Beyond the Big Cities and Calcio Cathedrals… Italy’s Most Underrated Derbies

Italy is defined by derbies. From the Derby della Madonnina to the Derby della Capitale and from the Derby della Mole to the Derby della Lanterna, calcio’s local affairs are among the most fascinating fixtures in world football.

But what of the other rivalries? The ones not forming part of a Scudetto fight or being played in iconic grounds, but are just as passionate?

Here, we have picked seven of the most underrated derbies across the peninsula.

The Derby dei Liquori (Benevento vs Avellino)

World football has few rivalries with a back story quite like Derby dei Liquori – yes, that means the Liqueur Derby. A derby named after two famous digestifs, Strega and Anthemis. Originating in Benevento in 1860, Strega is a saffron-infused, electric-yellow liqueur crafted from dozens of herbs and spices.

Meanwhile, Avellino’s Anthemis relies on a delicate flower grown, according to ancient monastic tradition, on Mount Partenio – the summit towering over the town.

The mountain lends its name to Avellino’s stadium, and lore has it that the club’s green kit was picked specifically to harness Anthemis’ power to repel the black magic of Benevento’s Stregoni – the Sorcerers.

Warlocks and potions gave way to something far more volatile during their very first meeting in 1924. The story goes that when Benevento took the lead, a mass brawl erupted, culminating in a substitute holding Avellino goalkeeper Serafino Galasso at gunpoint – a development that naturally saw the match abandoned.

Three years ago, the hostility on the terraces took a more modern turn. Travelling Avellino fans unveiled a giant QR code tifo at the Stadio Ciro Vigorito that, once scanned, displayed a far from flattering image mocking their hosts.

Following Benevento’s promotion to Serie B last season, they will host the first derby of the campaign on November 7. The Stregoni average just over 6,500 at the Ciro Vigorito, a shade north of a third of the capacity, and watching the game there is your best bet as Avellino have the sixth-highest attendance in Serie B this season at 11,000 and will almost certainly sell out for the reverse fixture.

The Derby delle Marche (Ascoli vs Sambenedettese)

Rolling hills, the pristine waters of the Adriatic Sea, picturesque little towns and great cuisine. The Marche region is home to some of Italy’s finest natural and culinary offerings. It is also the stage for one of calcio’s fiercest but lesser-known derbies.

Just over 20 miles separate Ascoli, surrounded by the Apennine Mountains and straddled across two national parks, from San Benedetto Del Tronto, one of the biggest ports on the Italian side of the Adriatic.

“Anyone who has played in the Ascoli vs Sambenedettese derby is afraid of nothing,” Carlo Mazzone, a native of Ascoli who played and managed his hometown team, said.

Such is the bad blood between the two sides, that even the late Pope Francis tried to mend bridges, uniting the two dioceses in the Marche region in May 2024.

The message was clearly lost to anyone who stood outside the Stadio Riviera delle Palme when Destination Calcio visited San Benedetto earlier this year.

Flares, firecrackers and a massive police presence welcomed the team buses. This was a third division fixture but it felt like one of the biggest derbies in Europe.

Up until last season, the two rivals had been kept away from each other for 39 years and with Ascoli now back in Serie B, it may be a while until they cross paths with Sambenedettese again.

The Derby Del Riso (Pro Vercelli vs Novara)

There are rivalries that develop because of history, some that develop because of geography and others that tick both boxes, like the Derby del Riso between Vercelli and Novara, Piedmont’s biggest grudge match after the Derby della Mole in Turin.

The rice derby owes its name to the region’s main export. Along with Biella, Novara and Vercelli are the tips of the Golden Triangle of the Piedmontese rice paddies, which produce over half of Italy’s rice and are responsible for making the country the biggest producer in Europe.

Vercelli and Novara are just over 10 miles apart and both play in a stadium named after the legendary Silvio Piola. Serie A’s all-time top goalscorer rattled in 51 goals in 127 league matches for Pro Vercelli, before rifling in 86 in 185 games for Novara.

Off the pitch, the rivalry between the two goes all the way back to 1859 when, following the unification of Italy and the reorganising of the kingdom’s provinces, Vercelli was absorbed into the territory of Novara. Outrage and legal disputes followed and bad blood has lingered ever since.

Novara and Pro Vercelli are Serie C mainstays now and they face each other on November 22. Easy to reach from Milan and Turin, the Derby del Riso is affordable and accessible to calcio tourists as the two teams rarely sell out.

The Derby dell’Emilia (Parma vs Bologna)

There are several fixtures that could lay claim to the Derby dell’Emilia tag, but over the past four decades the moniker has come to identify meetings between Bologna and Parma – the region’s two biggest cities and home to its two most successful clubs.

Parma won eight trophies in a decade between 1992 and 2002, but the tables have since turned with the Gialloblu marooned towards the bottom of Serie A, while Bologna recently qualified for the Champions League and ended a 51-year wait for a trophy when winning the Coppa Italia.

The teams actually never crossed paths until 1983 and their first Serie A meeting came seven years later.

It may lack historic pedigree, but this fixture has more than delivered when it matters. Bologna and Parma finished joint-top of Serie C1 Girone A, then the third tier of Italian football, to pip Vicenza to automatic promotion by a point in 1984, and two decades later they met in the Serie A relegation play-offs with the Gialloblu losing the first leg at home, before winning 2-1 at the Stadio Dall’Ara to condemn their rivals to Serie B.

The first instalment of the fixture this season will be played at the Stadio Tardini on November 7 and it is accessible for calcio tourists.

The Derby del Tirreno (Pisa vs Livorno)

Who said absence makes the heart grow fonder? The Derby del Tirreno hasn’t been played for six years but the antipathy between Pisa and Livorno hasn’t abated.

And, frankly, it could hardly be otherwise as these two cities have been at each other for the best part of 700 years. From medieval squabbles, to developments that put regional supremacy at stake, there is no love lost between Pisa and Livorno.

As for the animosity on the pitch? From Livorno executives having to flee Pisa by boat to avoid some disgruntled locals, to all-out brawls and clashes among fans with slaps and water balloons, this fixture has it all.

With Pisa pushing for promotion to Serie A again and Livorno looking to return to the second division, it may be a while before we get another instalment of the Derby del Tirreno. But it will be worth the wait.

Derby del Veneto (Vicenza vs Verona)

Veneto has several regional derbies. None of them, however, are as big and as feisty as Hellas Verona against Vicenza, who met for the first time in a decade last month. The return is set for mid-March and that leaves plenty of time to start planning a trip to the Stadio Romeo Menti.

Barely 15 miles separates the cities, but the animosity runs deep. An old local proverb claims that the people of Verona are all mad, and those from Vicenza are cat-eaters.

The origins of these bizarre insults stem from historical realities – Verona once housed two major psychiatric hospitals, while Vicenza’s nickname arose from whispers that its residents turned to eating cats during periods of dire poverty that plagued the town and the wider Veneto region.

The Biancorossi were a Serie A staple in the 1970s, but the Gialloblu won the Scudetto in 1985. Those days are long gone now, but the rivalry remains as intense as ever.

With Padova also in Serie B, you are spoilt for choices for Veneto derbies this season.

Derby di Puglia (Bari vs Lecce)

Bari vs Lecce hasn’t taken place in any division since 2011, but when it is played, it’s a feisty battle for Puglian pride. The Derby di Puglia pits the two biggest sides in the region against each other, each with their own unique flavour.

Bari represents northern Puglia and is the capital of the region, while Lecce the south and is considered the jewell in Puglia’s crown.

The city of Bari’s local dialect is vastly different to Lecce, which shares more similarities to Sicilian or southern Calabrian than to their neighbours up the road. Each city has their own staple food and has a vastly different feel to each other.

The end result is a derby that due to its irregularity, is absolutely box-office. In its absence, Bari’s meetings with fellow regional neighbours Foggia this season should produce a similarly cracking atmosphere and the size of the Stadio San Nicola means tickets are easy to get.