Stadio Artemio Franchi Opening (1931)

Lore & Background

The stadium was originally known as the Stadio Giovanni Berta, after Florentine fascist Giovanni Berta. Its old nickname was 'Comunale'. It was renamed after former FIGC president Artemio Franchi in 1991. The stadium is built entirely of reinforced concrete with a 70-metre tower called the 'Tower of Marathon'. It hosted matches of the 1934 World Cup and football preliminaries for the 1960 Summer Olympics. In 1945, it hosted the Spaghetti Bowl between American service teams. On 27 October 1954, a reserve game was interrupted when UFOs were sighted over the stadium, with a silvery substance falling; chemical analysis found boron, silicon, calcium, and magnesium, which did not match the spider silk theory.

Reader's Guide

The stadium underwent renovations for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, which included removing the running track and increasing seating capacity. At that World Cup, it hosted three Group A matches and a quarter-final. The official record attendance is 58,271 on 25 November 1984 for a Serie A match between Fiorentina and Internazionale. Concerts have included David Bowie (1987), Madonna (1987 and 2012), and Bruce Springsteen (2003 and 2012). The Italy national football team has played here, first on 7 May 1933. The stadium has also hosted international rugby union matches, including Italy's first-ever win over South Africa on 19 November 2016.

Did You Know?

• Madonna's 1987 concert at the stadium was filmed and released as 'Ciao, Italia! – Live from Italy'.
• During a 2010 Euro qualifier, Fiorentina fans booed Fabio Quagliarella because he played for Juventus.