THE CALCIO DIARIES PART FIVE: PURPLE PRIDE IN THE HEART OF FIRENZE

January 10, 2025

“This Tuscan paradise, full of remarkable restaurants, boasts a legendary football club and leaves an indelible impression on the mind.”

THE CALCIO DIARIES: EPISODE 5

The Renaissance man himself Joseph O’Sullivan finds himself in the belly of Italian culture as he discovers the many charms of Firenze in Episode 5 of The Calcio Diaires.

Throughout his time in Firenze, he’ll discover the purple pride the city has in its team, Fiorentina, and witness a ‘Welsh Invasion,’ of sorts as The New Saints F.C. take on La Viola in the UEFA Conference League.

Photographer Ata de Çin educates Joseph on the finer points of Firenze as he explores one of Italy’s most historic cities, taking in its Culture, Calcio and Chianti.

Listen to the latest episode here and read on to find out more about Joseph’s journey throughout Firenze

FIRENZE: A BIG ROYAL PURPLE CHINS-UP

Firenze feels very very… Italian? The cradle of the Renaissance, the birthplace of modern Italian language and of course the capital of the unified Italian nation from 1965 to 1971. We are very much in the heart of it here.

Famous a city as this is for various reasons its football team stands out too, and not least because of their dashing purple strips.

The washing mix-up theory is my favourite. It suggests that Fiorentina did play in red and white until the colours mixed whilst being washed and accidentally changed the face of history for their club as they adopted purple from that moment onwards.

Others say it has more to do with Florentine heritage and that purple was chosen because it was prestigious and unique. I always assumed it was the latter; a big ‘royal purple’ chins-up vibe, but the former is a much better story and so now I shan’t believe any other.

IDYLLIC SETTING WITH SUMPTUOUS TASTES AND SMOOTH SOUNDS

Football and colours aside for a moment, Florence is a traditional city that has changed less than the others, it takes you back in time.

It feels like Italy a little more than the others do in quite stereotypical fashion, it leans towards national identity over regional, it’s not better or worse, it just is what it is. Perhaps it’s just because other cities like Naples or Parma have such unique identities even within the nation.

Firenze of course is situated in the mouth-watering wine region of Tuscany where the rolling green hills and holy purple grapes take you to a place of joy and splendour.

Day trips from town to various wine emporiums within an hour’s drive are something everyone should try and do once in their life. Idyllic settings with sumptuous tastes and smooth sounds, it’s just unbelievable.

The city itself received two days of fierce downpours when I passed through recently, but the safe refuge of restaurants, wine bars and some incredible courtyards full of covered monuments means that there is no weather worth not going to Florence for.

The ‘Ponte Vecchio’ bridge is stunning, but also overrun with tourists and therefore less compelling than the lost side streets District 1 and San Giovanni.

A STRIKING SUB-CULTURE OF PRIVATE PARTIES AND TOP-NOTCH FASHION EVENTS

To learn what the real Firenze was all about I met up with the incredibly well-dressed Turkish-Italian photography maestro Ata de Çin. Even as the rain descended upon us that day, the hospitality shown by Ata and his stories of the city couldn’t help but warm the heart.

Ata educated me on all aspects of Firenze culture and fashion, where to eat, and where to have coffee, not very shockingly all of his recommendations were absolutely spot on.

Ata works in events in Firenze and as well as organising them, he does photography for everyone from plush new hotels to the top fashion brands in the world.

This certainly wasn’t the budget-Joe Bloggs view of Florence but it was a spectacular perspective on a place that clearly has a striking sub-culture of private parties and top-notch fashion events. Ata sent me off to dinner at La Giostra, and it was absolutely first class.

For anybody thinking of heading to Firenze then I would urge them to contact Ata, for all his knowledge on guidance on a city which has many exciting faces to it.

PRIDE IN THEIR TEAM

Anyway back to the football. Where the city of Florence has also seen success in the past, winning the Scudetto in 1956 and 1969 before winning its fifth Copa Italia in 1996 and its sixth in 2001. Imagine those 90’s purple classics on Batistuta and Rui Costa. Yikes. What a time to be alive.

Aside from the glitz and glam of the fashionable and touristic old town centre, many local people here find as much pride in their football team as anything else.

A quick hop out of the centre and you soon realise that this is a proud one-club city with its own football heritage.

On matchday, motorbikes stream from the suburbs towards the Artemis Franchi stadium, locals park up their machines and enjoy a pre-match beer at the ‘Moonshine’ bar where the Argentinian hero ‘BatiGOL’s’ iconic jersey hangs from the wall.

This Tuscan paradise, full of remarkable restaurants, boasts a legendary football club and leaves an indelible impression on the mind, so make sure to pass through Firenze on your dream Italian Calcio tour.