How a Tiny Alpine Town Embraced a Juventus Invasion Every Summer

Every summer, one of the biggest teams in the world would descend on a quaint little town of just under 4000 people on the outer fringes of Turin.

Villar Perosa is a commune in the Chisone Valley, 25 miles south-west of the city centre. Once an agricultural community and now mainly an industrial hub, it offers splendid views of the Cottian Alps, which border Italy and France. 

Chisone has blossomed into a hiking and skiing destination in recent years, with resorts in the nearby towns of Pinerolo, Pragelato and Sestriere, with all three housing venues at the 2006 Winter Olympics amid the varying shades of green that can be seen for miles around this part of the world. 

Yet Villar Perosa is synonymous with two things and has been for decades: The Agnelli family and Juventus. Villar Perosa was ground zero for the Agnelli dynasty, with Fiat founder Giovanni Agnelli born in the town in the 1860s. Born into a family of landowners who made their fortune sin the silk trade, Agnelli moved to Turin to complete his education and started Fiat in 1899.

His success catapulted the family to worldwide fame. Giovanni’s only son, Edoardo, became president of Juve in 1923 and transformed the club from an amateur set-up to a professional outfit, and in the process ushered in a period of unparalleled success. The link with The Old Lady remains to this very day.

Juve would honour the connection with the Agnelli home sporadically in the early days, with the first game between Juventus A and Juventus B – ostensibly the youth team – taking place as far back as 1931. But it wasn’t until 1955 that it became an annual ritual. 

Then under the stewardship of Umberto Agnelli, father of future Juve president Andrea, the Bianconeri made the pilgrimage to Villar Perosa every summer until the pandemic interrupted that streak in 2020. 

The idea of staging a game at Villar Perosa every year was the brainchild of Umberto’s brother, Gianni. Nicknamed L’Avvocato (The Lawyer), owing to his law degree that he never put into practice, Gianni had been president of Juve from 1947 to 1954 before stepping down. 

Arguably one of the most influential Italians of the 20th century, with an impeccable dress sense and an equally sharp sense of humour, Gianni was often referred to as the unofficial King of Italy and dined with everyone from John F. Kennedy to Henry Kissinger. He was also mayor of the town from 1946 to 1980.

A man who loved an entrance, Gianni would often arrive in Villar Perosa by helicopter, landing at the opulent Villa Agnelli estate after flying from Saint Moritz, then making his way over to the thousands of fans gathered for the game: mingling, signing autographs and posing for pictures like a conquering hero returning home.

Every summer the village football pitch would transform into a mini stadium, named in later years after Juve icon Gaetano Scirea. Between 4000 and 5000 fans would squeeze in – more than the population of the town – hoping to catch a glimpse of Juve’s new summer signings and trophies up close.

No one was exempt from playing at Villar Perosa: Omar Sivori, John Charles, Giampiero Boniperti, Michel Platini, Roberto Baggio, Alessandro Del Piero and Zinedine Zidane all graced the same bit of grass that lay between Turin and Sestriere. Cristiano Ronaldo made his debut at Villar Perosa. Gianni Agnelli would sit on the bench alongside Giovanni Trapattoni, making a cameo as assistant coach. 

The retreat was a way to keep Juve’s players grounded, no matter what they had won and how high their profile was. In the 1970s and 1980s contract renewals were often done at the estate, in an office above the on-site restaurant. Anyone who dared to ask for a pay raise was told: “You’re at Juve, remember that.”

Gianni, always a man ready with a superb soundbite, once demanded Del Piero ‘wake up’ during one lacklustre first-half performance. The message was heeded and after producing a more typical Del Piero display in the second half, Agnelli humorously refused to take any of the credit: “I wasn’t needed, he woke up on his own.”

L’Avvocato, a man famous for handing out nicknames, christened Del Piero ‘Godot’ in the 2000 event, a reference to Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot. Del Piero had returned from serious injury the year before and had struggled to regain his old form and, with fans patiently waiting for the ‘real’ Del Piero to return, Agnelli handed him a new moniker.

Thankfully for Del Piero, the name didn’t stick and his original one – Pinturicchio – also given to him by Gianni, has stood the test of time. Del Piero also recalled being on the receiving end of Agnelli’s humorous barbs. “I first met him at Villar Perosa with the squad, it wasn’t a good period,” he remembered. “He introduced himself during training with a copy of Gazzetta dello Sport and said, ‘I think you’re better than what’s written here’.

“Then he left. He chatted with some of us, but not with me. The next day though, when I scored three goals in a game, he talked to me too.”

No matter the year, the games would always end up the same way: the crowd would invade the pitch around the 50-minute mark to strip the players of their clothing, with many often signing autographs in their underwear. 

Former Czech Republic midfielder and 2003 Ballon d’Or winner Pavel Nedved enjoyed Villar Perosa. “It’s a beautiful experience, which I’ve been lucky to experience a number of times,” he said in 2018. “Here, new players get to understand what Juventus is and what it means to play for Juventus.”

The Villar Perosa event had a very family-friendly atmosphere, one a world away from the ever-growing commercialisation of football and one that kept the link between the Agnelli family and Juventus strong, even after the deaths of Gianni and Umberto in the early 2000s.

Andrea Agnelli kept the tradition going, as per Gianni’s request that the annual day in Villar Perosa happens as long as an Agnelli was at the helm of Juve. After the two-year gap due to Covid-19, Juve returned in the summer of 2022. 

However, Agnelli’s resignation as Juve chairman in early 2023 marked the beginning of the end of the family day. The club cancelled plans for the summer 2023 edition and haven’t returned, citing security and scheduling issues as the primary reasons. They have instead offered an open training session day at the Allianz Stadium for fans.

Yet even if, for now, Juve no longer play in the town, the Agnelli name will remain etched in its history. The villa has been the backdrop for Agnelli weddings and funerals, parties and ceremonies. Gianni was buried in the family cemetery, carved into the mountainside close to the estate. 

Should Andrea one day return as Juve president, then the little town of Villar Perosa may once more stir with the buzz of an impending Juventus visit.