Italian All-in-One For Dummies (73 page)

Watching sports

Watching sports on TV is a favorite pastime for any fan; here's a list of Italian favorites more or less by popularity:

calcio
(
kahl
-choh) (
soccer
)

Formula 1
(
fohr
-mooh-lah
ooh
-noh) (
Formula One car racing
)

ciclismo
(chee-
klees
-moh) (
cycling
)

moto GP
(
moh
-toh gee-pee) (
motorcycle racing
)

pugilato
(pooh-jee-
lah
-toh) (
boxing
)

lo sci alpino
(loh shee ahl-
pee
-noh) (
downhill ski racing
)

When you want to catch a sport live at the field or arena, you may find the following sections helpful.

Going to an Italian soccer game

If you like
il calcio italiano
(eel
kahl
-choh ee-tah-lee-
ah
-noh) (
Italian soccer
),
andare
allo stadio
(ahn-
dah
-reh
ahl
-loh
stah
-dyoh) (
going to the stadium
) is an unforgettable experience. Here, you share your emotions with a large
pubblico di tifosi
(
poohb
-blee-koh dee tee-
foh
-see) (
audience of supporters
). Being there isn't the same as watching
la partita di calcio
(lah pahr-
tee
-tah dee
kahl
-choh) (
the football game
) on a TV screen! To ensure
la pubblica sicurezza
(lah
poohb
-blee-kah see-kuh-
reht
-tsah) (
public safety
), some
misure di controllo e prevenzione
(mee-
sooh
-reh dee kohn-
trohl
-loh eh preh-vehn-
tsyoh
-neh) (
control and prevention measures
) have been recently introduced in Italian stadiums, such as
la tessera del tifoso
(lah
tehs
-seh-rah dehl tee-
foh
-soh) (
the fan card
), which is issued by
le società di calcio
(leh soh-cheh-
tah
dee
kahl
-choh) (
soccer societies
) to their
soci
(
soh
-chee) (
members
) only after the applicants get police clearance. However, if you're traveling to Italy, you don't need a fan card to attend a game; you can buy a ticket from any authorized agency.

Checking out the car racing circuits

Circuiti cittadini
(cheer-
koo
-ee-tee cheet-tah-
dee
-nee) (
road racing circuits
) and race events are historic in Italy.
Coppa Florio
(one of the oldest automobile races) was established in 1900 in Brescia and then transferred to the Madonie circuit in northern Sicily in 1906, to become the renowned
Targa Florio.
The
Targa Florio
competition continued until 1973. In 1927, the first
Mille Miglia
(an open-road endurance race) —
The Thousand Miles
— took place on the route connecting Rome to Brescia and back again. Between 1918 and 1939, the Montenero circuit at Livorno became home of the
Coppa Ciano,
while in 1939 the first Italian Grand Prix was held in Brescia, and the Garda circuit was used until the 1960s.

You can find road racing circuits in almost every region in Italy: Abruzzo (Pescara circuit), Campania (circuits in Caserta, Salerno, Avellino, and Naples), and Emilia Romagna (Modena circuit). Rome hosted the Grand Prix of Rome from 1925 to 1963, when it was transferred to Vallelunga, while the Mugello circuit in Florence in the 1920s ran from north Florence to Bologna, crossing the Appeninines in the Futa Pass.

If you happen to be a fan of car racing — or even if you're not — here are a few terms to help you talk your way through the victory lap:

la coppa
(lah
kohp
-pah) (
cup
)

la curva
(lah
koor
-vah) (
curve
)

la discesa
(lah dee-
sheh
-sah) (
descent
)

il pilota
(eel pee-
loh
-tah) (
pilot
)