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
Jeu de paume called "jeu de courte paume" or just "courte paume" ("short palm") to distinguish it from the outdoor version, "longue paume" ("long palm"), played on a field of variable length. Jeu de paume at the 1908 Summer Olympics was a medal event; American Jay Gould II won the Gold medal. Since 1740, jeu de paume has been the subject of an amateur world championship, held each year in September. It is the oldest active trophy in international sport. Various other forms of handball may be related to one degree or another; this is generally difficult to ascertain with certainty, and some,