Palla facts for kids
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Palla means "ball" in Italian. It's the name for many traditional ball games played in Italy. You might know other Italian words for ball games, like pallacanestro for basketball or pallavolo for volleyball. There's also pallamano for handball and pallanuoto for water polo.
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Italian Ball Games
Palla eh!
Palla eh! is an old ball game from Tuscany, a region in Italy. It's played in towns in the Maremma area, between the cities of Siena and Grosseto. The game gets its name because players shout "eh!" before they serve the ball.
The balls used in Palla eh! are small and made by hand. They have a small piece of lead wrapped in rubber and wool, all covered with leather. Two teams play against each other. Players hit the ball with their bare hand or a special glove. Each team usually has 3, 4, or 5 players.
The game is played on town streets, with lines painted to mark the court. There is no net, and players can move freely between the two sides. Nearby buildings, objects, and even people watching are part of the playing area! However, if a car comes, play stops for safety.
The scoring is similar to tennis: 15, 30, 40, and then game. Sometimes, if the ball bounces a second time, it's not an immediate point. Instead, it creates a "chase," which is marked with chalk where the ball stops rolling.
Palla 21
Palla 21 is a different version of Palla eh!. In this game, the scoring is 7, 14, 21, or game. They use a lighter ball, made of rubber or plastic, weighing about 35 to 40 grams. The first Palla 21 tournament with an Italian national team was played in Chicago in 2007.
Palla elastica
Palla elastica is a team game where each team has 5 players. They catch a rubber ball, similar to a tennis ball, with their bare hand. The first team to win 11 games wins the whole match. Each game is made up of 4 points.
Official championships for Palla elastica are played in special stadiums. These stadiums are called sferisterio or sferodromo in Italian. They are about 75 metres long and have a wall along one side.
Pallacorda
Pallacorda or palla della corda is an old Italian game that is similar to real tennis. In this game, a rope was stretched across a street. Players would hit the ball using their hands, a racket, or a tamburello (which is like a tambourine). Even today, in cities like Pisa, Prato, Rome, and Siena, you can find streets named via Pallacorda or via Della Corda.
Other Palla Games
- Pallamuro is the Italian name for American handball.
- Palla prigioniera is the Italian name for prisoner ball, also known as dodgeball.
- Pallamaglio is another old game, known as pall mall in English. A modern version of this game, called skittles, is played in countries like England, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
- Pallina means "small ball." It's a team game with 4, 5, or 6 players on each team. They catch a rubber ball, weighing about 50 grams, with their bare hand.
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