Palla eh!

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Palla eh! (also called Palla 21 = "Ball 21") is a team ball game widespread in southern Tuscany . It goes back to ancient roots, is similar to the French Jeu de Paume and is therefore seen by some players as the forerunner of tennis , with which it shares the counting system and has some other parallels. It has other features in common with the fistball .

It takes its name from the regular loud exclamation of the players when striking (Eh!) .

history

Game scene from Vetulonia (2001)

Around 1300 the game was first recorded in Ciciano , a district (frazione) of the municipality of Chiusdino (province of Siena ). For a long time, the locals were convinced that they were the creators of this game, until it turned out that there were presumed precursors (Follis , Pila Trigonalis , Pila Paganica , Harpastum ) , whose exact rules are no longer comprehensible, and that variants of the game, for which the same roots are assumed, occur today in other European countries (France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Denmark).

One of these lines of development presumably leads to Jeu de Paume and tennis, others to fistball.

Palla eh! in the narrower sense, d. H. According to the rules of Ciciano, except at the place of origin, only a few places in Tuscany in the provinces of Siena and Grosseto play:

Still active today

Today six locations are still taking part in the tournament. A tournament takes place in each location.

Active into the 20th century

The game today

It is a game in which two teams of 3–5 players compete against each other. It takes place on the open road, with the playing field (usually a traffic-calmed sloping alley in a borgo ) being marked in advance. The players are distributed anywhere on the field.

The aim is to move the ball (lead core with leather cover, approx. 35–40 g in weight) from one end of the marked field to the other. It must be passed alternately by one player from one team and the other with the open hand; between these passes he may hit the ground once. If a mistake happens, points are awarded to the opposing team and may serve them again.

It is counted as in tennis: 15-30-40 advantage game win set win. Sometimes 7-14-21 is also counted (hence: Palla 21 ). A set consists of three games; if a team has already won 2 games, the set is decided. Three sets are played for a match; if the first two are won by the same team, it is decided.

The direction is changed after each game (the alley is played alternately uphill and downhill).

Errors ( fallo = points to the opposite side + new serve) occur in the following processes:

  • The ball hits the earth twice.
  • The ball is played twice in a row by a player from the same team.
  • Hit out.
  • Touching the ball with parts of the body other than the palm of the hand or with both hands, even if accidentally.
  • Incorrect serve.

The service ( il mando ) can come from the lower end of the field or from the side, but only at the very end of a game, under certain circumstances, from the upper end of the field. The ball is thrown into the air by the thrower and thrown into the field with the flat of the hand. He may only hit the ground once within the playing field. The throw-in may only run back into the field after the service.

literature

  • Malcolm Douglass Whitman : Tennis Origins and Mysteries. With an historical bibliography by Robert W. Henderson . Derrydale Press, New York NY 1932, (Also reprinted by David & Charles, Mineola, NY et al. 2004, ISBN 0-486-43357-9 ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ I vincitori dei tornei  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Tournament winners of the venues), accessed on May 25, 2017 (Italian)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / attivarti.org