Regular readers will know that I love a niche morsel of calcio. This particular story comes courtesy of two tales of woe, financial meltdown essentially, that took two of the great bastions of yesteryear top-tier Italian football to the depths as low as the sixth tier. Now I have written about the fifth tier, and … Continue reading Rich history revisited →

I have been to Roma many times, but aside from a day in Ostia, the rest of the Lazio region has largely been viewed through transient train windows. My goodness, as I headed south east out of Roma Termini, it was a completely new area of Italy for me. Gradually, the tracks were winding up, … Continue reading High Plains Drifters →

Finally, I was able to complete the Umbrian trio of professional clubs, perhaps saving the best, certainly the biggest until last. Welcome to Perugia, the hilly capital of Umbria. This region has long been sighted as the thinking man's Tuscany, but from that read, it's slightly cheaper! It does have or doesn't, depending on your … Continue reading Ancient Arts in Perugia →

It is always nice to visit somewhere new, even if I have viewed Pescara from passing train windows on many occasions. This sizeable coastal city (population 118,657 in 2023- Greater area, circa 350,000) is the capital of Abruzzo. This wouldn't just be my first visit to the city, but my first trip to the region, … Continue reading Pescara jumping →

Just over an hour south of Roma on a fast train sits a true jewel of Italy, the small city of Caserta, with its lavish Royal Palace. Regular readers will have come across the team from here previously as Casertana have been in a few of my tales before, having featured three times; in Messina … Continue reading The King of Caserta →

Our trip to Trapani was merely a day trip, but in hindsight, a longer period in this marvellous little city, as opposed to Palermo, would have been a winner. But as they say, hindsight is a wonderful thing. Getting there wasn't as easy as my usual scenario of just pitching up at the railway station … Continue reading Enchanting Trapani →

Palermo is the capital of Sicily, a sizeable old metropolis in the north western corner of the island. Sicily is indeed no small land mass or population. Doing justice to the entire island would require a significant period of dedication. Even getting a proper handle on Palermo is more than a weekend gig in truth, … Continue reading The Pink Pussycat of Palermo →

There was a moment of real shock when I learned of the passing of Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci. Those in the know were aware he was ill, but it took me by surprise, a bit like when Paolo Rossi died. In many ways, the baton had passed from one to the other as the centre forward … Continue reading Toto Le Hero →

I guess I never quite fully get this notion of the groundhopper. To visit a stadium just once, purely because it ticks a box isn’t in my DNA. Certain places, certain teams keep calling me back, and in the case of the two clubs involved in this story, on multiple occasions, something that will continue … Continue reading Old Familials →