The emperors of ancient Rome were well-known for lascivious lifestyles, eccentric tastes and political controversies. History has long sought to argue just who built the biggest wall or which...
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Edoardo Longarini: The fallen King of Ancona
It has been said that on June 7 1992, the sound of the car horns in the centre of Ancona were so loud and continuous that the locals could...
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The Football Italia love affair
Gazzetta Football Italia: now that was a television programme. Although Channel 4’s live Italian matches were more than welcome it was the Saturday morning review and pre-cursor to...
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Atalanta’s Franck Kessie: The ultimate modern midfielder
To claim that Franck Kessie is the epitome of the modern midfielder is not an overstatement. And whilst it might be too early to deem him the ‘new Yaya...
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Gianluca Lapadula: The meteoric rise of the journeyman bomber
How does one describe an individual who has faced nothing but uncertainty, obstacles and doubt, only to emerge triumphant? Resilient, and it’s one of the many adjectives befitting of...
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Celebrating the stereotypical brilliance of Billy Costacurta
The idea that Italian football is all about defending is a well-worn cliché. Any regular viewer of contemporary calcio will tell you that this is no longer the case...
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Tales from the Peninsula: The night an unrecognisable Fiorentina beat Juventus
“I stopped playing 30 years ago, but this welcome is worth one or two Scudetti,” new Fiorentina Vice President Giancarlo Antognoni told the press after Fiorentina’s home game with...
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Grande 50: Part IV
KEITA BALDE DIAO Age: 21 Club: Lazio Country: Senegal Kicked out of Barcelona’s youth team for putting an ice cube in a team-mate’s bed, Keita Balde Diao has gradually...
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Grande 50: Part V
NICOLÓ BARELLA Age: 19 Club: Cagliari Country: Italy Born and bred in Sardinia’s capital, it is no surprise that Barella’s career has been coloured in shades of red and...
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Grande 50: Part II
ANTONIO BARRECA Age: 21 Club: Torino Country: Italy A product of the Torino youth system, Antonio Barreca captained the club’s primavera to the finals of the Campionato Primavera in 2013...
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