Fiorentina was founded on 29 August 1926 in Florence. On 29 August 2027 it turns 101. Few teams in the world are as closely tied to one colour as "La Viola".

A marquis unites the city

Behind the founding stands the Marquis Luigi Ridolfi Vay da Verrazzano, president of Club Sportivo Firenze. He persuaded his own club and Palestra Ginnastica Fiorentina Libertas to merge their football sections. The aim was a team strong enough to take on the mighty clubs of the North.

Both clubs had deep roots: the first began in 1870 as a cycling club and the second in 1877 as a gymnastics society. The new club was named Associazione Calcio Firenze and played its first official match on 3 October 1926, against Pisa. In the early 1930s it won promotion to Serie A.

From red and white to purple

The first shirt was divided into white and red sections, the colours of Florence and of the two founding clubs. Purple was worn for the first time on 22 September 1929, in a friendly against Roma. It has never left the shirt since.

According to a popular legend, the shirts turned purple by accident when they were washed in a river. The club itself, however, rejects the story. Ridolfi, it says, wanted a kit like that of Hungary's Újpest, whom the team had faced in a 1928 friendly.

The lily of Florence

Every badge of the club has featured the red lily of Florence. The 1980 badge was unpopular with fans, who said it looked more like a halberd than a flower. In 1992 came the double-lozenge badge, and in 2022-23 a simpler design.

Since 1931 the team has played at the stadium designed by engineer Pier Luigi Nervi. It opened on 13 September 1931 and since 1993 has been named after Artemio Franchi. It holds more than 43,000 spectators.

Two Scudetti and a European first

The first league title came in 1955-56, with Fulvio Bernardini as coach. It was sealed on 6 May 1956 with a draw in Trieste and a goal by the Brazilian Julinho. The team lost just one game in 34 rounds.

In 1961 Fiorentina won the very first Cup Winners' Cup, beating Rangers in both legs. It was the first European trophy won by an Italian team. In 1969 the second Scudetto followed, with a 2-0 win away at Juventus.

Legends of the purple shirt

Sweden's Kurt Hamrin, the "Little Bird", arrived in 1958 and became the club's all-time top scorer, with 208 goals in 362 official games. In the 1970s and 1980s the idol was captain Giancarlo Antognoni. In the 1990s Gabriel Batistuta scored 152 Serie A goals in the Viola shirt.

In 2002 the club went bankrupt and started again from Serie C2. In less than two years it was back in Serie A. In 2023 and 2024 it reached two consecutive Conference League finals, losing the second 1-0 after extra time to Olympiacos.

The 2025-26 season was difficult, with a 15th-place finish, but Fiorentina remains in Serie A and reached the Conference League quarter-finals.

Celebrate with us

From the red and white of 1926 to the purple the whole world recognises, Fiorentina is the soul of Florence on the pitch. Happy 101st birthday!

See our Fiorentina jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: The pitch of the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence – Sailko, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 3.0.