Football in Italy to the expansion of the Empire, including Medieval football. From the 16th century onwards, "Calcio Fiorentino", another code of football distinct from the modern game, was played in the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence. Some famous Florentines were amongst players of the game, particularly the Medici family including Piero, Lorenzo and Alessandro de' Medici. As well as Popes such as Clement VII, Leo XI and Urban VIII who played the game in the Vatican. The name "calcio" ("kick") was later adopted for football in Italy. The modern variation of the game was brought to Italy during the 1880s. The title
Rugby union in Italy first official rules of "calcio fiorentino" were recorded in 1580, although the game had been developing around Florence for some time before that date. The game involved teams of 27 kicking and carrying a ball in a giant sandpit set up in the Piazza Santa Croce in the centre of Florence, both teams aiming for their designated point on the perimeter of the sandpit. British communities brought rugby to Genoa between 1890 and 1895, with other games in Italy around 1909. The society that organised the first games dissolved soon after them. Italian rugby's traditional heartland consists of the small