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Stadio Artemio Franchi

Stadio Comunale Artemio Franchi
Stadio Comunale
Soccer in Florence, Italy, 2007.jpg
Former names Stadio Comunale
Location Florence, Italy
Owner Municipality of Florence
Capacity 43,147
Surface Grass
Construction
Opened 13 September 1931
Renovated 1990
Architect Pier Luigi Nervi
Tenants
ACF Fiorentina

The Stadio Artemio Franchi is a football stadium in Florence, Italy. It is currently the home of ACF Fiorentina. The stadium was temporarily noticed as the host of Italy's Six Nations matches from 2012. The old nickname of the stadium was "Comunale." When it was first constructed, it was known as the Stadio Giovanni Berta, .

The stadium was officially opened on 13 September 1931 with a match between Fiorentina and Admira Wien (1-0), though it took until 1932 for the stadium to be completely finished and currently holds 47,282. The architect is Pier Luigi Nervi (known for the Nervi Hall in the Vatican) and it is one of the most relevant examples of 20th-century architecture in the city.

The stadium is built entirely of reinforced concrete with a 70-meter (230 ft) tower that bears the stadium's flagstaff. The tower is called the "Tower of Marathon". Around the base of the tower, spiral ramps lead from the ground floor to the upper edge of the grandstand.

It hosted some of the matches of the 1934 World Cup, as well as football preliminaries for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. In 1945, it hosted the Spaghetti Bowl between American service teams.

The stadium was originally called the "Comunale" but was renamed after the former FIGC president, Artemio Franchi, in 1991.

The stadium itself underwent renovations for the 1990 FIFA World Cup which included removing the running track and increasing the seating capacity. At the World Cup, the ground hosted three matches in Group A and Argentina's penalty shootout win over Yugoslavia in the quarter-finals.


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