Juventus, Milan, and Inter (the Big Three), along with Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina and historically Parma, but now replaced by Napoli are known as the Seven Sisters of Italian football due to their popular support and dominance in league and cups between the 1990s and 2020s.

More players have won the coveted Ballon d'Or award while playing in Serie A than any other league in the world after La Liga.

From the 16th century onwards, calcio fiorentino, another code of football distinct from the modern game, was played in the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence.

[23] The second club bore the name noble because it contained Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, and Alfonso Ferrero de Gubernatis Ventimiglia, who would later become president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).

In 1896, a man named James Richardson Spensley arrived in Genoa and introduced the football section of the club, becoming its first manager.

In 1898, a new federation, the future FIGC but then known as Federazione Italiana del Foot-ball (FIF) until 1909,[27] had been formed, with its centre originally in Turin and the first president as Mario Vicary.

[33][34][35] The majority of big clubs (Genoa, Milan, and Torino) withdrew from both the championships in order to protest against the autocratic policy of the FIF.

The split between Federal and Italian championship was not completely abolished because, while unifying these tournaments, it was decided for the last time to assign two titles at the end of the season.

[46] In 1898, the Federazione Italiana del Foot-ball (FIF–FIGC) was finally formed and the first national championship was organised, with regional tournaments and playoffs.

Held in Turin on the occasion of the International Exhibition for the fiftieth anniversary of the Albertine Statute,[47][48] with about one hundred spectators in attendance, it included four clubs,[49] three matches,[50] and lasted a single day.

[57] To celebrate the event of the first national football championship, Franco Bernini wrote a book in 2005 entitled La prima volta.

During the 1970s to early 1990s, Italy became famous for their catenaccio, thus heralding a long line of world class defenders, such as Virginio Rosetta, Pietro Rava, Carlo Parola, Giacinto Facchetti, Armando Picchi, Gaetano Scirea, Antonio Cabrini, Claudio Gentile, Franco Baresi, Giuseppe Bergomi, Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Nesta, Fabio Cannavaro, Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, and Giorgio Chiellini.