From the triumphs of the 1930s to the European title in 1968, from the success in Madrid 1982 to the fourth World Cup in 2006. Such a place exists where the emotions that the Italian team, which turned 110 on 15 May, have transmitted to millions of fans over the years are portrayed through objects from its history: that place is the Museum of Football, based in Florence next to Coverciano. And today, we celebrate its twentieth anniversary.

Gabriel Gravina, the FIGC’s President, stated that “The Museum of Football is a place of heritage for Italian sport, a place that holds an extraordinary collection of memorabilia that makes it one of the major museums in Europe of its kind. Original and unique objects that arouse memories and contribute to the culture of our country are preserved with care here. Football is a game that’s had a far-reaching impact throughout history and thanks to this Museum we have had an opportunity to gather memories of the national team in one place for twenty years now.”

From Silvio Piola’s shirt from his debut in 1935, which was embroidered by his mother, to Giacinto Facchetti’s kit from 1968; there are over 800 pieces of memorabilia on display that retrace the Azzurri’s 110-year-long history, which is intertwined with the History of Italy.

The museum’s journey began after the 1990 World Cup in Italy when the then Director of the Coverciano Training Centre and current President of the Football Museum Foundation, Fino Fini, came up with the idea of building a place that could preserve the Italian national team’s history.

The FIGC’s vice-president, Matteo Marani, said: “The twentieth anniversary of the Museum of Football marks a prestigious goal and confirms how much this place of culture and footballing history has become a fixed point for the FIGC and thousands of visitors over time.”

Inaugurated on 22 May 2000, the Museum of Football represents the memory and culture of sport; it’s a place that, thanks to the projects carried out by the Foundation and the FIGC, promotes the values of sport, especially for young people, through educational initiatives dedicated to schools.

The Museum of Football represents a desire to preserve the past and enrich the memory, but also to look towards the future and innovate thanks to its new digital archive (click here) which has catalogued more than 800 relics.

Marani concluded that “The Museum of Football will become increasingly interactive, multimedia and aimed at young people and schools, all the while continuing the path set out by its founder Fino Fini years ago. It’s a museum for all, offered in several languages, that is ready to unite its beautiful history with a modern vision of how to produce culture, history and identity.”

 

The articles in this photo from top to bottom: a view of the Museum of Football from the outside, the 1982 World Champions’ shirts, Carlo Parola’s kit (1950) with the black armband to mourn the Superga disaster (the Azzurri wore this for a whole year after 4 May 1949), finally the shirt which Carolina Morace wore in the 1997 European Championship (the Azzurre came second, just as they did in ’93, which is their best ever result and Morace was awarded best player).