Bracelet For The

Magnificent wooden bracelet for the game of "pallone col bracciale". The Pallone col bracciale was very popular in Italy in the 18th and 19th centuries as well as in the 20th century until the 1930s. It was even the most popular sport of all; its first regulation dates from 1555. Pallone col bracciale players are called pallonisti. In the 19th century, Italian players were the highest paid and most admired sportsmen. This sport and these champions have been described by Johan Wolfgang Goethe and Giacomo Leopardi The balls are returned using a kind of stick carried on the forearm called the bracciale (literally, the “bracelet” in Italian). Misused, the braccial can cause arm fractures because it weighs between one and two kilograms. Originally the bullet was filled with air and weighed 934 grams, but now solid rubber bullets of 350 grams are used (cit. Wikipedia)