Poggio a Caiano I's tennis court (1543) intact but no longer in use. The "palatoia" (as the court was referred to in Tuscany - elsewhere known as "pallacorda") was built for Cosimo I at the same time as his court at Palazzo Pitti. The "tennis" of the Italian Renaissance was hugely popular at court and in the streets as in France where the sport is known as "jeu de paume". "Real tennis" (as it is called today), which requires a customised court with elaborate interior playing surfaces, is the model for modern tennis although the sport played in the Renaissance continues to be
Huis ter Kleef "Kaatsbaan" refers to the sport Jeu de paume, an indoor precursor of tennis or to "Kaatsen" (Frisian handball), which presumably was once played here, though in the 18th century this was probably "Kolven", a sport somewhat like golf. The St. Eloy's Hospice, an old guild hall in the center of Utrecht, similarly became a center for the Kolf sport after the guilds were disbanded. Stones from the central castle ruin can still be seen in surrounding buildings. The Kaatsbaan was used as a residence for former owners and is now also in use by the city gardens. Huis ter Kleef