woody bracciale and hide ball

Video

Pallapugno match

References

* Morgan, Roger (1989). "European Derivatives of Tennis" in ''The Royal Game'', L. St J. Butler & P. J. Wordie, ed. Stirling: Falkland Palace Real Tennis Club. or . * McNicoll, Kathryn (2005). ''Real Tennis'', pp. 21–22. Buckinghamshire
Shire Publications
. * Whitman, Malcolm D. (1932). ''Tennis: Origins and Mysteries'', p. 85. Mineola, NY:

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books ...

(2004 reprint). {{ISBN, 0-486-43357-9. Handball sports Team sports Sports originating in Italy it:Pallone (gioco)#Italia