Sport in Italy
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
has a long sporting tradition. In numerous sports, both individual and team, Italy has good representation and many successes.
Football
Football in Italy
Football is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup 4 times , trailing only Brazil . Italy's club sides have won 27 major European trophies, making them the most successful European nation in the subject of football...
is the most popular sport in Italy. Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
are the next most popular/played, with Italy having a rich tradition in both. Italy won the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, and is currently the second most successful football team in World Cup history, after Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
, having won four FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
s. Italy also has strong traditions in cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, athletics, fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
, winter sports and rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
.
Basketball
Italy is one of the main basketball nations of Europe, along with SpainBasketball in Spain
The Spanish league teams compete in Europe under ULEB most notably in the Euroleague and ULEB cup and under FIBA Europe, in other competitions.The Spanish teams also compete in a domestic cup competition each year, called the Copa del Rey de Baloncesto...
, Serbia, Greece
Basketball in Greece
The sport of basketball in Greece erupted with the sensational win in the EuroBasket 1987 in Piraeus, which caused a true basketball euphoria in the country, whose effects can still be felt today...
, Slovenia, Lithuania, Croatia, Russia, Turkey and France. It has a long and rich tradition in the sport. The national team's best results were gold at Eurobasket 1983
EuroBasket 1983
-Venues:-Group A - Limoges :-Group B - Cannes :-Places 9 - 12:-Places 5 - 8:-Places 1 - 4:-Finals:-Final rankings:# # # # # # # # # # # # -Team rosters:...
and 1999
EuroBasket 1999
-Group B:-Group C:-Group D:-Second round:- Group E :- Group F :-Championship bracket:-5th place bracket:- Quarterfinals :-Classification rounds:- Semifinals :- Third place game:- Final :...
, as well as Silver at the Olympics of 2004
Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the Helliniko Olympic Indoor Arena in Athens, Greece for the preliminary rounds, with the latter stages being held in the Olympic Indoor Hall at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex....
. Until the 2000s, the Italian league was considered the strongest domestic league outside of North America. It has recently been overtaken by the Spanish ACB, but is still one of the top leagues in Europe along with the Russian PBL, the Greek A1 Ethniki, the Adriatic League and the Baltic League
Baltic League
The Baltic League is a Baltic football club tournament, launched in 2007 inspired by the now defunct Scandinavian tournament Royal League and by the Baltic Basketball League. The top four club sides from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania take part in the competition...
. Famous club teams include Olimpia Milano
Olimpia Milano
Olimpia Milano is a Lega Basket Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy, founded in 1936 by Milan businessman Adolfo Bogoncelli. Its colors are red and white, and the team is sometimes referred as "Scarpette Rosse" because team officials imported from the United States red...
, Pallacanestro Varese
Pallacanestro Varese
-Notable players:-Notable coaches: Aleksandar Nikolić Nico Messina Sandro Gamba Edoardo Rusconi Joe Isaac Carlo Recalcati Valerio Bianchini Ruben Magnano-Sponsorship names:Through the years, due to sponsorship deals, it has been also known as:...
, Pallacanestro Cantù
Pallacanestro Cantù
Pallacanestro Cantù is an Italian League professional basketball club that is based in Cantù. For sponsorship reasons, it is also known as Bennet Cantù, after Bennet, an Italian supermarket chain. For past club sponsorship names, see the list below...
, Virtus Bologna
Virtus Bologna
-Notable players: Marco Bonamico 9 seasons: '75-'76, '77-'78, '80-'86, '88-'89 Carlo Caglieris 6 seasons: '75-'81 Pietro Generali 6 seasons: '75-'76, '78-'83 Gianni Bertolotti 5 seasons: '75-'80 Terry Driscoll 3 seasons: '75-'78 Eric Luc Leclerc 1 season: '75-'76 Luigi Serafini 2 seasons: '75-'77...
, Fortitudo Bologna
Fortitudo Bologna
Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna is an Legadue Basket professional basketball club that is based in Bologna. It's currently sponsored by Conad.-History:...
, Scavolini Siviglia Pesaro
Victoria Libertas Pesaro
Victoria Libertas , full name Unione Sportiva Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro, is a professional basketball team that is based in Pesaro, Italy. The club competes in the top level Italian professional basketball league, the Lega Basket Serie A...
, Benetton Treviso
Pallacanestro Treviso
Pallacanestro Treviso, more often known by its sponsorship name of Benetton Basket, or Benetton Treviso, is an Italian Serie A League professional basketball club from Treviso, the headquarters city of its longtime owner Benetton Group...
, Montepaschi Siena
Mens Sana Basket
Mens Sana Basket, more frequently referred to as Montepaschi Siena, is an Italian League professional basketball club from Siena. More precisely, it is the now-autonomous basketball section of the comprehensive sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana...
, Basket Napoli
Basket Napoli
Basket Napoli is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in the city of Naples. For past club sponsorship names, see the list below.-History:...
, Virtus Roma
Pallacanestro Virtus Roma
Pallacanestro Virtus Roma, also known for sponsorship reasons as Acea Virtus Roma, is a prominent Italian League professional basketball club, and is also currently one of 13 European clubs that hold ULEB A Licenses, which provide their holders with a guaranteed place in the Euroleague. The club...
, Pallacanestro Trieste
Pallacanestro Trieste
Pallacanestro Trieste 2004, also known for sponsorship reasons as Acegas A.P.S. Trieste is an Italian professional basketball team from the town of Trieste....
and Juvecaserta Basket
Juvecaserta Basket
JuveCaserta Basket , also known for sponsorship reasons as Pepsi Caserta, is an Italian League professional basketball team from the town of Caserta. For past club sponsorship names, see the list below.-The Beginnings:...
.
Volleyball
VolleyballVolleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
(pallavolo) is played by a lot of amateur players and professional players compete in the Italian Volleyball League
Italian Volleyball League
The Italian Male Volleyball League is structured in several levels of importance; the highest of them is Serie A1. Many of the best volleyball players in the world playing in the A1 and the overall level of competition is considerably higher.-Structure:...
. Italian National male and female teams are often in top 4 ranking of national teams in the world, regarded as the best volleyball league in the world.
Rugby union
Rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
enjoys a good level of popularity, especially in the north of the country. From the 2010–11 season, Italy will have two teams in the Magners League, previously an all-Celtic
Celtic nations
The Celtic nations are territories in North-West Europe in which that area's own Celtic languages and some cultural traits have survived.The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common traditional identity and culture and are identified with a traditional...
competition involving teams from Ireland
Rugby union in Ireland
Rugby union is a popular team sport played in Ireland. The sport is organised on an all-Ireland basis with one team, governing body and league for both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland...
, Scotland
Rugby union in Scotland
Rugby union is a popular team sport in Scotland. The national side today competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and the Rugby World Cup. The first ever international rugby match was played on March 27, 1871, at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh, when Scotland defeated England in front of 4,000...
, and Wales
Rugby union in Wales
Rugby union is the national sport of Wales and is considered a large part of national culture. Rugby is thought to have reached Wales in the 1850s, with the national body, the Welsh Rugby Union being formed in 1881...
. To accommodate this move, the country's Super 10
Super 10 (Italian premiership)
The withdrawal of Viadana and Benetton Treviso from the league has been compounded by club mergers. Rugby Viadana, Gran Parma and Colorno have merged to form GranDucato Rugby. Overmach Parma and Noceto have merged to form Crociati, both new clubs to be based in Parma. These changes created 2...
will effectively become a semi-professional developmental competition. The two Magners League sides will take up Italy's existing places in the elite Europe-wide Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
tournament, and four Super 10 sides will compete in the second-tier European Challenge Cup
European Challenge Cup
The European Challenge Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Amlin Challenge Cup, is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup. The cup was known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003 to 2005. The European...
. The national team
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
competes in the Six Nations Championship
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
, and is a regular at the Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
. Italy are classed as a tier-one nation by the International Rugby Board
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
.
Rugby in Italy goes back around a century, and it has been established that British communities brought rugby to Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
between 1890 and 1895, with other confirmations of games in Italy around 1909. The society that organised the first games did not survive long and dissolved soon after them.
Rugby union's traditional heartland consisted of the small country towns in the Po Valley
Po Valley
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain is a major geographical feature of Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of 46,000 km² including its Venetic extension not actually related to the Po River basin; it runs from the Western Alps to the...
and other parts of Northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
. One version says that Italian workers returning from France, particularly the south, introduced the game there, and gave it a significant rural/working class base, which still exists in towns such as Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
and Rovigo
Rovigo
Rovigo is a town and comune in the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. -Geography:...
. A demonstration game was also played in 1910 in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
between Racing Club París and Servette of Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. French students also introduced the game to Milan University c. 1911. While each of these events has been hailed as the "origin of Italian rugby", it seems that they probably happened more or less simultaneously and independent of one another, and that the introduction of rugby to Italy was a series of events, rather than a single starting point. Whatever the ultimate origins of the game in northern Italy, the region's proximity to the French rugby heartland helped as well.
Rugby league
Rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
was established prior to the 1950s and the Italy national team
Italy national rugby league team
The Italy national rugby league team represents Italy in international rugby league football. The team dates back from the 1950s after the formation of a domestic competition in the country, and in the 1960s they played Australia, France and a number of English teams.The game disappeared in Italy...
play in various international competitions.
Cricket
The Italy national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Italy in international cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
matches. They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1995, having previously been an affiliate member since 1984. The team is administered by the Federazione Cricket Italiana (Italian Cricket Federation).
They are currently ranked 25th in the world by the ICC
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
, and are ranked fifth amongst European non-Test teams. The Italy cricket team has won several European Cricket tournaments and the popularity of cricket is rising. All the Italian Cricketers are home grown cricketers and they had a well off position in the recent European Indoor Cricket Tournament and the European Cricket Championship. They recently participated in the ICC World Cricket League
World Cricket League
The ICC World Cricket League is a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status, administered by the International Cricket Council. All associate and affiliate members of the ICC are eligible to compete in the league system, which features a promotion...
Division 4.
Cycling
CyclingCycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
is also a well represented sport in Italy. Italians have won more World Cycling Championship
World Cycling Championship
The UCI Road World Championships, often referred to as the World Cycling Championships, is the annual world championship for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale . The UCI Road World Championships include championships for elite men's road race and individual time trial...
s than any other country except Belgium. The Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
is a world famous long distance bicycle race held every May and constitutes one of the three Grand Tours
Grand Tour (cycling)
In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:* Tour de France – Tour of France , held in July* Giro d'Italia – Tour of Italy , held in May...
along with the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
and the Vuelta a España
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
, each of which last approximately three weeks.
Tennis
Tennis tournaments have significant followings near courts and by television. Italian professional tennis players are almost always in top 150 world's ranking of male and female players. Beach tennis with paddle racquet was invented by Italians and is a very practiced sport. Winners of the Davis Cup in 1976 and the Fed Cup in 2006 and 2009.Golf
GolfGolf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
is played by over 9000 registered players in 2007. There are several male and female professional players, with notable current players including Costantino Rocca
Costantino Rocca
Costantino Rocca is the most successful male golfer that Italy has produced. After a long career on the European Tour he is now playing on the European Seniors Tour. He has five European Tour wins and is best known for his second place finish in the 1995 Open Championship.-Career outline:Rocca...
, the brothers Edoardo
Edoardo Molinari
Edoardo Molinari is an Italian professional golfer. He is a two-time winner on the European Tour, 2005 U.S. Amateur champion, 2009 Challenge Tour Rankings leader, winner, with his brother Francesco, of the 2009 World Cup and a member of the 2010 European Ryder Cup team...
and Francesco Molinari
Francesco Molinari
Francesco Molinari is an Italian professional golfer. He is a two-time winner on the European Tour and was a member of the 2010 European Ryder Cup team.-Background and amateur career:...
, and teenage star Matteo Manassero
Matteo Manassero
Matteo Manassero is an Italian professional golfer. He is the youngest golfer to win a European Tour event.Manassero was born in Negrar, in the Province of Verona. In 2009, at the age of 16, he became the youngest ever winner of the British Amateur Championship, defeating England's Sam Hutsby in...
. The most important tournament is the Italian Open
Italian Open (golf)
The BMW Italian Open, as it is currently known for sponsorship reasons, is the Italian national open golf championship for men. It was founded in 1925 and has been part of the European Tour's schedule since the tour's first season in 1972....
. The Molinari brothers won the World Cup of Golf in 2009
2009 Omega Mission Hills World Cup
The 2009 Omega Mission Hills World Cup took place from November 26 to November 29 at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China. It was the 55th World Cup. 28 countries competed as two player teams...
.
Athletics
Athletics (track and field)Athletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
is very participated and popular sport because Italian world or olympic champions are very celebrated persons. There are many national and international events every year.
Traditional sports
Several traditional team ball games, called sferistici in Italian language, are played in sphaeristeriumSphaeristerium
Sphaeristerium Latin, from the , the term in classic architecture given to a large open space connected with the Roman thermae, for exercise with balls after the bather had been anointed; they were also provided in the Roman villas.- Sports :In Italian sferisterio is nowadays the courtfield for...
, or sferisterio in Italian language, so also in open playing fields since 1555 when Antonio Scaino from Salò
Salò
Salò is a town and commune in the Province of Brescia in the region of Lombardy on the banks of Lake Garda. The city was the capital of Italian Social Republic from 1943 to 1945, with the ISR often being called the "Republic of Salò" .-History:Salò was founded in the Roman period as Pagus...
regulated pallone col bracciale. There are many modalities of these sports: pallone col bracciale, pallapugno, pallapugno leggera, palla elastica, palla
Palla
thumb|250px|"Palla eh!" game in [[Vetulonia]], 2001Palla is a traditional Tuscan ball game played in towns between Siena and Grosseto. It is also called palla EH! because players call out eh! before serving.Small hand-made balls contain a lead pellet wrapped in rubber and wool with a leather cover...
, tamburello
Tamburello
Tamburello is a court game invented in the northern provinces of Italy during 16th century. It's a modification of the ancient game of pallone col bracciale...
. Professional players compete in national circuit of tournaments and international championships.
- Traditional game of bocceBocceBocce is a ball sport belonging to the boules sport family, closely related to bowls and pétanque with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire...
is also very popular and participated pastime. - Cue sports are played on traditional billiard table in many forms: five-pinsFive-pinsFive-pin billiards or simply five-pins or 5-pins , is a today usually a carom but sometimes still a pocket form of cue sport, popular especially in Italy and Argentina but also in some other parts of Latin America and Europe, with international, televised professional tournaments...
, nine-pins, goriziana, boccetteBoccetteBoccette is a billiards-type game played in Italy. A variation of the game of five-pins, it is played on a less billiard table with nine balls . Cue sticks are not used; the balls are manipulated with the hands directly, as in finger billiards....
. There are almost 6,000,000 of amateur players and professional players compete in national circuit of tournaments and international championships. - PalioPalioThe oldest extant palio is the Palio di Asti, but the Palio di Siena is better known internationally. There are many other palios that are held throughout the various regions of Italy. Here follows an incomplete list:-Tuscany:...
or annual athletic contest is followed very much because every comuneComuneIn Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
celebrate ancient events in these competitions. The most famous in the world is palio di SienaPalio di SienaThe Palio di Siena is a horse race that is held twice each year, on July 2 and August 16, in Siena, Italy...
.
Water sports
Water sports are very participated and followed very much by persons.- SailingSailingSailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
is very participated by amateur sailors and professional sailors compete in all international categories and classes. - Motorboat racingMotorboat racingMotorboat racing takes several forms:*Drag boat racing*Hydroplane racing*Jet sprint boat racing*Offshore powerboat racing*F1 Powerboat World Championship...
is popular and very followed by spectators. - SwimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
is very participated sport in all modalities. - Water poloWater poloWater polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
is played by substantial quantity of amateur players and Italian national team is often in top 4 ranking of national teams in the world. - DivingDivingDiving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
is very participated and followed sport. - Rowing (sport)Rowing (sport)Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
is a popular sport. - Free-divingFree-divingFreediving is any of various aquatic activities that share the practice of breath-hold underwater diving. Examples include breathhold spear fishing, freedive photography, apnea competitions and, to a degree, snorkeling...
is followed because Italian world record-men and record-women are very celebrated persons. - Waterskiing is a very participated sport by many amateur athletes.
- Water basketballWater basketballWater basketball is a water sport which mixes the rules of basketball and water polo. Developed and promoted by Italian teacher Francesco Rizzuto in 1986, it is played in a swimming pool...
was invented by Italians and since 2005 12 teams dispute a national championship.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
At the turn of the millennium Italy showed a growing quality in the discipline with Susanna Marchesi finishing 9th at the Individual All Around competition, as well the team winning 6th place in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The Italian team won the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and was 4th place at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. They collected a string of medals throughout the 2005-2008 Olympic cycle. At the 2009 Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Mie, Japan, the team soared to the first place winning the gold medal and becoming the new queens, a feat they achieved again at the 2010 Rhythmic Gymnastics Champions in Moscow. The celebration of the Italian team is because they're among the best squads of the world facing competitions against the eastern European block of nations: BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
Olympics
ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
has competed at most of the modern Olympic Games, missing only the 1904 Summer Olympics.
Italy has hosted the Games on three occasions:
- 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'AmpezzoCortina d'AmpezzoCortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...
- 1960 Summer Olympics in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
- 2006 Winter Olympics in TurinTurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
Italian athletes have won 522 medals at the Summer Olympic Games
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...
and another 106 medals at the Winter Olympic Games
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...
. Italy has won a total of 628 medals which makes them the 6th most successful country in Olympic history. They have won more gold medals than any other country, except USA and Soviet Union.
The Italian National Olympic Committee was created in 1908 and recognized in 1913
Italy has finished in the top 5 of the medal count 11 times in the Summer Olympic Games and 3 times in the Winter Olympic Games
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...
. In total Italy has finished in the top 5 of the medal count 14 times. Italy has also finished in the top 10 of the medal count 20 times in the Summer Olympic Games and 13 times in the Winter Olympic Games. In total Italy has finished in the top 10 of the medal count 33 times so far.
Winter sports
Winter sports, or sport invernali in Italian languageItalian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, gave many good results to Italy. Among them, Italians excel in cross country skiing (sci di fondo) and luge
Luge
A Luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh 21-25 kilograms for singles and 25-30 kilograms for doubles. Luge...
(slittino), with the two time Olympic gold medal winner Armin Zoeggeler.
- SkiSkiA ski is a long, flat device worn on the foot, usually attached through a boot, designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now mainly used for recreational and sporting purposes...
(Sci) is very popular in Italy with more than 2,000,000 skiers, most of them in the north and in the center. Italian skiers received good results in the Winter Olympic Games, World Cup and World Championship. Among them. Zeno ColòZeno ColoZeno Colò was a champion alpine ski racer from Italy, born in Abetone, Tuscany. He was among the top ski racers of the late 1940s and early 1950s....
, Gustavo Thoeni, whom won 4 World Cups between 1970 and 1975; Piero GrosPiero GrosPiero Gros is an Italian former champion alpine ski racer. He won the gold medal in slalom at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, and was World Cup overall champion in 1974.-Biography:...
in 1974 and Alberto TombaAlberto TombaAlberto Tomba is an Italian retired alpine ski racer. He was the dominant technical skier in the late 1980s and 1990s. Tomba won three Olympic gold medals, two World Championships, and nine World Cup season titles; four in slalom, four in giant slalom, and one overall title...
in 1995 won one World Cup. Alberto Tomba, Deborah CompagnoniDeborah CompagnoniDeborah Compagnoni is an Italian former Alpine skier who won three gold medals at the 1992, 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics.-Career:Deborah Compagnoni was born in Bormio, northern Lombardy....
and Isolde KostnerIsolde KostnerIsolde Kostner is an Italian former Alpine skier who won two bronze medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics and 1 silver medal at 2002 Winter Olympics...
received many medals in different editions of the Winter Olympic Games. Giorgio RoccaGiorgio RoccaGiorgio Rocca is an Italian Alpine skier, a specialist in Slalom skiing. Together with Marc Girardelli and Ingemar Stenmark, he is one of three skiers to have won 5 Alpine Skiing World Cup slaloms in a row, which he achieved in the 2005/2006 season: only Alberto Tomba has won more World Cup...
won the 2006's World Cup of Slalom. - Alpinism (Alpinismo) is followed because Italian alpinists wrote several pages of history in this sport. Italians Achille CompagnoniAchille CompagnoniAchille Compagnoni was an Italian mountaineer. Together with Lino Lacedelli, on 31 July 1954 he was the first man to reach the summit of K2.-Biography:...
and Lino LacedelliLino LacedelliLino Lacedelli was an Italian mountaineer.-Early life:Lacedelli was born in Cortina d'Ampezzo ....
conquered first the summit of K2K2K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...
(8611 m) in 1954, in the expedition led by the geologist Ardito DesioArdito DesioCount Ardito Desio was an Italian explorer, mountain climber, geologist, and cartographer.-Early life:Desio was born in Palmanova, Friuli, Italy...
. Reinhold MessnerReinhold MessnerReinhold Messner is an Italian mountaineer and explorer from Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol "whose astonishing feats on Everest and on peaks throughout the world have earned him the status of the greatest climber in history." He is renowned for making the first solo ascent of Mount Everest without...
was the first man in the world to reach the 14 summits over 8000 meters and the first one to climb Everest alone and without oxygen. Cesare MaestriCesare MaestriCesare Maestri is an Italian mountaineer and writer.He was born in Trento in the Italian province of Trentino. He began climbing in the Dolomites, where he repeated many famous routes, often climbing them solo and free, and put up many new routes of the hardest difficulty, for which he was...
conquered the Cerro TorreCerro TorreCerro Torre is one of the mountains of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in South America. It is located in a region which is disputed between Argentina and Chile, west of Cerro Chalten . The peak is the highest in a four mountain chain: the other peaks are Torre Egger , Punta Herron, and Cerro...
in PatagoniaPatagoniaPatagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
in 1959. Walter BonattiWalter BonattiWalter Bonatti was an Italian mountain climber. He is noted for a solo climb of a new route on the south-west pillar of the Aiguille du Dru in August 1955 and the first solo winter ascent of the Matterhorn north face in 1965.-Life and career:Bonatti was born in Bergamo...
is considered one of the best alpinists in EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in the 50's, realizing some ascents considered impossible by the competitors. - Ice hockeyIce hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
is played by professional players in serie A (hockey)Serie A (hockey)Serie A is the name of the top tier of professional ice hockey in Italy, which first began play in 1924. They are conducted under the authority of the Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio...
with substantial attendance. - Figure skatingFigure skatingFigure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
is popular and professional figure skaters often starring in events of exhibition. - BobsleighBobsleighBobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of two or four make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled that are combined to calculate the final score....
is very followed and Italian bobsledder Eugenio MontiEugenio MontiEugenio Monti was an Italian bobsledder. He is one of the most successful athletes in the history of this sport, with ten World championship medals and 6 Olympic medals, but is known also for an act of sportsmanship during the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria that made him the first...
was the most successful athlete in the international history of this sport. - Cross country skiing is popular in northern Italy with the likes of Stefania BelmondoStefania BelmondoStefania Belmondo is an Italian former cross-country skier.-Debut:Belmondo was born in Vinadio, in the province of Cuneo , the daughter of a housewife and an electric company employee....
, Manuela Di CentaManuela Di CentaManuela Di Centa is an Italian cross-country skier and former Olympic athlete. She is the cousin of former track and field athlete Venanzio Ortis and the sister of cross-country skier Giorgio Di Centa.-Career:...
, Franco NonesFranco NonesFranco Nones is an Italian former cross country skier who competed during the 1960s.Nones was born in Castello-Molina di Fiemme...
, Marco AlbarelloMarco AlbarelloMarco Albarello is an Italian cross country skier who competed from 1982 to 2002. He was born in Aosta. His best known victory was part of the 4 x 10 km relay team that upset Norway at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer...
, Silvio FaunerSilvio FaunerSilvio Fauner is an Italian former cross country skier who competed from 1988. His best known victory was part of the 4 × 10 km relay team that upset Norway at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer...
, Giorgio VanzettaGiorgio VanzettaGiorgio Vanzetta is an Italian former cross country skier who competed from 1982 to 2002. His best known victory was part of the 4 x 10 km relay team that upset Norway at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer...
and Giorgio Di CentaGiorgio Di CentaGiorgio Di Centa is an Italian cross country skier who won two gold medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics, including the individual 50 km freestyle race...
. - LugeLugeA Luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh 21-25 kilograms for singles and 25-30 kilograms for doubles. Luge...
is followed from its history with Paul HildgartnerPaul HildgartnerPaul Hildgartner is an Italian of German descent former luger who competed from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. Competing in five Winter Olympics, he earned two gold medals and one silver medal for his efforts...
and Gerda WeissensteinerGerda WeissensteinerGerda Weissensteiner is an Italian luger and bobsleigh pilot who has competed from the late 1980s to 2006...
to the current dominance of Armin ZöggelerArmin ZöggelerArmin Zöggeler is a luger and double Olympic champion who is an Italian national. He is one of the most successful men in the sport, nicknamed Il Cannibale , for his notable series of victories, or The Iceblood Champion, for his always cold, rational approach to the races.Zöggeler was born in...
.
Combat sports
- See also Italian school of swordsmanshipItalian school of swordsmanshipThe term Italian school of swordsmanship is used to describe the Italian style of fencing and edged-weapon combat from the time of the first extant Italian swordsmanship treatise to the days of Classical Fencing ....
, Caestus, Greco-Roman wrestlingGreco-Roman wrestlingGreco-Roman wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practised worldwide. It was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1908. Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in three two-minute periods, which can...
and Liu-bo
Fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
, boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, kick boxing, martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
, mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
and amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
are participated and followed sports. There are many national and international events every year.
Fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
is a very practiced and successful sport, Italy being one of the most successful fencing countries
Equestrian sports
- See also Chariot racingChariot racingChariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine sports. Chariot racing was often dangerous to both driver and horse as they frequently suffered serious injury and even death, but generated strong spectator enthusiasm...
Olympic disciplines, horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
, equestrian vaulting
Equestrian vaulting
Equestrian vaulting, or simply Vaulting , is most often described as gymnastics and dance on horseback and, like these disciplines, it can be practised as a non-competitive art/performance or as a competitive sport. Vaulting has been an equestrian act at the circus from its early days. It is open...
and polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
are participated and followed sports. There are many national and international events every year.
Baseball
BaseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
sees less activity in Italy than other sports. Introduced to Italy by American servicemen during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, professional baseball leagues were not established until after the war.
The Italy national baseball team
Italy national baseball team
The Italy national baseball team is the team that represents Italy in international baseball competition. The Italian national team is currently ranked 12th in the world.-World Baseball Classic:...
is traditionally ranked as the second best team in Europe behind the Dutch national team
Netherlands national baseball team
The Netherlands national baseball team is the national baseball team of the Netherlands. They are currently the top team in Europe and currently the sixth ranked men's baseball team in the IBAF World Rankings....
. Italy's performance during the Olympics has been consistently high for a European team, but is noted for its reliance on American and Latino players of Italian descent. The highest level of play in Italy today is considered to be on par with Class A ball in the United States.