Italy national football team Euro 2012 final

Sport in Italy has a long tradition. In several sports, both individual and team,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

has good representation and many successes. The most popular sport in Italy is football. Italy's national football team is one of the world's most successful teams with four

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the ...

victories (1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006). Italian clubs have won 48 major European trophies, making Italy the second most successful country in European football. Italy's top-flight club football league is named

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

and is followed by millions of fans around the world. Other popular team sports in Italy include

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and rugby. Italy's

male Male (Mars symbol, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot sexual reproduction, repro ...

and

female Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females a ...

national volleyball teams are often featured among the world's best. The Italian national basketball team's best results were gold at Eurobasket 1983 and EuroBasket 1999, as well as silver at the Olympics in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. Lega Basket Serie A is widely considered one of the most competitive in Europe. Italy's rugby national team competes in the Six Nations Championship, and is a regular at the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb ...

. The men's volleyball team won three consecutive World Championships (in 1990, 1994, and 1998) and earned the Olympic silver medal in 1996, 2004, and 2016. Italy has a long and successful tradition in individual sports as well. Bicycle racing is a familiar sport in the country.

Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

is also a widespread sport in Italy, and the country is a popular international skiing destination, known for its ski resorts. Italian skiers achieved good results in

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

, Alpine Ski World Cup, and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

has a significant following in Italy, ranking as the fourth most practised sport in the country.

Motorsports Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

are also extremely popular in Italy. Italy has won, by far, the most MotoGP World Championships. Italian Scuderia Ferrari is the oldest surviving team in

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

racing, having competed since 1948, and statistically the most successful Formula One team in history. Historically, Italy has been successful in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

, taking part from the first Olympiad and in 47 Games out of 48, not having officially participated in the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended ...

. Italian sportsmen have won 522 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, and another 106 at the

, for a combined total of 628 medals with 235 golds, which makes them the fifth most successful nation in Olympic history for total medals. The country hosted two Winter Olympics and will host a third (in 1956, 2006, and

2026 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1930 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** ''Soup to Nuts'', the first on-scree ...

), and one Summer games (in 1960).

Participation by sport

This list, published by Italian National Olympic Committee, refers to a survey made by

National Institute of Statistics (Italy) The Italian National Institute of Statistics ( it, Istituto nazionale di statistica; Istat) is the main producer of official statistics in Italy. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economic ...

in 2000.

Sports

Football

Football (''calcio'' in Italian) is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team is considered to be one of the best national teams in the world. They have won the

four times ( 1934, 1938,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

, 2006), trailing only

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

(with 5), runners-up in two finals ( 1970,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

) and reaching a third place ( 1990) and a fourth place ( 1978). They have also won two European Championships (

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

), also appearing in two finals (

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

), finished third at the Confederations Cup (

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

), won one Olympic football tournament ( 1936) and two

Central European International Cup The European International Cup of Nations was an international football competition held by certain national teams from Central Europe & South Europe between 1927 and 1960.Leo Schidrowitz "Internationaler Cup", Vienna 1954 There were competitions f ...

s ( 1927–30 and 1933–35). Italy's top domestic league, the

, is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world and it is often depicted as the most tactical national football league.

clubs have seen success in the Champions League (formerly the European Cup), the premier European club competition, winning it twelve times. Italy's club sides have won 48 major European trophies, making them the second most successful nation in European football.

hosts three of the world's most famous clubs as Juventus,

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

and Inter, all founding members of the G-14, a group which represented the largest and most prestigious European football clubs;

was the only league to produce three founding members. Juventus, Milan and Inter, along with

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, Fiorentina,

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and historically

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

, but now

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, are known as the Seven Sisters of Italian football. The Italian word for soccer is ', "kick", taken from the name of Italy's traditional football games, as opposed to being adapted from the English name ''football'' or ''soccer'', as in most other languages. Often, Italian children can be seen playing on the street with friends and relatives. The history of football in Italy gives much of the explanation behind why it has remained such a popular sport today. The first record of an Italian football team goes back to 1893. This team was named FC Genoa. The sport was brought to Italy through the Romans, who used to play a very similar game called harpastum, which included two teams aiming to score on their opponents side (hands could be used along with feet). Years later, the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

brought about big changes for not only the art and culture of Italy, but also for sport. Specifically,

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

was the spot where the most changes occurred. Football of the past was different from that of today as teams were much larger with 27 people. Also, the games were only 50 minutes long. Today, the games consist of two 45 minute halves. The Italy National team first began playing in 1910 in the FIFA World Cup. To the surprise of many fans, the Italy National Team did not qualify for the tournament in 2017. This was the first time in sixty years that the team did not make the World Cup after losing to Sweden. The loss was published in popular sport newspapers in Italy such as '' La Gazzetta dello Sport'', which is one of the largest selling newspapers in Italy. Stadio Meazza 2021 3

Stadiums have also become more than a place to watch a football game today. All across Italy, stadiums now include various different things such as museums, shops, and restaurants for the people attending the game to enjoy. Italian football stadiums also host other venues such as concerts, rugby matches, and field and track. Italy takes pride in their football stadiums and have some of the most well known in the world. Most Italian stadiums have stadium tours where children six and under are allowed to go for free . The

city of Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

stadium, which is also known as the San Siro stadium, has the biggest seating capacity in Italy with 80,018 seats. The stadium is also known in the country as "La Scala del Calcio." It is also known as the "Giuseppe Meazza" stadium after the Italian star, Giuseppe Meazza. The San Siro stadium has hosted four

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

finals. This stadium is where the rival teams AC Milan and Internazionale play. The two clubs meet twice a year and the matches between these two clubs are known as the '' Derby della Madonnina''. It is called ''Derby della Madonnina'' in honour of one of the main sights in the city of Milan, the statue of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

on the top of the Duomo, which is often referred to as the '' Madonnina'' ("Little Madonna" in Italian). Another famous stadium in Italy is the Stadio Olimpico. This stadium is the second largest in Italy and is where the rival teams AS Roma and

SS Lazio Società Sportiva Lazio (; ; ''Lazio Sport Club''), commonly referred to as Lazio, is an Italian professional sports club based in Rome, most known for its football activity. The society, founded in 1900, plays in the Serie A and have spent ...

play. The two clubs meet twice a year and the matches between these two clubs are known as the '' Derby della Capitale'' (Derby of the Capital). Also, the Stadio Olimpico holds the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...

Final. Being a football country, Italy has some all-time great players that have played for them. More players have won the coveted '' Ballon d'Or'' award while playing in

than any other league in the world, except

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

. Fabio Cannavaro played professional football from 1992 to 2011. He is among only one of three defenders to have been named FIFA's Player of the Year. Cannavaro won the award in 2006 which is the same year he also helped Italy reach the finals of the World Cup. Another one of Italy's all-time great football players was

Dino Zoff Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian national team in the 1982 tournament, at ...

. Zoff played goalie for Italy, and at 40 years old he became the oldest player to win the World Cup. Also, Dino holds the record for the longest time without giving up a goal at an international tournament with 1,142 minutes. His club play includes six Serie A titles. After retiring from playing football, Dino later became a coach. Another great Italian football player was Giuseppe Meazza. Meazza scored 33 goals in his 53 World Cup appearances. Meazza has the second most goals scored for Italy all time since he is only two goals behind Gigi Riva. Giuseppe won two World Cup's with Italy as well as winning three Serie A titles and one Coppa Italia title.

Basketball

Italy has a long and rich tradition in

( in Italian). The Italy men's national basketball team has qualified for 38

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the ...

tournaments, winning two gold medals ( 1983,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

), four silver medals ( 1937, 1946,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

, 1997), and four bronze medals (

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, 1985,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

) as achievements. While Italy has made nine trips to the World Cup, the closest they have come to winning a medal was in 1970 and 1978, where they finished fourth. In 12 attempts at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

, Italy has earned two silver medals, in 1980 and

. Currently, Italy is ranked 10th in the FIBA World Rankings. Italy women's national basketball team at the

European Women's Basketball Championship EuroBasket Women is a biennial international women's basketball competition held between the nations of FIBA Europe for women's national teams. EuroBasket Women is also used as a qualifying tournament for the FIBA Women's World Cup and also the ...

the Italian team won gold medal in 1938 and bronze medal in 1974. A total of 99 teams have competed in the

LBA LBA or lba may refer to: Science * Live blood analysis, the observation of live blood cells through a dark field microscope * Long branch attraction, an error in molecular phylogeny * Ligand binding assay, an assay whose procedure relies on the b ...

since its inception. Seventeen teams have been crowned champions, with Olimpia Milano having won the title a record 28 times, and Virtus Bologna 16 times. According to

FIBA Europe FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all 50 national European basketball federations. In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIBA Eur ...

's and

Euroleague Basketball Euroleague Basketball is the private company that runs and operates the top continental-wide basketball men's professional sports club competitions in Europe, the first-tier level EuroLeague, and the second-tier level EuroCup. It has been o ...

's national league coefficients, the LBA was the historically top ranked national domestic league in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, for the period 1958 to 2007. Today, the LBA is considered to be one of the top European national basketball leagues. Its clubs have won the most EuroLeague championships ( 13), the most

FIBA Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA ...

s ( 15), and the most FIBA Korać Cups ( 10). Famous Italian club teams include Olimpia Milano, Virtus Bologna, Pallacanestro Varese, Pallacanestro Cantù, Fortitudo Bologna, Victoria Libertas, Pallacanestro Treviso, Mens Sana 1871, Virtus Roma, Pallacanestro Trieste, JuveCaserta and Scaligera Verona.

Athletics

The governing body of Athletics (''atletica leggera'' in Italian) in Italy is

Italian Athletics Federation The Italian Athletics Federation (Italian: ''Federazione Italiana di Atletica Leggera'', FIDAL), is the governing body for athletics in Italy since 1906. The Italian Federation, founded on 21 October 1906, on initiative of ''La Gazzetta dello Sp ...

affiliated to European federation, the

European Athletic Association The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...

(EAA), international federation, the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

(IAAF) and Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), which in turn is a member of

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

(IOC). The Italy national athletics team represents Italy at the

international athletics competitions In the sport of athletics, international competitions between national teams can be distinguished into four main types: * Multi-sport events, commonly referred to as games, where athletics events form part of a wider sporting programme * World ch ...

such as

world athletics championships The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the ...

. Amongst the most famous Italian athletes, there's the sprinter Pietro Mennea (1952-2013) who held the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

world record (19:72) for 17 years from 1979 to 1996 and is still holder of the European record. Other notable Italian athletes are

Ugo Frigerio Ugo Frigerio (16 September 1901 – 7 July 1968) was an Italian race walker. He competed in four events at the 1920, 1924 and 1932 Olympics ranging from 3 to 50 km and won three gold and one bronze medals.Ondina Valla,

Adolfo Consolini Adolfo Consolini (5 January 1917 – 20 December 1969) was an Italian discus thrower. He competed at the 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1960 Olympics and finished in 1st, 2nd, 6th and 17 place, respectively. While winning the gold medal in 1948 he set an O ...

Pino Dordoni Giuseppe "Pino" Dordoni (28 June 1926 – 24 October 1998) was an Italian athlete who competed mainly in the 50 kilometre race walk. Biography He competed for Italy at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland, where he won the gol ...

Abdon Pamich Abdon Pamich (born 3 October 1933) is a former Italian race walker. He competed in the race walking event at the 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, and 1972 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1960 and a gold in 1964. Pamich was the Olympics flag bearer ...

, Livio Berruti, Sara Simeoni, Gabriella Dorio, Alberto Cova, Gelindo Bordin, Stefano Baldini, Maurizio Damilano, Dorando Pietri, Paola Pigni,

Luigi Beccali Luigi Beccali (19 November 1907 – 29 August 1990) was the first Italian to win an Olympic gold medal in running, in the 1500 metres at the 1932 Summer Olympics, and the first Italian to win a European Championship title in athletics. Biography ...

, Alessandro Andrei,

Gianmarco Tamberi Gianmarco Tamberi (born 1 June 1992) is an Italian high jumper, current Olympic champion (2020 Summer Olympics) and World indoor champion (2016). He won the 2021 Diamond League crown, becoming the first ever Italian to do so, and repeated this ...

and Marcell Jacobs.

Water sports

Federica Pellegrini - 2009 World Championships

* Swimming (''nuoto'' in Italian) is a popular sport in Italy. The Italian Swimming Federation, founded in 1899 is the principal Swimming Federation in

. It brings together more than 1200 clubs. The Italy national swimming team represents Italy in International swimming competitions such as

World swimming Championships The FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships are the World Championships for aquatics sports: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. They are run by World Aquatics, and all ...

. Notable Italian swimmers are

Novella Calligaris Novella Calligaris (born 27 December 1954) is a retired Italian swimmer, and the first Italian to win an Olympic medal in swimming. Her elder brother Mauro Calligaris was also an Olympic swimmer. Biography Aged 13 Calligaris competed at the 196 ...

, Giorgio Lamberti,

Domenico Fioravanti Domenico Fioravanti (born 31 May 1977) is a retired Italian competitive swimmer who won two gold medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Career Domenico Fioravanti was born at Novara, Piedmont. He started to swim competitively at the a ...

, Massimiliano Rosolino, Alessio Boggiatto, Federica Pellegrini,

Filippo Magnini Filippo Magnini (; born 2 February 1982) is an Italian retired competitive swimmer who was twice 100 metres freestyle World champion and three times European champion at that distance. Biography Magnini was born in Pesaro, Marche. As a yo ...

and Gregorio Paltrinieri. Rio 2016

* The Italy men's national water polo team represents

in men's international

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with t ...

(''pallanuoto'' in Italian) competitions. The national men's team has the nickname of ''Settebello'', a reference to both the Italian card game scopa and a standard water polo team having seven players. The Italian men's water polo team has won 8 Olympic medals, 7 World Championships, 5 World Cup, 11 European Championships medals and 3 World League medals, making them one of the most successful men's water polo teams in the world. They have won a combined twelve championships in those five competitions, with the World League, the last competition which Italy won in 2022. :The Italy women's national water polo team represents

in international

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

competitions and friendly matches. The team is one of the leading teams in

since the mid-1990s, claiming the title at the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

. The squad is nicknamed the ''Setterosa''. The '' Serie A1 di pallanuoto maschile'' is the premier division of the Italian

male national championship. First held in 1912, it is currently contested by twelve teams. Pro Recco is the Serie A1's most successful club with 32 titles since 1959, followed by CN Posillipo with eleven. *

Sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' ( sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' ( iceboat) or on ''land'' ( land yacht) over a chose ...

(''vela'' in Italian) and rowing (''canottaggio'' in Italian) are popular sport in Italy. Notable Italian sailors are Agostino Straulino and

Alessandra Sensini Alessandra Sensini (born 26 January 1970 in Grosseto) is an Italian windsurfing, windsurfer. She is a 4-time Olympian, winning a gold medal and three additional medals. She also won 3 gold, 2 silver medals and 1 bronze at World Championships, a ...

, while noteworthy Italian rower are Peppiniello Di Capua, Giuseppe Abbagnale, Carmine Abbagnale and Agostino Abbagnale. Barcolana41

* On the second Sunday of October in the Gulf of Trieste the

Barcolana The Barcolana (slo.: Barkovljanka) is a historic international sailing regatta organized by the yacht club Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. It takes place every year in the Gulf of Trieste on the second Sunday of October. The Barcolana is ...

is held: established in 1969, it is today the largest regatta in the world. The Barcolana became the Guinness World Record holder in February 2019 when it was named "the greatest sailing race" with its 2,689 boats and over 16,000 sailors on the starting line. The Barcolana is organized by the yacht club Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. Thanks to its particular formula, the Barcolana is a unique event on the international sailing stage: on the same starting line expert sailors and sailing lovers race side by side on boats of different sizes divided into several divisions according to their overall length. Still on the subject of

boat racing Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other w ...

, another noteworthy race is the

Regatta of the Historical Marine Republics The Regatta of the Historical Maritime Republics (or Palio of the Historical Maritime Republics) is a sporting event of historical re-enactment, established in 1955 with the aim of recalling the rivalry of the most famous Italian maritime republic ...

. The Regatta of the Historical

Maritime Republics The maritime republics ( it, repubbliche marinare), also called merchant republics ( it, repubbliche mercantili), were thalassocratic city-states of the Mediterranean Basin during the Middle Ages. Being a significant presence in Italy in the ...

is a sporting event of historical re-enactment, established in 1955 with the aim of recalling the rivalry of the most famous Italian maritime republics: those of Republic of Amalfi,

Republic of Pisa The Republic of Pisa ( it, Repubblica di Pisa) was an independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa, which existed from the 11th to the 15th century. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated ...

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the L ...

and

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

, during which four rowing crews representing each of the republics compete against each other. This event, held under the patronage of the President of Italy, takes place every year on a day between the end of May and the beginning of July, and is hosted in rotation between these cities. * In 1972,

synchronized swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...

(''nuoto sincronizzato'' in Italian) took hold in Italy, thanks to the commitment of a swimming teacher at the Lanciani swimming pool in Rome, who decided to let boys and girls try to train the alternating

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimme ...

, rhythmizing the movements. In 1976 the first synchronized swimming team was formed, the "clams", made up of seven girls and one boy. At the Italian swimming pools athletes and swimming teachers began to study and practice the discipline, teaching it and making the sport grow. * Towards the end of the 19th century the diving (''tuffi'' in Italian) also spread to Italy and in particular to Rome where the Ponte Milvio became an ideal place for acrobatics on the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...

. In Italy, the first national diving championship was held in 1900 in

, at

Bagni di Diana Bagni (Italian for "baths") may refer to: Places * Bagni, a ''frazione'' in Contursi Terme, Salerno, Italy * Bagni, a ''frazione'' in Nocera Umbra, Perugia, Italy * Bagni di Craveggia, a ''frazione'' in Craveggia, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Italy * Bag ...

. Notable Italian diver is

Klaus Dibiasi Klaus Dibiasi (born 6 October 1947) is a former diver from Italy, who competed in four consecutive Summer Olympics for his country, starting in 1964. He dominated the platform event from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, winning a total number of ...

, while noteworthy Italian free-diver is Enzo Maiorca. * Other popular water sports in Italy are

water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffici ...

(''sci nautico'' in Italian), surfing (''surf'' in Italian) and

water basketball Water basketball is a water sport, which mixes the rules of basketball and water polo, played in a swimming pool. Teams of five players each must shoot at the goal with a ball within a certain time after gaining possession. History In the Netherl ...

(''pallacanestro acquatica'' in Italian).

Cycling

Giro d'Italia 2017, dumoulin pozzovivo (34766910580)

Cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from tw ...

(''ciclismo'' in Italian) is a well-represented sport in Italy. Bicycle racing is a familiar sport in the country.

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = Flag of Italy, The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , ...

have won the World Cycling Championship more than any other country, except Belgium. The Giro d'Italia is a world-famous long-distance cycling race held every May, and constitutes one of the three Grand Tours, along with the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consist ...

and the Vuelta a España, each of which last approximately three weeks. The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1909, except during the two

world wars A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

. As the Giro gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened, and the peloton expanded from primarily Italian participation to riders from all over the world. The Giro is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour ...

s, with some additional teams invited as 'wild cards'. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the general classification and wears the pink jersey. Two of the five '

Monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

', the oldest and most prestigious one-day races on the cycling calendar, are located in Italy: Milan–San Remo, held in March, and Giro di Lombardia, held in September or October. The Milan–San Remo, also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between

and Sanremo, in

Northwest Italy Northwest Italy ( it, Italia nord-occidentale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency. Northwes ...

. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is the longest professional one-day race in modern cycling. It is the first major classic race of the season. The first edition was held in 1907. The Giro di Lombardia, officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy,

. It is traditionally the last of the five '

' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycling, and one of the last events on the UCI World Tour calendar. Nicknamed the ''Classica delle foglie morte'' ("the Classic of the falling (dead) leaves"), it is the most important Autumn Classic in cycling. The race's most famous climb is the Madonna del Ghisallo in the race finale. Because of its demanding course, the race is considered a '' climbers classic'', favouring climbers with a strong sprint finish. Some of the most successful Italian road cyclists have been Costante Girardengo, Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali,

Alfredo Binda Alfredo Binda (11 August 1902 – 19 July 1986) was an Italian road cyclist of the 1920s and 1930s. He was the first to win five editions of the Giro d'Italia, and a three-time world champion. In addition he won Milan–San Remo twice, and th ...

, Felice Gimondi, Fiorenzo Magni, Mario Cipollini, Francesco Moser, Marco Pantani, Moreno Argentin, Paolo Bettini, Michele Bartoli, Gianni Bugno, Alessandro Petacchi and

Vincenzo Nibali ), The Nibbler , birth_date = , birth_place = Messina, Sicily, Italy , height = , weight = , currentteam = , discipline = Road , role = Rider , ridertype = Climber , proyears1 = 2005 , proteam1 = , proyears2 = 2006–2012 , protea ...

Rugby union

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

(''rugby a 15'' in Italian) enjoys a good level of popularity, especially in the north of the country. From the 2010–11 season, Italy has had two teams in the Pro12, previously an all- Celtic competition, involving teams from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. To accommodate this move, the country's

National Championship of Excellence The Top10, known as the Peroni Top10 for sponsorship reasons, and formerly Top 12, is Italy's top level professional men's rugby union competition. The Top 10 is run by Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR) and is contested by 10 teams as of the 2019� ...

effectively became a semi-professional developmental competition. The two Pro12 sides took up Italy's existing places in the elite Europe-wide club competition, then known as the Heineken Cup and now as the European Rugby Champions Cup, and four ''Eccellenza'' sides compete in the second-tier European Rugby Challenge Cup. Italy's national team competes since 2000 in the Six Nations Championship, and is a regular at the

, despite having yet to pass the group stage. Italy are classed as a tier-one nation by

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

. Rugby union in Italy is governed by the

Italian Rugby Federation The Italian Rugby Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Rugby) or FIR is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Italy. The FIR has one seat on the 28-member World Rugby Council, the governing body of World Rugby. (All other members of ...

. Rugby was introduced into

in the early 1900s. It is also known as ''pallovale'' or ''palla ovale'' ("oval ball") within Italy. The governing body of Italian rugby union is the Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR). An original organisational committee was established in 1911, although it was in 1928 when the body became the FIR, and in 1987, it joined the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

. In 1934 the FIR became a founding member of the Federation Internationale de Rugby Amateur. Rugby union's traditional heartland consisted of the small country towns in the

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic e ...

, and other parts of

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative Regions ...

. One version says that Italian workers returning from France, particularly the south, introduced the game there, and gave it a significant rural/working class base, which still exists in towns such as Treviso and Rovigo. A demonstration game was also played in 1910, in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

between Racing Club Paris and Servette of

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

. The Top10, known as the ''Peroni Top10'' for sponsorship reasons, and formerly Top 12, is Italy's top level professional men's rugby union competition. The Top 10 is run by Italian Rugby Federation and is contested by 10 teams, following the Italian federation's decision to name Peroni as the official partner of the Top10 competition. Notable Italian players include

Ivan Francescato Ivan Francescato (10 February 1967 – 19 January 1999) was an Italian rugby union player. Francescato began his career in his native city, Treviso, like his five elder siblings before him, all of whom played the game at high levels; three (b ...

Paolo Vaccari Paolo Vaccari (born 17 January 1971) is an Italian former rugby union player. He was a versatile back: he used to play as Centre, Wing or Full-back. He is currently a sports manager. Biography Born and raised in Calvisano, Vaccari debuted with ...

, Carlo Checchinato,

Massimo Giovanelli Massimo Giovanelli (born 1 March 1967, in Noceto) is a former Italian rugby union player. He played as a flanker. He was one of the best Italian rugby players of his generation. Club career Giovanelli started his career at the local team of Rugby ...

, Mauro and

Mirco Bergamasco Mirco Bergamasco (born 23 February 1983) is an Italian rugby union and rugby league footballer. Bergamasco has played both rugby league and rugby union, and is a dual-code rugby international, having played for both the Italy national rugby unio ...

, and Sergio Parisse.

Tennis

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

has a significant following near courts and by television. Italian professional tennis players are always in the top 100 world's ranking of male and female players. The

Rome Masters The Italian Open ( it, Internazionali d'Italia; literally: ''Italy's Internationals''), originally called the Italian International Championships, is a tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is one of the most important clay tennis tournament ...

, founded in 1930, is one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world. Beach tennis with paddle racquet was invented by Italians, and is practiced by many people across the country. The four most successful Italian tennis players with regard to Grand Slam tournament results are Nicola Pietrangeli ( 1959 French Championships and

1960 French Championships The 1960 French Championships (now known as the French Open) was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 17 May until 29 May. It was the 64th staging of th ...

), Adriano Panatta ( 1976 French Open), Francesca Schiavone ( 2010 French Open) and Flavia Pennetta ( 2015 US Open). The Italy Davis Cup team won the

1976 Davis Cup The 1976 Davis Cup was the 65th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 58 teams would enter the competition, 32 in the Europe Zone, 14 in the Americas Zone, and 12 in the Eastern Zone. This ...

, and the Italy Fed Cup team won four times the Fed Cup in 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2013. Italian players such as Sara Errani, Flavia Pennetta, Roberta Vinci and Francesca Schiavone have entered the WTA Top 10 in their careers. Schiavone was the first Italian player to win a Grand Slam singles title, winning the 2010 French Open; she was later followed by Pennetta, who won the 2015 US Open. The doubles duo of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci have accomplished a Career Grand Slam in doubles, have been named ITF World Champions 3 years in a row (2012, 2013, 2014) and have ended every season since 2012 as World No. 1. Jannik Sinner is currently the top Italian player in the ATP rankings, while Camila Giorgi is currently the top Italian player in the

WTA rankings The WTA rankings are the ratings defined by the Women's Tennis Association, introduced in November 1975. Iga Świątek is the current world No. 1. Ranking method The WTA rankings are based on a rolling 52-week, cumulative system. A pla ...

Volleyball

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

(''pallavolo'' in Italian) is played by a lot of amateur players. The Italian Volleyball League and

Italian Women's Volleyball League The Italian Women's Volleyball League Serie A1 ( it, Serie A1 italiana di pallavolo femminile), is the highest women's volleyball league in Italy. It is organized and administrated by the Italian Volleyball Federation (FIPAV). It is considered one ...

are held since 1946. Modena Volley won 12 neb's titles, Volley Treviso nine, and

eight.

Teodora Pallavolo Ravenna Teodora ( sr, Теодора) is a feminine given name, a variation of the name Theodora. Notable people with the name include: *Teodora Sava (born 2001), Romanian singer *Teodora Albon (born 1977), Romanian football referee *Teodora Ginés, (15 ...

won 11 women's titles,

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes C ...

eight, and Audax Modena five. In the CEV Champions League, Modena and Treviso won four titles each, Porto Ravenna and Trentino Volley three, Parma two, and CUS Torino and Volley Lube one. In the CEV Women's Champions League,

won seven titles, Olimpia Teodora Ravenna

Sirio Perugia Pallavolo Sirio Perugia was an Italian women's volleyball club based in Perugia. The club had success at national and international level during the years it was active. Previous names Due to sponsorship, the club have competed under the follow ...

and

Matera Matera (, ; Materano: ) is a city in the region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. As the capital of the province of Matera, its original settlement lies in two canyons carved by the Gravina River. This area, the Sassi di Matera, is a com ...

two each, and

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

and Casalmaggiore won one each. The

Italy men's national volleyball team The Italy men's national volleyball team represents the country in international competitions and friendly matches. The national team is controlled by the Italian Volleyball Federation, the governing body for Volleyball in Italy. It is one of ...

is one of the most successful national teams in the history of volleyball, having won four World Championships ( 1990,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

and 2022), seven European Championships ( 1989,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

, 2005 and 2021), one World Cup (

) and eight World League ( 1990,

, 1992,

, 1997,

and

). The

Italy women's national volleyball team The Italy women's national volleyball team is governed by the Federazione Italiana Pallavolo (FIPAV). The team's biggest victories were the gold medal at the 2002 FIVB Women's World Championship, being the first team to break the domination of ...

won the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship once ( 2002), the Women's European Volleyball Championship three times (

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, 2009 and 2021) and the FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League once ( 2022). The Italian national teams have won both the 2021 Women's European Volleyball Championship and Men's European Volleyball Championship in the same year. This also makes them the only country to have won the

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

, Women's European Volleyball Championship and Men's European Volleyball Championship all in the same year. Italy featured a women's national team in beach volleyball that competed at the

2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup The 2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup were a beach volleyball double-gender event. Teams representing European countries were split into groups of four, where an elimination bracket determined the two teams to advance to the next stag ...

Winter sports

Alberto Tomba - Bormio, 1995 - Coppa del Mondo di sci alpino

Winter sports Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold a ...

(''sport invernali'' in Italian), are popular in Italy. Among them, Italians excel in

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreatio ...

(''sci di fondo'' in Italian), but also in luge (''slittino'' in Italian), with the two time Olympic gold medal winner

Armin Zoeggeler Armin (Armyn) is a given name or surname, and is: * An ancient Indo-European name: ** a German/Dutch given name, *** a modern form of the name Arminius (18/17 BC–AD 21), a German prince who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg F ...

. *

or ski (''sci'' in Italian) is a very popular sport in Italy, with more than 2,000,000 skiers, most of them in the northern regions near the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

and in the central provinces near the

Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

. Italian skiers have achieved good results in the Winter Olympic Games, World Cup, and World Championship, most notably Zeno Colò,

Gustavo Thoeni Gustavo is the Latinate form of a Germanic male given name with respective prevalence in Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. It has been a common name for Swedish monarchs since the reign of Gustav Vasa. It is derived from Gustav /ˈɡʊstɑːv ...

, who won 4 Overall World Cups between 1970 and 1975; Piero Gros, who was Overall World Cup champion in 1974, and Alberto Tomba who won the Overall World Cup in 1995. Tomba, Deborah Compagnoni, and Isolde Kostner received many medals in different editions of the Winter Olympic Games.

Giorgio Rocca Giorgio Rocca (born 6 August 1975) is an Italian former alpine skier, a specialist in slalom skiing. Together with Marc Girardelli, Ingemar Stenmark and Marcel Hirscher, he is one of four skiers to have won 5 Alpine Skiing World Cup slaloms in a ...

and

Manfred Mölgg Manfred Mölgg (born 3 June 1982) is an Italian former World Cup alpine ski racer. He specialized in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom. Mölgg's younger sister Manuela is also a former alpine racer with ten World Cup podiums. Bi ...

won the Slalom World Cup in 2006 and 2008 respectively, whilst Giuliano Razzoli was Olympic slalom champion in 2010. *

Cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreatio ...

(''sci di fondo'' in Italian) is popular in northern Italy, with athletes, who have won medals at the Winter Olympics, of the likes of Franco Nones,

Maurilio De Zolt Maurilio De Zolt (born 29 September 1950 in San Pietro di Cadore, Province of Belluno) is an Italian cross-country skier who competed internationally from 1977 to 1997. His best known victory was part of the 4 × 10 km relay team that upset ...

, Stefania Belmondo,

Marco Albarello Marco Albarello (born 31 May 1960) is an Italian cross-country skier who competed from 1982 to 2002. He was born in Aosta. His best known victory was part of the 4 × 10 km relay team that upset Norway at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lille ...

Giuseppe Pulie Giuseppe Pulie (born 26 December 1964) is a former Italian cross-country skier who competed from 1988 to 1996. He won a silver medal in the 4 × 10 km relay at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. Pulie's best finish at the Nordic skiing ...

Giorgio Vanzetta Giorgio Vanzetta (born 9 October 1959 in Cavalese) is an Italian former cross-country skier who competed from 1980 to 2002. His best known victory was part of the 4 × 10 km relay team that upset Norway at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lille ...

Silvio Fauner Silvio Fauner (born 1 November 1968 in San Pietro di Cadore, Province of Belluno) is an Italian former cross-country skier who competed from 1988 to 2006. His best known victory was part of the 4 × 10 km relay team that upset Norway at the ...

, Bice Vanzetta, Manuela Di Centa, Gabriella Paruzzi, Fulvio Valbusa, Fabio Maj,

Karin Moroder Karin Moroder (born 30 November 1974) is an Italian cross-country skier who has competed since 1994. Competing in three Winter Olympics, she won a bronze medal in the 4 × 5 km relay at Nagano in 1998. Moroder's best finish at the FIS Nord ...

, Pietro Piller Cottrer, Cristian Zorzi, Giorgio Di Centa,

Arianna Follis Arianna Fernanda Follis (born 11 November 1977, in Ivrea, Piedmont) is an Italian cross-country skier who started competing in 1995. Competing in two Winter Olympics, she earned a bronze medal in the 4 × 5 km relay at Turin in 2006. Fo ...

Antonella Confortola Antonella Confortola Wyatt (born 16 October 1975) is an Italian former cross-country skier and mountain runner. Biography Confortola was born in Cavalese. She is the granddaughter of Italian cross-country skier and Olympian Silvio Confortola. C ...

, Sabina Valbusa and Federico Pellegrino. * Alpinism (''alpinismo'' in Italian) is followed, because Italian alpinists wrote several pages of history in this sport. Italians Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli conquered first the summit of K2 (8611 m) in 1954, in the expedition led by the geologist Ardito Desio. Reinhold Messner was the first man in the world to reach the 14 summits, over 8,000 meters, and the first one to climb

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow ...

alone and without oxygen.

Cesare Maestri Cesare Maestri (2 October 1929 – 19 January 2021) was an Italian mountaineer and writer. He was born in Trento in the Italian province of Trentino. He began climbing in the Dolomites, where he repeated many famous routes, often climbing t ...

conquered the Cerro Torre in

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and ...

in 1959. Walter Bonatti is considered one of the best alpinists in Europe in 1950s, realizing some ascents considered impossible by the competitors. *

Figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympics, 1908 Olympics ...

(''pattinaggio di figura'' in Italian) is a popular sport and professional figure skaters often starring in events of exhibition. Notable Italina athlete in figure skating is Carolina Kostner. *

Bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Fe ...

(''bob'' in Italian) is very followed, because Italian bobsledder Eugenio Monti was the most successful athlete in the international history of this sport. * Luge (''slittino'' in Italian) is followed from its history, with Paul Hildgartner and

Gerda Weissensteiner Gerda Weissensteiner OMRI (born 3 January 1969) is an Italian luger and bobsleigh pilot who competed from the late 1980s to 2006. Competing in six Winter Olympics, she won the gold medal in the women's singles luge event at the 1994 Winter Ol ...

to the recent dominance of Armin Zöggeler.

Bodybuilding

In Italy, bodybuilding is at the 10th place in the ranking of most popular sports, even considering the high number of people who engage in body building gym, as amateur, just to keep fit themselves.

Combat sports

Combat sports are participated and followed sports. There are many national and international events every year. *

Fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

(''scherma'' in Italian) is a very successful sport and Italy is the most successful fencing country at the Olympics. Italy national fencing team represents

in International fencing competitions such as

or World Fencing Championships. The national Italian fencing team participated to all the

editions, from Paris 1900, 26 times on 28. Noteworthy fencers are Nedo Nadi, Giulio Gaudini, Edoardo Mangiarotti,

Giuseppe Delfino Giuseppe Delfino (22 November 1921 – 10 August 1999) was an Italian fencer and Olympic champion in épée competition. Biography He won a gold medal in the épée individual event at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.

Irene Camber Irene Camber or Irene Camber-Corno (born 12 February 1926) is an Italian fencer and Olympic champion in foil competition. Biography Camber was born in Trieste, Italy on 12 February 1926. She began to be interested in fencing at eight years-ol ...

, Mauro Numa, Giovanna Trillini and Valentina Vezzali. * Italy ranks 4th all-tiime in

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

(''boxe'' in Italian) at the Olympics. Notable Italian boxer are Primo Carnera, Nino Benvenuti, Bruno Arcari, Patrizio Oliva, Duilio Loi, Sandro Mazzinghi and Roberto Cammarelle. *

Kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, gen ...

is participated in Italy, both amateur and professionally. Notable Italian kickboxer are

Gery Bavetta Gery Bavetta (born January 2, 1988) is an Italian Thai boxer and kickboxer. He was Italian Amateur Kombat League Champion, Amateur Kombat League World Champion, and two-time Italian Professional Kombat League Champion. The World Boxing Council ...

, Alessandro Campagna,

Gabriele Casella Gabriele Casella (born 23 June 1994) is an Italian kickboxer. He is the former WAKO World Light Heavyweight champion, the former WMO World Light Heavyweight champion, and two time Italian national champion. Kickboxing and muay thai career Earl ...

Mathias Gallo Cassarino Mathias Gallo Cassarino (born 19 December 1992) also known as Mathias 7MuayThaigym (มาเทียส เซเว่นมวยไทย), is an Italian Muay Thai fighter. He is a former WPMF World and WBC International 135 lbs Champion, a ...

, Roberto Cocco, Mustapha Haida,

Gregorio Di Leo Gregorio Di Leo (born July 12, 1983 in Palermo, Italy) is an entrepreneur, psychologist and professional Italian Kickboxing World Champion in Points Fighting. He is the co-founder of Wyde, a leadership school based in Milan, Italy. Early life a ...

Armen Petrosyan Armen Petrosyan ( hy, Արմեն Պետրոսյան, born November 6, 1986) is an Armenian-born Italian kickboxer who competes in the middleweight division. An aggressive fighter, Petrosyan began training in Muay Thai after moving to Italy from ...

, Giorgio Petrosyan, Alessandro Riguccini, Mara Romero Borella, Annalisa Bucci, Silvia La Notte, Gloria Peritore,

Chantal Ughi Chantal Ughi (born 17 December 1981) is an Italian American female kickboxer, actress and multiple Muay Thai champion. Ughi started training Muay Thai in New York aged 20, and in January 2008 left her acting career in the United States to becom ...

Jleana Valentino Jleana Valentino (born 3 May 1988) is an Italians, Italian kickboxer and mixed martial artist. She is the current world champions of Shoot boxing, and European champion of Muay Thai. Biography On November 10, 2020 she participated in the Italian ...

Veronica Vernocchi Veronica Vernocchi (born ) is an Italian female Muay Thai fighter and Kickboxer artist, based in Genoa, Italy. Championships and awards Kickboxing * 2013 - WKA Kickboxing World Champion * 2013 - Championships Oktagon * 2012 - Championships Okta ...

, Martine Michieletto and Chiara Vincis. *

Karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

is participated in Italy, both amateur and professionally. Notable Italian karateka are Luigi Busà,

Mattia Busato Mattia Busato (born 2 February 1993) is an Italian karateka. He is a four-time bronze medalist at the World Karate Championships. He is also the gold medalist in the men's Karate kata, individual kata event at the 2014 European Karate Championshi ...

Angelo Crescenzo Angelo Crescenzo (born 5 August 1993) is an Italian karateka athlete who won a gold medal at the 2018 World Karate Championships. He competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Men's −67 kg. He won the gold medal in the men's 60kg event at the 2 ...

Luca Maresca Luca Maresca (born 28 December 1993) is an Italian karateka. He won the gold medal in the men's kumite 67 kg event at the 2019 European Games held in Minsk, Belarus. Four years earlier, he won the silver medal in the men's kumite 60kg event at ...

Simone Marino Simone Marino (born 8 December 1996) is an Italian karateka. He won the silver medal in the men's +84 kg event at the 2021 World Karate Championships held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In 2017, he won the gold medal in the men's +84 kg event a ...

, Michele Martina, Carlo Pedersoli Jr., Pino Presti,

Luca Valdesi Luca Valdesi (born 18 June 1976 in Palermo, Italy) is a Karate world champion in both Team and Individual Kata events. Valdesi began his study of Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art deve ...

Luigi Zoia Luigi Zoia (born January 21, 1948, in Milan) is a karateka, 6th-Dan karate master, and Italian entrepreneur. Sports career Zoia (the name is also spelled as "Zoja") is a traditional Italian karate sensei and has achieved the sixth dan black be ...

Sara Battaglia Sara Battaglia (born 30 April 1987) is a fashion designer and the founder of the Sara Battaglia fashion label. Career After graduating in Arts at the Brera Academy, the designer moved from Milan to Florence and then Paris, until she decided to ...

Viviana Bottaro Viviana Bottaro (born 2 September 1987) is an Italian karateka. She won one of the bronze medals in the women's kata event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Bottaro has also won numerous medals in the women's individual kata and wome ...

, Sara Cardin, Carola Casale,

Terryana D'Onofrio Terryana D'Onofrio (born 28 January 1997) is an Italian karateka. She is a four-time medalist at the World Karate Championships. She is a four-time gold medalist in the women's team kata event at the European Karate Championships. Career D' ...

Michela Pezzetti Michela Pezzetti (born 27 January 1991) is an Italian karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyua ...

and Silvia Semeraro. * Italy ranks 8th all-tiime in

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

at the Olympics. Notable Italian judoka winners of gold medals at the Olympics are Ezio Gamba,

Giuseppe Maddaloni Giuseppe Maddaloni (born 10 July 1976) is an Italian judoka. He was born in Naples. He won a gold medal in the lightweight (66–73 kg) division at the 2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVI ...

, Fabio Basile and

Giulia Quintavalle Giulia Quintavalle (born March 6, 1983, in Livorno) is an Italian judoka. She won the gold medal in the -57 kg weight class at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Palmarès ;Olympic Games *Gold 2008 Beijing *Gold Vienna 2010 (squadre) ;Mediterranean Gam ...

. * Notable Italian athlete in Greco-Roman wrestling (''lotta greco-romana'' in Italian) is Vincenzo Maenza.

Equestrian sports

Olympic disciplines, horse racing (''ippica'' in Italian), equestrian vaulting (''volteggio a cavallo'' in Italian), polo, and rodeo are participated and followed sports. There are many national and international events every year. Notable Italian equestrian are

Gian Giorgio Trissino Gian Giorgio Trissino (8 July 1478 – 8 December 1550), also called Giovan Giorgio Trissino and self-styled as Giovan Giωrgio Trissino, was a Venetian Renaissance humanist, poet, dramatist, diplomat, grammarian, linguist, and philosopher. ...

Piero D'Inzeo Colonel Piero D'Inzeo (4 March 1923 – 13 February 2014) was an Italian show jumping rider, winner of six medals at the Olympic Games, and an officer in the Italian cavalry. He was born in Rome. Biography With his younger brother Raimondo D'In ...

Raimondo D'Inzeo Raimondo D'Inzeo (8 February 1925 – 15 November 2013) was an Italian show jumping rider, an Olympic champion and double world champion. Together with his elder brother Piero D'Inzeo, he was the first athlete to compete in eight consecutive Ol ...

Graziano Mancinelli Graziano Mancinelli (18 February 1937 – 8 October 1992) was an Italian show jumping rider. Biography He competed at the 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1984 Olympics and won one gold and two bronze medals. He was initially banned from the 1964 O ...

and Mauro Checcoli. Hippodrome of San Siro ( it, Ippodromo di San Siro) is a horse racing venue in the city of

, which takes its name from the neighborhood of the same name in which it is located. Designed in 1913 to replace the then-used Trotter in Via Padova, the

Hippodrome The hippodrome ( el, ἱππόδρομος) was an ancient Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The term is used ...

of San Siro was inaugurated on 25 July 1920, with its construction work being slowed down due to the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. In 1999 a statue of '' Leonardo's horse'' was placed in the square in front of the racecourse. It is owned by Snaitech. Capannelle Racecourse ( it, Ippodromo delle Capannelle) is a horse racing venue in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The course was constructed in 1881, and it was rebuilt in 1926 to a design by Paolo Vietti-Violi. It was recently the venue of two Group 1 flat races – the Premio Lydia Tesio (downgraded to Group 2 in 2019) and the Premio Roma (downgraded to Group 2 in 2017). The track also stages the most valuable flat race in Italy, the

Derby Italiano The Derby Italiano is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Capannelle over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in ...

, which was downgraded to Group 2 status in 2009. The

Pferderennplatz Meran The Pferderennplatz Meran ( it, Ippodromo di Maia) is an Italian racecourse, located in the town of Meran, South Tyrol, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in Italy, hosting the annual ''Grosser Preis von Mera ...

( it, Ippodromo di Maia) is an Italian racecourse, located in the town of

Meran Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier ...

, South Tyrol, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in Italy, hosting the annual ''

Grosser Preis von Meran The Gran Premio Merano (german: Großer Preis von Meran) is an annual horse racing event which takes place in September in Pferderennplatz Meran, Meran/Merano, Italy. First run in 1935, it quickly became Italy's most prestigious and valuable steep ...

'' (Grand Prix of Meran). As Meran grew in importance as a

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneothe ...

town due to the visits by

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria (24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898) was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898. Elisabeth wa ...

and the aristocracy, the need to have organised horse races grew. In 1896, the first horse race took place and in 1900 a permanent racecourse established, which featured flat, steeplechase, and trotting races.

Baseball

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

is a growing, minor sport in Italy. Introduced to Italy by American servicemen during World War II, professional baseball leagues were not established until after the war. The Italy national baseball team is traditionally ranked as the second best team in Europe, behind the

Dutch national team Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

. Italy's performance during the Olympics has been consistently high for a European team, but is noted for its reliance on American and Latino players of Italian descent. The highest level of play in Italy today is considered to be on par with Class A ball in the United States. The Italian Baseball League is the highest level of professional baseball in Italy.

Cricket

The

Italy national cricket team The Italy national cricket team is the men's team that represents the country of Italy in international cricket. They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1995, having previously been an affiliate m ...

is the team that represents the country of Italy in international cricket matches. They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1995, having previously been an affiliate member since 1984. The team is administered by the

Federazione Cricket Italiana Italian Cricket Federation ( it, Federazione Cricket Italiana) is the governing body for the sport of cricket within Italy. They are responsible, with assistance from the European Cricket Council, for the development and administration of the gam ...

(Italian Cricket Federation). They are currently ranked 25th in the world by the ICC, and are ranked fifth amongst European non-Test teams. The Italy national cricket team has won several European Cricket tournaments, and the popularity of

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

is rising. All the Italian cricketers are home grown cricketers, and they had a well off position in the recent European Indoor Cricket Tournament and the European Cricket Championship. They recently participated in the ICC World Cricket League Division 4.

Handball

The

is the name of the highest level handball (''pallamano'' in Italian) league of

. Pallamano Trieste is the championship's most successful club with seventeen titles. The Serie A1 is the premier division of the Italian women's handball national league. Established in 1970, it is currently contested by 13 clubs.

PF Cassano Magnago Cassano Magnago Handball Club is an Italian handball club from Cassano Magnago established in 1974. It is best known for its women's team, which played in the Serie A1 between 1982 and 2002, and dominated the competition for a decade, winning a ...

is the championship's most successful club with eleven titles in a row between 1986 and 1996, while Jomi Salerno has been the most successful team in the 21st century so far with seven titles between 2004 and 2019.

Ice hockey

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

(''hockey su ghiaccio'' in Italian) is popular mainly in the

. The Italy men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Italy, and is controlled by the

Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio The Italian Ice Sports Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio; FISG), is the governing body for ice sports in Italy. It was founded in September 1926 to promote the practice of winter sports on ice and to coordinate events. The ...

(FISG), a member of the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland, and ...

. Italy men's national ice hockey team ranks 17th in the

IIHF World Ranking The IIHF World Ranking is a ranking of the performance of the national ice hockey teams of member countries of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It is based on a formula giving points for each team's placings at IIHF-sanctioned tour ...

(2022). Italian Hockey League - Serie A, formerly known as ''Serie A'', is the top tier of professional ice hockey in

, which first began play in 1925. They are conducted under the authority of the

(FISG). The league initially merged with the Inter-National League to become the Alps Hockey League in 2016. Italian teams in the Alps Hockey League also compete in the Italian Hockey League - Serie A. The league was known as ''Elite.A'' during the 2013–14 season, and as ''Italian Hockey League - Elite'' during the 2017-2018 season.

Futsal

The Italy national futsal team represents

in international

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is t ...

(''calcetto'' in Italian) competitions such as the

FIFA Futsal World Cup The FIFA Futsal World Cup is an international futsal competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport's global governing body. Since the first edition that took place in 1989 in the Netherla ...

and the European Championships and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation. It is one of the strongest teams in

, champions in the

2003 UEFA Futsal Championship The 2003 UEFA Futsal Championship was the fourth official edition of the UEFA-governed European Championship for national futsal teams. It was held in Italy, between 17 February and 24 February 2003, in two venues located in Aversa & Caserta. Qu ...

and UEFA Futsal Euro 2014. The Italy national futsal team has appeared in the final match of the

once (

) as well as two third/fourth place playoffs.

Motorsports

Motorsports (''sport motoristici'' in Italian) in Italy have an important tradition and are very popular. Autodromo Nazionale Monza, April 22, 2018 SkySat (cropped)

Autodromo Nazionale Monza, April 22, 2018 SkySat (cropped)

* Well-known racetracks include the

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label= Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of M ...

and Imola (dedicated to Enzo Ferrari and his eldest son

Dino Dino may refer to: Prefix * dino-, a common prefix in taxonomy, meaning "terrible", "formidable" **Dinosaur People * Dino (given name), a masculine given name and a nickname * Dino (surname), a surname found in Albania and Turkey * Diño, a surn ...

), the Mugello and Misano Adriatico circuit (dedicated to the motorcycle driver Marco Simoncelli). The Monza Circuit ( it, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, , National Motor Racetrack of Monza) is a historic racetrack near the city of

, north of

. Built in 1922 in the Royal Villa of Monza park in a woodland setting, the site has three tracks – the

track, the Junior track, and a high speed oval track with steep bankings which was left unused for decades and had been decaying until it was restored in the 2010s. The circuit's biggest event is the Italian Grand Prix. With the exception of the 1980 running, the race has been hosted there since 1949. The Italian Grand Prix of

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

is the fifth oldest surviving Grand Prix, having been held since 1921. It is also one of the two Grand Prix present in every championship since the first one in 1950. In addition to Formula One, the circuit previously hosted the 1000 km Monza, an endurance sports car race held as part of the World Sportscar Championship and the Le Mans Series. Monza also featured the unique Race of Two Worlds events, which attempted to run Formula One and

USAC National Championship From 1956 to 1978, USAC Championship Car seasons featured the top teams and drivers in U.S. open-wheel racing. Until 1971, the Championship contained road courses, ovals, dirt courses, and, on occasion, a hill climb. Thereafter, the schedule ...

cars against each other. The racetrack also previously held rounds of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing ( Italian motorcycle Grand Prix), WTCC, TCR International Series, Superbike World Championship, Formula Renault 3.5 Series and Auto GP. Monza currently hosts rounds of the

Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by SRO Motorsports Gr ...

, International GT Open and Euroformula Open Championship, as well as various local championships such as the TCR Italian Series, Italian GT Championship, Porsche Carrera Cup Italia,

Italian F4 Championship Italian Formula 4 Championship is the first formula racing series regulated according to FIA Formula 4 regulations. The inaugural season was the 2014 Italian F4 Championship, effectively replacing the Formula Abarth. History Gerhard Berger a ...

, and the Monza Rally Show. Michael Schumacher 2006 USA 2

* In

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primaril ...

(''automobilismo'' in Italian) in Italy is extremely popular, from

to endurance racing to rallies. In speed, from the first races of the 20th century,

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...

, Maserati (the only Italian manufacturer to win the Indianapolis 500 twice), Ferrari, Abarth and Lancia, have won in the most important races ( Targa Florio, Rally of Italy,

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before Worl ...

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

, Nürburgring 24 Hours, Carrera Panamericana) and won world and continental titles in all categories. The Italian driver Giuseppe Farina, in his

, won the first Formula One World Driver Championship in . Italian Scuderia Ferrari is the oldest surviving team in

racing, having competed since 1948, and statistically the most successful Formula One team in history. :

team Ferrari has had great success over the many years as they have competed in the sport since 1950, when the sport first started. They have won 16 constructors' championships and 15 drivers' championships. This team is also the most successful engine manufacturer in the sport as far as wins, fastest laps and podiums are concerned. Their World Champions are Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, John Surtees, Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter, Michael Schumacher and Kimi Räikkönen. The other Italian team in F1,

Scuderia AlphaTauri Scuderia AlphaTauri, or simply AlphaTauri, is an Italian Formula One racing team and constructor. It is one of two Formula One constructors owned by Austrian beverage company Red Bull, the other being Red Bull Racing. The constructor was rebra ...

have two wins in the sport. :In road racing, the Targa Florio, the

and the Coppa Acerbo are among the oldest and most famous Italian races. In rallies, Lancia (with the Fulvia HF,

Stratos Stratos may refer to: People As surname *Andreas Stratos (1905–1981), Greek politician and historian *Demetrio Stratos (1945–1979), Italian vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and music researcher *Nikolaos Stratos (1872–1922), Greek politicia ...

037 37 may refer to: * 37 (number), the natural number following 36 and preceding 38 Years * 37 BC * AD 37 * 1937 * 2037 Other uses * ''37'' (album), by King Never, 2013 * ''37'' (film), a 2016 film about the murder of Kitty Genovese * 37 (MBTA b ...

and Delta) and

( 124 spyder, 131-Abarth), boast numerous world titles, manufacturers and drivers (

Sandro Munari Sandro Munari (born 27 March 1940), also nicknamed 'Il Drago' (The Dragon) is a former motor racing and rally driver from Italy. Career Sandro Munari was born in Cavarzere, in the Veneto region. He began rallying in 1965 and won the Italian Rally ...

, Miki Biasion, Alessandro Fiorio,

Alessandro Fassina Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baric ...

), and titles continental. 20 Centennial Classic TT Assen 2010

* In motorcycling (''motociclismo'' in Italian), the great champions of the past, such as Umberto Masetti, Carlo Ubbiali, Tarquinio Provini and Giacomo Agostini, the most successful rider in the history of the World Championship, (15 times world champion in the 350 and 500 cc classes with 10 victories at the Tourist Trophy). :They are followed by the champions of the present, Max Biaggi, Loris Capirossi, and in particular Valentino Rossi, who has won 89 Grands Prix and 9 World Championships, being the only motorcycle racer to have won their world titles in 4 classes: one each in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc, and six in the MotoGP. The Bianchi,

Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...

Beta Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; grc, βῆτα, bē̂ta or ell, βήτα, víta) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Modern Greek, it represents the voiced labi ...

, Cagiva,

Gilera Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera (1887–1971). In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio. History In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine. It was, at t ...

, Guzzi,

MV Agusta MV Agusta (, full name: MV AGUSTA Motor S.p.A., original name: Meccanica Verghera Agusta or MV) is a motorcycle manufacturer founded by Count Domenico Agusta on 19 January 1945 as one of the branches of the Agusta aircraft company near Milan in ...

TM Racing TM or Tm and variants may refer to: * Trademark, often indicated with the symbol ™ ** Trademark symbol Businesses and organizations * TM Forum, telecommunications and entertainment industry association * TM Supermarket, a chain of supermarkets ...

, Benelli e Ducati brands have won the most prestigious races and won world championships in all categories. :

Tony Cairoli Antonio "Tony" Cairoli (born 23 September 1985) is an Italian professional motocross racer. He has competed in the Motocross World Championships since 2002. Cairoli is notable for winning nine FIM motocross world championships, second only to ten ...

is the most titled Italian in Motocross, while in the women's category (WMX) Kiara Fontanesi is the most titled in the world, with six championships won, four of which were in a row. GCWC

* Powerboating (''motonautica'' in Italian) has a long history linked to the Italian country. With the founding of the Italian Motorboat Federation in 1923, whose president was Prince Ferdinando, Duke of Genoa, this sport immediately attracted prominent personalities of the time with frequenters of the first major events including

Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi (; 25 April 187420 July 1937) was an Italian inventor and electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based wireless telegraph system. This led to Marconi b ...

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

and Gabriele D'Annunzio. This sport in Italy has grown in particular from the 1970s onwards and counts Angelo Moratti and subsequently Massimo Moratti among the presidents of its federation. In 1929 the Pavia-Venice Raid was born, the longest powerboat race in the world at the time. In the 1930s, Gabbriele D'Annunzio offered the Oltranza Cup for the Gardone Riviera races. The main centers of the Italian Power Force settled in the Lombardy area and in particular in

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps has m ...

. :

Renato Molinari Renato Molinari (born 27 February 1946 in Nesso) is an Italian powerboat racer, and the inaugural winner of the John Player Special F1 Powerboat World Championship in 1981, and won titles again in 1983 and 1984. In addition to this success, Molina ...

is one of the greatest in Italian powerboating, a driver with exceptional skills, multiple world champion in Formula 1 and in many other international categories. More recently, Guido Cappellini is a champion who, in the most important international class, Formula 1, has won more world championships than anyone else in history. In modern powerboating, Alex Carella (four-time world champion) and Francesco Cantando race among the top ranks. In addition to the motorboat Formula 1, the

Aquabike World Championship The UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship is a powerboating sports competition. The UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship is the premier class of jetski racing, founded in 1992. Aquabike jetskis are personal watercraft vehicles purpose-built for raci ...

(jet ski) was held in the waters of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Lombardy, Puglia and

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, af ...

Golf

Golf is played by over 90,000 registered players as of 2021. There are several male and female professional players, with notable current players including Costantino Rocca, the brothers Edoardo Molinari, Edoardo, and Francesco Molinari, and Matteo Manassero. The most important tournament is the Italian Open (golf), Italian Open. The Molinari brothers won the World Cup (men's golf), World Cup of Golf in 2009 Omega Mission Hills World Cup, 2009.

American football

Italian Football League (IFL) is the top level American football (''football americano'' in Italian) league in

established in 1980. The final that awards the ''scudetto'' is called Italian Bowl. Italian teams that have won the Eurobowl have been Legnano Frogs (1989) and Bergamo Lions (2000, 2001 and 2002). The Italy national American football team, nicknamed the ''Blue Team'' is the national American football team for Italy. They have been successful, having won the European Championship of American football, European championship three times, and been runner up three times. They won the 2021 IFAF European Championship, its third European title, having also won in 1983 and 1985. The best result at the IFAF World Championship was 4th place at the 1999 IFAF World Championship.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics (''ginnastica'' in Italian) is a popular sport in Italy. On 17 March 1844, the Royal Gymnastics Society of

, the oldest sports club in Italy, was established by the Swiss gymnast Rudolf Obermann, called to Italy by King Charles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia. On 15 March 1869, the Italian Gymnastics Federation was founded in Venice, the first sports federation in the history of Italy. At the turn of the millennium, Italy showed a growing quality in the discipline, with Susanna Marchesi finishing 9th at the Individual All Around competition, as well as the team winning 6th place in the 2000 Summer Olympics. Italy won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and came in at 4th place at the 2008 Summer Olympics. They also collected a string of medals throughout the 2005–2008 Olympic cycle. At the 2009 Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship in Mie, Ōita, Mie, Japan, the team soared to first place, winning the gold medal and becoming the new queens, a feat they achieved again at the 2010 Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship in Moscow. The celebration of Italian gymnastics is because they are among the best squads in the world, facing competitions against the Eastern European block of nations: Belarus, Russia, and Bulgaria. Vanessa Ferrari was multiple world and European champion of artistic gymnastics.

Rugby league

Rugby league (''rugby a 13'' in Italian) was established prior to the 1950s, and the Italy national rugby league team plays in various international competitions. The Italy national team were victorious in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying tournament. They will therefore contest their first Rugby League World Cup in 2013 Rugby League World Cup, 2013. Italy has also participated in the 2009 European Cup and the 2000 Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament. Federazione Italiana Rugby League (FIRL) is the governing body for rugby league in Italy and has "associate member" status with the Rugby League European Federation. The Italian Rugby League Championship is an amateur rugby league competition called the r-Evolution League that began in 2010. There are three conferences, north, central and south.

Lacrosse

Although lacrosse tournaments and competitions have been held in Italy since 2002, the first official edition of the championship dates back to the 2009-2010 season. The most successful team is the Pellicani Bocconi of

. Lacrosse in Italy is governed by the Italian Lacrosse Federation, which was founded in 2007. The Italy national lacrosse team has qualified for the World Lacrosse Championship four consequtive times (2006-2018). At the most recent event (2018 World Lacrosse Championship, 2018), it finished 16th out of 46.

Floorball

The Italian Floorball Championship is divided into two different leagues, ''Campo Grande'' ("great field"), which takes place in a field of x , and ''Campo Piccolo'' ("small field"), which takes place in a field of x . In the 2020 Men's World Floorball Championships the Italy men's national floorball team did not pass the qualifications and did not pass to the final stage of the tournament. In 2022 it holds the 33th position in the IFF World Ranking.

Traditional sports

Several traditional team ball sports, called ''sferistici'' in Italian language, are played in sphaeristerium, or ''sferisterio'' in Italian language, so also in open playing fields since 1555 and when Antonio Scaino from Salò regulated pallone col bracciale. There are many modalities of these sports: pallone col bracciale, pallapugno, pallapugno leggera, palla elastica, Palla (game), palla, and tamburello. Professional players compete in the national circuit of tournaments and international championships. * The traditional sport of ''bocce'' is a popular sport and pastime. ''Bocce'' is a Ball sports, ball sport belonging to the boules family. Developed into its present form in

, it is closely related to British bowls and French , with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. Bocce is played around western, southern and southeastern

, as well as in overseas areas with historical Italian diaspora, Italian immigrant population, including Australia, North America, and South America, principally Argentina and the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Initially played just by the Italian immigrants, the game has slowly become more popular with their descendants and more broadly. * Cue sports are played on traditional billiard table in many forms: five-pins, goriziana (nine pins), and boccette. There are almost 6,000,000 amateur players and professional players who compete in national circuit of tournaments and international championships. * Palio or annual athletic contest is followed very much, because every ''comune'' celebrates ancient events in these competitions. The most famous in the world is Palio di Siena. The first Palio di Siena took place in 1633. Ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the appropriate colours, represent ten of the seventeen ''Contrade of Siena, contrade'' of Siena, or city wards. The Corteo Storico of Siena, a Medieval pageant, pageant to the sound of the March of the Palio, precedes the race, which attracts visitors and spectators from around the world. :The Palio di Asti is a traditional Italian festival of medieval origin that culminates with a bareback horse race. The race has been run each year since the 13th century. The earliest record, cited by Guglielmo Ventura, dates from the third quarter of the 13th century. It has taken place every year, with the exception of a period in the 1870s and a 30 year interruption in the 20th century. Since 1988, the race has taken place in a triangular 'square' in the center of Asti, the ''Piazza Alfieri''. Corsa ippica - Palio di Legnano 2014

:The Palio di Legnano is a traditional Italian festival held in the City Of Legnano,

, to recall the Battle of Legnano held on 29 May 1176 by the Lombard League and the Holy Roman Empire of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa.Il Palio di Legnano
This Palio is composed by a medieval pageant and a horse race. Legnano is subdivided into Contrade of Legnano, eight ''contrade'', each of which takes part both in the medieval pageant and in the horse race held at the stadio Giovanni Mari. This is considered one of the most important non-competitive events of this type in Italy. In 2003 the historic pageant was shown at the Columbus Day in New York City. :The Palio of Ferrara is a competition among the 8 neighborhoods (''contrade'') of the town of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna,

. Four of these neighborhoods correspond to four wards located inside the medieval town fortifications. The remaining four correspond to external boroughs. After a long interruption the tradition was briefly reenacted in 1933, stopped again during World War II and eventually restarted in 1967. :The Palio di Parma is a festival that is held once a year in the northern Italian town of Parma, and traces back to the ancient "Scarlet Run"". The origin of this festival can be reconducted to 1314 as reported by Giovanni Del Giudice in the ''Chronicon Parmense''. The festival was held every year on 15 August, from the 14th century to Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars, Napoleon's arrival in the 19th century. Starting from 1978 the competition was brought to a new life. *''Calcio Fiorentino'' (also referred to as calcio storico "historic football") is an early form of football (soccer and Rugby football, rugby) that originated during the Middle Ages in

. Once widely played, the sport is thought to have started in the ''Piazza Santa Croce'' in

. There it became known as the ''giuoco del calcio fiorentino'' ("Florentine kick game") or simply ''calcio'', which is now also the name for association football in the Italian language. The game may have started as a revival of the Roman sport of harpastum. This traditional sporting event attracts tourists from all over the world. * Saracen Joust of Arezzo is an ancient game of chivalry. It dates back to the Middle Ages. It was born as an exercise for military training. This tournament was regularly held in Arezzo between the 16th century and the end of the 17th century, when memorable jousting, jousts in baroque style were organized. The joust – which became a typical tradition of Arezzo at the beginning of the 17th century – declined progressively during the 18th century and eventually disappeared, at least in its "noble" version. After a brief popular revival between the 18th and 19th century, the joust was interrupted after 1810 to reappear only in 1904 in the wake of the Middle Ages reappraisal operated by Romanticism. Finally, the joust was definitely restored in 1931 as a form of historical re-enactment set in the 14th century, and quickly acquired a competitive character. Saracen Joust attracts tourists from all over the world. * The Giostra della Quintana was a historical jousting tournament in Foligno, central Italy. It was revived as a modern festival in 1946. The tournament event takes place in June (1st Challenge) during a Saturday night and September (the counter-challenge) the 2nd or 3rd Sunday of September, and is proceeded each time by a festival with a 17th-century costumed parade. The definition of Quintana comes from the 5th road of the Roman military camps, where the soldiers were trained in lance fighting. This is the origin of the tournament's name, but the first definition and documented "Quintana" as a knights' jousting tournament during a festival, dates back to 1448. In 1613 the build-up to the Quintana tournament included the carnival festivals we see today. Giostra della Quintana attracts tourists from all over the world.

Italy at the Olympics

Giancarlo Peris lighting 1960 Olympic flame

Historically, Italy has been successful in the

, taking part from the first Olympiad and in 47 Games out of 48, not having officially participated in the

. Italy has hosted the Games on four occasions: * 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo. * 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. * 2006 Winter Olympics in

. * 2026 Winter Olympics in

and Cortina d'Ampezzo. As 2022, Italian athletes have a cache of 618 medals at Summer Olympic Games, and a cache of 141 medals at

. Italy has won a total of 259 gold medals which makes them the 6th most successful country in Olympic history, after the United States of America at the Olympics, USA, the Soviet Union at the Olympics, Soviet Union, Germany at the Olympics, Germany, Great Britain at the Olympics, Great Britain and France at the Olympics, France. Italy has the sixth highest medal total of all time with 759. Italy has the third longest medaling streak after Sweden and Finland. Italy has medaled in 40 straight Olympic games, starting with the 1936 Summer Olympics. Italy had finished the Summer Olympic Games: 2nd in Italy at the 1932 Summer Olympics, 1932, 3rd in Italy at the 1960 Summer Olympics, 1960, 4th in Italy at the 1936 Summer Olympics, 1936, and 5th in Italy at the 1924 Summer Olympics, 1924, Italy at the 1928 Summer Olympics, 1928, Italy at the 1948 Summer Olympics, 1948, Italy at the 1952 Summer Olympics, 1952, Italy at the 1956 Summer Olympics, 1956, Italy at the 1964 Summer Olympics, 1964, Italy at the 1980 Summer Olympics, 1980 and Italy at the 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984. In the Winter Olympic Games, Italy has finished 4th in Italy at the 1968 Winter Olympics, 1968 and Italy at the 1994 Winter Olympics, 1994, and 6th in Italy at the 1952 Winter Olympics, 1952 and Italy at the 1992 Winter Olympics, 1992. Italy ranks 1st all-time in fencing, 2nd in cycling, 3rd in luge, 4th in boxing and shooting, 5th in alpine skiing, and 6th in bobsled, cross-country skiing and short track speed skating. The Italian National Olympic Committee ( it, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, CONI) was created in 1914 and recognized in 1915. Within Italy, CONI recognizes 44 national sports federations, 19 associate sports disciplines, 15 promotional sports organizations, and 19 organizations for the betterment of sports. In total 95,000 sports clubs with 11,000,000 members are recognized. Its 2016 annual budget is 412,900,000 euros which is primarily funded by the Italian government.

Walk of Fame of Italian sport

The Walk of Fame of Italian sport is the Walk of Fame of the Italian sport, inaugurated by Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) on 7 May 2015. It is a list of 125 Italian all-time champions, which has been implemented on five occasions (five new entries in 2015, 2016 and 2021, seven in 2018, three in 2019), from the initial 100 names. The Walk of Fame of Italian sport is a road path in

with plaques dedicated to former Italian sports athletes who have distinguished themselves internationally. It runs between the Avenue of the Olympics and the Stadio Olimpico in the Olympic Park of the Foro Italico of the capital.

References

External links

Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI)
* {{Sport in Europe Sport in Italy,

Participation by sport

Sports

Football

Basketball

Athletics

Water sports

Cycling

Rugby union

Tennis

Volleyball

Winter sports

Bodybuilding

Combat sports

Equestrian sports

Baseball

Cricket

Handball

Ice hockey

Futsal

Motorsports

Golf

American football

Gymnastics

Rugby league

Lacrosse

Floorball

Traditional sports

Italy at the Olympics

Walk of Fame of Italian sport

See also

References

Further reading

External links