A Sporting Catharsis
A week after Wimbledon, and in the midst of the Ashes, Sarah Dunant reflects on sport's cathartic power.
As Britain basks in post-Wimbledon glory, amid the Ashes, Sarah Dunant reflects on how sport has - throughout history - been used by the authorities to help populations let off steam.
In Florence, in the late 1500s, townspeople played a form of football that allowed them to wrestle, punch and immobilize their opponents in any way they liked. Venice had a spectacularly violent sport of bridge-fighting where opposing teams "armed with sticks...dipped in boiling oil beat the hell out of each other".
Civic sporting therapy - past and present - has for centuries, Sarah argues, "proved a creative alternative to our recurring tendency to kill each other".
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
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A Point of View: Sporting spectacle on the piazza
The Ashes are under way in England, but another historic sporting battle is fought out every year in Florence - an ancient no-holds-barred ball game played in one of the city's most famous piazzas, as writer Sarah Dunant explains.
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Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Sarah Dunant |
| Producer | Adele Armstrong |
Broadcasts
- Fri 12 Jul 2013 20:50±«Óãtv Radio 4
- Sun 14 Jul 2013 08:48±«Óãtv Radio 4
Podcast
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A Point of View
A weekly reflection on a topical issue.
