Stadio Comunale | |
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 Interactive map of Stadio Artemio Franchi | |
| Former names | Stadio Comunale |
|---|---|
| Location | Florence, Italy |
| Owner | Municipality ofFlorence |
| Capacity | 47,282[3] |
| Record attendance | 58,271 (Fiorentina–Internazionale, 25 November 1984) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 13 September 1931 |
| Renovated | 1990, 2013, 2024[1][2] |
| Architect | Pier Luigi Nervi |
| Tenants | |
| ACF Fiorentina (1931–present) Italy national football team (selected matches) | |
TheStadio Artemio Franchi is afootballstadium inFlorence, Italy. It is currently the home ofACF Fiorentina. The old nickname of the stadium was "Comunale". When it was first constructed, it was known as theStadio Giovanni Berta, after Florentine fascistGiovanni Berta.
The stadium was officially opened on 13 September 1931 with a match between Fiorentina andAdmira Wien (1–0), though it took until 1932 for the stadium to be completely finished and currently holds 47,282.[3] The architect isPier Luigi Nervi[4] (known for theNervi Hall in theVatican) and it is one of the most relevant examples of 20th-century architecture in the city.[5] It hosted some of the matches of the1934 World Cup, as well asfootball preliminaries for the1960 Summer Olympics inRome.[6] In 1945, it hosted theSpaghetti Bowl between American service teams.[7]
The stadium is built entirely of reinforced concrete with a 70 metre (230 ft) tower that bears the stadium's flagstaff. The tower is called the "Tower of Marathon". Around the base of the tower, spiral ramps lead from the ground floor to the upper edge of the grandstand.[4] It was originally called the "Comunale" but was renamed after the formerFIGC president,Artemio Franchi (1922–1983), in 1991. The stadium underwent renovations for the1990 FIFA World Cup[4] which included removing the running track and increasing theseating capacity. At the World Cup, the ground hosted three matches in Group A andArgentina's penalty shootout win overYugoslavia in the quarter-finals.[8]
The official record attendance is 58,271 on 25 November 1984, at aSerie A match betweenFiorentina andInternazionale.
David Bowie performed at the stadium during hisGlass Spider Tour on 9 June 1987.Madonna performed, withLevel 42 as her opening act, the final show of herWho's That Girl World Tour at the stadium on 6 September 1987. This performance was filmed and later released onVHS andDVD, titledCiao, Italia! – Live from Italy.[citation needed] She performed at the stadium again 25 years later on 16 June 2012 to a sold-out crowd of 42,434 people during herMDNA Tour.[citation needed]Bruce Springsteen performed on 8 June 2003 at the stadium during hisThe Rising Tour and on 10 June 2012 for theWrecking Ball World Tour, in front of 42,658 people. It rained throughout the 2012 concert.[citation needed]
TheItaly national football team has played at the stadium, the first occasion being on 7 May 1933 in a 2–0 win overCzechoslovakia. The national team played only one game there between 1982 and 2006; a 2–0 friendly win against Mexico on 20 January 1993. On 1 March 2006, they played a friendly againstGermany and won 4–1. The stadium hosted two matches inEuro 2012 qualifying: a 5–0 win over theFaroe Islands, and a 1–0 win overSlovenia on 6 September 2011 which was its most recent international hosting.[9] During the match with Faroe Islands on 7 September 2010,Fabio Quagliarella (a member of Juventus at the time) scored a goal. Because Fiorentina fans have such a strong rivalry with Juventus, the fans at the stadium booed Quagliarella.
The stadium has also hosted internationalrugby union matches.Italy playedAustralia on 20 November 2010, losing by a score of 14–32.[10][11] Italy beatSouth Africa at the stadium on 19 November 2016, defeating the Springboks for the first time in their history. The final score was 20–18.[citation needed]
On 27 October 1954, a reserve game between Fiorentina and nearby rivals Pistoiese was under way at the Stadio Artemio Franchi when a group ofUFOs traveling at high speed abruptly stopped over the stadium. The stadium became silent as the crowd of around 10,000 spectators witnessed the event and described the UFOs as cigar shaped. The sighting went on for several minutes, before "silvery glitter" fell down and covered the entire stadium. The substance was also seen falling elsewhere the same day, whereafter "shiny balls" had been observed.[12]
It was suggested that the most likely explanation was that the silk of mass migrating spiders had agglomerated high in the atmosphere. However, this suggestion was contradicted by the chemical analysis of the substance that was undertaken at the Institute of Chemical Analysis at University of Florence, which found it to contain boron, silicon, calcium and magnesium, which according to science writer Philip Ball, did not seem to match with the spider theory:
Magnesium and calcium are fairly common elements in living bodies, boron and silicon much less so - but if these were the main elements that the white fluff contained, it doesn't sound to me as though they'd come from spiders.[13]
The stadium was one of the venues of the1934 FIFA World Cup, and held the following matches:
| Date | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Attendance | Referee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 May 1934 |  Germany | 5–2 |  Belgium | First Round | 8,000 | Francesco Mattea (Italy) |
| 31 May 1934 |  Italy | 1–1 |  Spain | Quarter Finals | 35,000 | Louis Baert (Belgium) |
| 1 June 1934 | 1–0 | Quarter Finals (Replay) | 43,000 | René Mercet (Switzerland) |
The stadium was one of the venues of the1990 FIFA World Cup, and held the following matches:
| Date | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 June 1990 |  United States | 1–5 |  Czechoslovakia | Group A |
| 15 June 1990 |  Austria | 0–1 | Czechoslovakia | Group A |
| 19 June 1990 | Austria | 2–1 | United States | Group A |
| 30 June 1990 |  Argentina | 0–0 (3–2 onpenalties) |  Yugoslavia | Quarter-finals |
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43°46′51″N11°16′56″E / 43.78083°N 11.28222°E /43.78083; 11.28222
