'Eh!' Istituto Italiano di Cultura toasts a Tuscan ball game
By Michelle Broder Van Dyke
Envision tennis without racquets - as the French name of the sport, jeu de paume or “game of the palm,” implies. Then take away the nets, like the tennis term “the line” suggests; Hold the five-centimeter ball in the palm of your hand and before serving always yell, “Eh!” And you’ve got Palla Eh!, a traditional Tuscan ball game played pick-up style in the piazzas of six hilltop towns.
These very small villages of about 1,000 residents have kept Palla Eh! alive and vibrant as a swift, spontaneous sport that brings the entire community together. The game originated in the 16th century and spread throughout the region, evolving over the years, but with roots that clearly demonstrate that Tennis and Palla Eh! share a common ancestor. The sport was formalized as it spread to Holland, South Eastern Spain, and Piemonte, Italy, but the rules within these Tuscan villages remain malleable, varying from town to town.
The game's small, handmade balls are constructed from recycled materials such as couch covers and yarn, and are thrown or struck - rather then caught - with either a bare or gloved hand by facing teams. Games are played in the piazza of a village, a central feature in Italian towns, and the boundaries are marked with painted lines, but there is no net, and players can move freely between sides.
In anticipation of the eighth annual Italian Language Week, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura presents, "La piazza intorno alla palla," a photography exhibit on Palla Eh! The show contains photos from the 1970s to the present - many hailing from a 2007 Palla Eh! photo contest. All of the shots were taken in the six hilltop towns of Tuscany that still play the game: Vetulonia, Scalvaia, Ciciano, Piloni, Torniella, and Tirli.
The exhibit showcases images of young Italians in action, executing strikes and mid-air serves, as well as photos of the spectators who are an essential component of the game. Viewers are considered “in play” if the ball bounces off one. The fans - which include everyone from prepubescent youngsters yearning to participate, to wise, retired elders, all with intent gazes on a ball inside or outside the photographic frame - demonstrate the camaraderie that the game brings to the community.
The quality of most of the prints is subpar: photos from the 1970s - which were originally shot on film and later digitized, probably after being scanned, and then blown up for this exhibit - were blurry up close, and more recent shots look overwhelmingly pixilated. The photographic quality of the prints themselves, however, was probably not the main priority of the exhibit, which appears to focus on teaching the viewer about an interesting and integral Italian game.
Other highlights of eighth annual Italian Language Week include a lecture, “Grazia Deledda and the Language of Modernity,” on Oct. 22 and film screening of L’Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio with director Agostino Ferrente present, on Oct. 23.
"La piazza intorno alla palla"
Through Oct. 31
Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; free
Istituto Italiano di Cultura
425 Washington, suite 200, SF
(415) 788-7142
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