Rackets for the Pallone Game

Italy, 17th century

Wood
Height 14 cm

These wooden rackets were used in the 17th century for one of the most popular sport in Italy: the ball game called “Pallone”. The balls were struck back and forth with a wooden cylinder whose surface was covered in spikes: the so-called “bracciale”. Only a few “bracciale” from the 17th century have survived to the present day, even less in pairs. A similar pair of pallone rackets is kept in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich.