Sferisterio Mermet

The Sferisterio Mermet is a long earthen court enclosed by a high brick wall, associated with Alba's ball game since the 1850s. Long associated with pallapugno, it is among Italy's oldest sports grounds and an arena of local identity.

Why it matters

The Mermet's history is closely tied to the continuing tradition of pallapugno in Alba. When the ball game was banned from Alba's squares in the mid-nineteenth century — the city fathers had tired of games around the cathedral piazza — the councillor Alessandro Mermet provided land on what was then the town's edge, and the mayor-architect Giorgio Busca drew up the project. The public concession dates to 1854, and the first matches were played between 1855 and 1857. The game it was built for, pallone col bracciale, later evolved into pallapugno, played with a rubber ball against a high wall; the Mermet became one of that sport's reference venues, and the writer Giovanni Arpino famously called it the "Maracanà delle Langhe". The ground's history spans more than a century and a half.

What to notice

A sferisterio is a narrow strip of packed earth, with a high wall forming one long side of the playing area. Once peripheral, the Mermet is now integrated into Alba's urban fabric, surrounded by later buildings.

Context and history

The Mermet's story belongs to the Langhe's sporting culture. Pallapugno grew out of the aristocratic gioco del pallone and became the popular game of southern Piedmont and western Liguria, recognised today by CONI. The ground was built with private money but granted free public use under the original 1854 agreement, an arrangement that has persisted — and occasionally caused friction, since the arena's history has periodically raised questions about its preservation.