Florence's rabidly supported local football team, Fiorentina play in Serie A (the Italian Premier League) whose season runs from August to May. La Viola (so called because of their dashing purple strip) play at the Artemio Franchi Stadium, and tickets are normally available on the day of the match.
An entirely different style of game takes place on June 24th, Florence's patron saint's day, when much of the male population slip into something a little medieval, and hundreds of people basically join in a massed brawl around a ball that approximates the origins of the modern game of soccer.
The festival - known takes place in the Piazza della Signorina, and is held in honour of John the Baptist.
