Stadio Artemio Franchi

This article is about the football stadium in Florence. For the stadium in Siena, see Stadio Artemio Franchi – Montepaschi Arena.

Stadio Artemio Franchi
Stadio Comunale
Map
Former namesStadio Comunale
LocationFlorence, Italy
OwnerMunicipality of Florence
Capacity43,147[3]
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Opened13 September 1931
Renovated1990, 2013, 2024[1][2]
ArchitectPier Luigi Nervi
Tenants
ACF Fiorentina (1931–present)
Italy national football team (selected matches)

The Stadio Artemio Franchi is a football stadium in Florence, Italy. It is currently the home of ACF Fiorentina. The old nickname of the stadium was "Comunale". When it was first constructed, it was known as the Stadio Giovanni Berta, after Florentine fascist Giovanni Berta.

The stadium was officially opened on 13 September 1931 with a match between Fiorentina and Admira Wien (1–0), though it took until 1932 for the stadium to be completely finished and currently holds 47,282.[4] The architect is Pier Luigi Nervi[5] (known for the Nervi Hall in the Vatican) and it is one of the most relevant examples of 20th-century architecture in the city.[6] It hosted some of the matches of the 1934 World Cup, as well as football preliminaries for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.[7] In 1945, it hosted the Spaghetti Bowl between American service teams.[8]

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.[5] It was originally called the "Comunale" but was renamed after the former FIGC president, Artemio Franchi (1922–1983), in 1991. The stadium underwent renovations for the 1990 FIFA World Cup[5] which included removing the running track and increasing the seating capacity. At the World Cup, the ground hosted three matches in Group A and Argentina's penalty shootout win over Yugoslavia in the quarter-finals.[9]

The official record attendance is 58,271 on 25 November 1984, at a Serie A match between Fiorentina and Internazionale.

  1. ^ "Info Lavori Ristrutturazione". Violachannel.tv. Archived from the original on 16 May 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  2. ^ "Nuova Tribuna: via le barriere, i lavori e i nuovi rendering 3D". Violachannel.tv. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  3. ^ "ViolaChannel - Stadio Franchi". Archived from the original on 4 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Stadio Artemio Franchi - Fiorentina - Florence - the Stadium Guide".
  5. ^ a b c Zucconi, Guido (1995). Florence: An Architectural Guide (2001 Reprint ed.). San Giovanni Lupatoto (Vr): Arsenale Editrice. p. 131. ISBN 88-7743-147-4.
  6. ^ "Florence Rationalist".
  7. ^ 1960 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. pp. 85-6.
  8. ^ "Spaghetti Bowl". Americanfootballitalia.com. Retrieved 2 January 2014. Archived version
  9. ^ "1990 Match Schedule". PlanetWorldCup.com. Retrieved 10 March 2014.