Le Marche another Italy

Treia is a quintessential hill town in the heart of Le Marche filled with Romanesque, Renaissance and Neoclassical architecture. In July we saw posters around the town for ‘Disfida del Bracciale’. Our friend Stefano explained that Treia is famous for hosting a traditional ball game dating from Renaissance times called The Challenge of the Armlet (also known as Pallone col bracciale).

Pallone col Bracciale (Wikipedia)
He said that it was similar to tennis but instead of racquets, the players use a device called a ‘bracciale’- a sort of wooden cylindrical spiked glove worn over the hand and forearm. A hard leather ball is pounded back and forth between two teams of three, with a high wall (between 14 and 20m) on one side, permitting deflection back into the field of play. The court is very long - around 90m. Scores are the same as in tennis – 15, 30, 40, game – and the first team to win six games is the victor.