Written by Matteo Ciaramella
If you ever happen to be strolling around in the Southern Italian city of Caserta, your eyes will inevitably fall on the mesmerizing Royal Palace in the city center. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the palace stands at 36 meters tall, covering an area of 47,000 meters squared, with 1200 rooms and even a theater inside its walls. It is defined by its breath-taking exterior – a façade nothing short of beautiful, closely resembling that of the famous Palace of Versailles.
It is this very façade that conceals other overlooked – yet equally important – and impactful pieces of Casertan history. Today we would like to touch on an episode that deeply marked the city and shaped the local and national culture surrounding football: La rivolta del pallone, better known in English as ‘the football revolution’.
PRELUDE
Football in Italy is on par with religion (some would even advocate for the first being more prominent than the latter) and the more you move down towards the equator, the more passionate the fans are. This is the case with the people of Caserta, loyal and devoted to Casertana FC. Since its founding in 1912, Casertana has never been a top team, as they generally float around Italy’s third and fourth tiers of football.For comparison, promotion to Serie B would bring them the same joy that a Scudetto win would to a Fiorentina fan. This is especially true because Casertana has made it to the second division only 3 times during the past 110 years. Essentially, for a Casertana supporter, seeing their team in Serie B is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event.
This is exactly why, for the last game of the 1968-1969 Serie C season, Caserta felt empty – a ghost town one might even say. Not a soul in sight, as 15,000 out of 60,000 Casertans were at the Alberto Pinto stadium for Casertana’s home clash against Messina. This game, too important to miss for any true Casertana fan, would have granted them their first Serie B promotion in over 43 years.
Final whistle. 1-0 for the home team, and surely, you can imagine the rest. Fireworks, banners, and flags decorate the city, accompanied by chants and cheerful cries. The city is one, filled with elation. Casertana, at last, traversed the gates of Serie B. June 22nd, 1969 will always be a historic day for Caserta and its people.
All that happiness, unfortunately, would soon turn into exasperation, uncertainty, and fear. A striking accusation by Taranto FC president Michele Di Maggio in July – who had finished 2 points behind Casertana in their futile pursuit of Serie B promotion – sent the Caserta football community into chaos. According to him, some Casertana players had fixed their game against Trapani earlier that year, and earned an undeserved victory that proved to be crucial for their 1st place finish and promotion at the end of the season. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) took on the case, marking the beginning of a grueling, miserable summer of apprehension for the people of Caserta, as they awaited the final verdict.
Two months later the decision had been made. On September 8th of 1969, Casertana was served: 6 point deduction, which resulted in a 2nd place finish and Taranto snatching a last-minute ticket to Serie B. After 43 years of suffering in the arid, desolate lands belonging to the lowest tiers of professional and semi professional Italian football, Casertans were stripped of their biggest dream, and their city was cheated on the national scale.
Dreams – shattered.
Hope – extinguished.
And when dreams are shattered and hope is extinguished, you get anger and frustration. The subsequent reaction of Caserta residents was so intense, so fierce and bitter, that we still remember it today.
THE CITY GOES CRAZY
The verdict was kept secret for hours. Everyone involved knew that when it came to football, they had to tread carefully, and execute everything with almost divine precision. The decision was first communicated to the Caserta police department, who, in turn, shared everything with their counterparts from the cities of Naples, Foggia, and Nettuno. When reinforcements arrived and stationed themselves, the media was given the green light and announced the verdict on live radio at 10:30 in the morning. As a final blow, Caserta’s then mayor – Salvatore Di Nardo – announced that “the City Council […] invites citizens to express their indignation and the most lively protest against the serious and farcical provision of which it requests the cancellation”
Needless to say, all hell broke loose.
Roadblocks began; offices and shops in central Caserta suffered looting, attack, and in some cases, destruction. By 11:30 the protesters had gotten to the railway station, starting a fire and blocking train flow for more than 2 hours. At 14:00, more people joined the cause and shifted their presence to the highway, causing traffic problems until the evening, while rebels all over the city kept the police consistently busy by engaging in serious physical confrontation. The day had been defined by thrown rocks, tear gas, and numerous shops and billboards set on fire.
The next day, the protests ascended to a political scale, as workers and students went on strike, and basic need suppliers like bakeries and supermarkets refused to open. Utter chaos ruled over the now isolated city, with some households lacking water and electricity. Little changed until the third day of the revolution, when news about an appeal against Casertana’s sentence spread around. Order had settled in. The looting, fires, and attacks came to a halt. Hope had returned to the gates of the Royal Palace, subsequently reaching every corner of the city.
ACCEPTANCE
9 days later, the appeal was rejected and Casertana were unequivocally sent back to Serie C. This time, however, no violence took place. After 90 arrests, hundreds of injuries, and hundreds of millions of liras in damage, Caserta learned and accepted its fate. Serie C it was.
And despite the spoiled victorious season and the long-awaited promotion being snatched away from them, there was no time for despair. Casertana’s roster remained untouched from the previous season, so it was imperative that they try to replicate the miracle – for the people.
The 1969-1970 season was a tough one, and the final standings were close. The team – like in the previous season – had to clinch the title in the last game of the campaign. An astounding 3-0 win against Cosenza in front of the same fans and in the same stadium as the year before. Casertana had once again claimed the top of the table – fairly this time – and given this story a happy ending: Serie B promotion.
References
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivolta_del_pallone#CITEREFIannitti,_Fiorentino_2009
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serie_C_1968-1969
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caserta#Evoluzione_demografica
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stadio_Alberto_Pinto
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casertana_Football_Club
https://www.comune.caserta.it/pagina756_reggia-di-caserta.html