Tocatì Verona 2024: events calendar and useful tips

From 13th to 15th September 2024 the twenty-second edition of Tocatì will be held, the international festival of street games, in which the guests of honour will be Regions of Italy. This event began in 2003 with the aim of making traditional games known and appreciated as a heritage of humanity and is the largest event in the world dedicated to these. The festival, which lasts three days, takes place throughout the historic centre and was conceived by the Giochi Antichi association, founded by a group of passionate players from Verona. The protagonists of the event are the participants from all over Italy and beyond who bring their traditional games to make them known to the public. Every year there are different guests of honour: in past years it has been the turn of countries including Spain, Greece, Switzerland, Mexico and Hungary. The programs vary annually, but the days are organised in such a way that there are one or more activities taking place at any time and in different areas of the city. For example, you may have to choose whether to play table football or chess, whether to play a game of briscola or tressette. But this festival not only focuses on games but also workshops on different themes, theatrical performances, conferences and banquets with food where you can take a tasty break. In short, keep your eyes peeled for this year’s schedule and join the games!

A wide variety of traditional games are offered during this festival including the Sicilian stick, the barrel race, the game of walnuts, morra and ruzzolone or tumble.

These games can be divided into macro-categories.  Below we explain the most popular and their history:

• Skittles
• Bowls
• Cards
• Morra
• Spinning tops

The game of skittles requires a person to knock over some objects placed on the ground by throwing another object. The first evidence regarding this type of game dates back to 3200 BC In fact, a number of stone finds were found in the tomb of an Egyptian child which had been used as skittles, towards which a stone would be rolled after passing it under an arch consisting of three pieces of marble. These objects are kept in the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology in England. This game was also already widespread in Ancient Rome, as evidenced by a number of finds in a Roman sarcophagus, and continued to be practised until the Middle Ages.

The game of bowls is one of the oldest known to mankind, with some evidence dating back to 7000 BC. The game consists of throwing balls that must fall as close as possible to a smaller ball, called a boccino or jack. Stone bowls have been found in a Neolithic settlement in Turkey, and also in Egypt. Hippocrates talks about this game in some of his writings, testifying to the fact that this pastime was also widespread in ancient Greece. The ancient Romans also played this game, and were the first to use wooden bowls instead of stone.

Cards are nowadays one of the most popular games in the world, and are certainly one of the most versatile given the fact they can be used in various ways. In Europe the most common are the French cards (spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs) and the Italian / Spanish ones (clubs, spades, cups, coins). The cards originated in China but with a divinatory and ritual purpose. The earliest records of card games come from Asia Minor and Egypt, where cards with various figures were used for memory games. Being very versatile and made of inexpensive materials, cards initially became popular among the humblest social classes and only later were they used by the upper ones.

Morra is an ancient game from China that spread across various countries including Italy, Spain, France, Slovenia, Croatia and Eastern Europe. The game consists of quickly lowering your hands, forming a number with your fingers, while shouting out a number which should consist of the sum of the players’ fingers. Whoever guesses the number wins. In Italy the first traces of this game date back to 1324 and what is certain is that this game has been handed down to the present day.

Spinning tops are very popular games all over the world and are easy to use. Simply start your top with a small cord, through which you try to control its movement and try to spin it for as long as possible.

This toy already existed at the time of the Egyptians and the ancient Greeks and is often mentioned in both ancient and modern literature: it is named by countless authors, including Homer, Virgil, Dante and Torquato Tasso.

In short, as you can see, the games offered at Tocatì have very ancient origins but always remain contemporary and fun. Visit this festival together with your children to learn the rules and origins of these and many other games, enjoying an unforgettable experience.