Savoia Playbook: Football, Royalty and the Gulf of Naples

There is no club in Italian football with a name quite like this one.

Founded in 1908 by local mill and pasta factory owners in Torre Annunziata, on the western edge of the Bay of Naples, Savoia took its name from the House of Savoy, then Italy’s ruling royal family.

In 2022, the connection returned in the most literal way possible: Prince Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, grandson of Italy’s last king, backed a project called Casa Reale Holding to take over the club, and the family authorised the return of the Savoy coat of arms to the shirts.

The story has coincided with one of the most dramatic seasons in the club’s history: after 11 years away from professional football, Savoia won Group I of Serie D on the last matchday of 2025-26 and returned to Serie C.

Only days later, Casa Reale Holding sold 90% of the club to The RoyaLand Company Ltd, a Bermuda-registered company listed on Wall Street – a reminder that even the most old-fashioned football stories in Italy now come with modern financial plot twists.

Savoia’s home is the Stadio Alfredo Giraud, tucked between Torre Annunziata and Torre del Greco at the foot of Vesuvius, a historic ground still going through renovation work; home matches are being played at the Stadio Alberto De Cristofaro in Giugliano in Campania while the work continues.

Here is everything you need to know.

Where To Stay

Torre Annunziata itself has relatively few proper hotels, so most travelling supporters base themselves either in nearby Pompei, five minutes away by train, or in Naples, roughly 30 minutes north by Circumvesuviana.

In Pompei, Tribus Boutique Hotel and Moxy Pompeii both come up consistently as reliable, well-reviewed choices close to the archaeological site.

Supporters wanting to stay closer to the sea will find B&B Domus Vesuvia, a short walk from Torre Annunziata’s Lido Mappatella beach.

As with most of Campania, Airbnb and Booking.com list plenty of apartments across Torre Annunziata, Pompei and Castellammare di Stabia for groups travelling together.

Where To Eat

Food here runs on two tracks, the sea and the mountain, and few places manage both as well as Corte77 2.0, a restaurant built around a converted courtyard just steps from the Villa di Poppea and the Oplontis archaeological site, with a seafood-forward menu and a garden setting worth booking ahead for on matchdays.

A few streets away, La Locanda dei Borgia is a small, family-run seafood spot near Via Vittorio Veneto, best known locally for its impepata di cozze and fried fish, the kind of place where the owner still greets regulars by name.

For something more casual, Capri Blu Pizzeria & Bistrot on Corso Umberto I serves reliable Neapolitan pizza in a relaxed setting right on the town’s main strip.

Just outside town in Castellammare di Stabia, F.lli Calabrì RC3.0 has built a strong local reputation for its pizza and grilled meat, making it worth the short detour for anyone extending their trip along the coast.

And for something a little more upscale, Gika mixes gourmet, long-fermentation pizza with a proper cocktail list, making it as much a dinner spot as a place to start the evening.

Where To Drink

Down at the seafront, Magmarè looks straight out over Torre Annunziata’s small port and works well for an aperitivo with a sunset view before an evening kick-off.

On Corso Umberto I, Torre Birraia is the town’s classic beer hall, an Italian-style birreria with a large outdoor courtyard that fills up with fans watching football on matchdays, whether Savoia are playing at home or away.

At the Maximall Pompeii shopping centre just outside town, Signorvino combines a proper wine bar with a wine shop, useful for anyone wanting a serious glass of something Italian rather than a spritz.

In the town centre, everyday bars such as Caffè dei Mille fill up in the hours before kick-off with fans discussing team news over coffee or a beer.

For craft beer, 2B In Beer is a smaller, lower-key stop worth knowing about, though it is worth checking it is still open before building an evening around it.

It is worth knowing that the Giraud’s own matchday bar became a genuine flashpoint back when the club was still playing there: a licensing dispute closed it in December 2025, and the club protested publicly, a small sign of how fraught the stadium situation has been.

Don’t Forget

At the moment, Savoia’s home matches are being played at the Stadio Alberto De Cristofaro in Giugliano in Campania rather than at the Giraud, while the renovation work in Torre Annunziata continues; check the venue for your specific fixture before travelling.

Tickets are sold through the Naples-based platform ETES. Check the club’s official channels before travelling. Bring a valid ID document, as required at all professional Italian grounds.

Did You Know?

Savoia is one of the very few Italian clubs whose name and crest are tied directly to a living royal family rather than a historical reference alone.

When Prince Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia backed the 2022 takeover, his father Vittorio Emanuele personally authorised the House of Savoy’s coat of arms to return to the shirts.

The name itself predates any of this by over a century: in 1908, naming a club after Italy’s reigning royal house was a fairly common gesture, but Torre Annunziata’s Savoia is one of the few clubs to have carried it, uninterrupted, into the professional era.

Getting There

The easiest way in is by Circumvesuviana train from Naples, roughly 25 to 30 minutes, with the Trecase stop sitting 200 metres from the Giraud.

The main FS station, Torre Annunziata Centrale, is a little further out at around three kilometres, better suited to those arriving on the national rail network.

Naples’ Capodichino Airport is roughly 20 minutes away by car, or around an hour using public transport with a change in central Naples.

Drivers should take the A3 Napoli-Salerno motorway and exit at Torre Annunziata Nord, which leaves only a short final stretch to the stadium.

Need Another Football Fix?

No rivalry here runs hotter than the Derby delle Due Torri against Turris, the historic clash with neighbouring Torre del Greco, though Turris’s exclusion from Serie C in 2025 means the fixture is on hold pending their return to senior football. A short hop along the coast, Juve Stabia in Castellammare di Stabia offers a well-supported alternative day out. Naples itself, barely half an hour away, lets visitors pair a Savoia weekend with Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium. For those happy to travel further into Campania’s lower leagues, the whole province around Vesuvius remains one of the most football-obsessed corners of Italy.