PILOTA VALENCIANA
(Valencian ball game)
Outfit
ORIGIN
Pilota Valenciana or Valencian pilota (pilota means ball
in Valencian) is a traditional handball sport played in the
Valencian Community. Rules variations within the generic
Pilota Valenciana category are frequent from area to area but
the common trait is that the ball is struck with a bare, or
almost bare, hand (only some minimal protection is applied in
some versions of the sport). The general rule involves two
teams made from two up to five players each (the numbers
depend on the particular version played). Exceptionally,
individual matches are also played (mostly in Escala i corda and
Raspall) between the most renowned players.
The second characteristic being that it is not played
against a wall. Instead, similarly to modern tennis, two
individuals or teams are placed face to face separated either by
a line on the ground or a net. A distinctive trait of Valencian
pilota is that the spectators are often seated or standing very
close to the court which means that they may be hit by the ball
and thus become an (unwilling) part of the game.
Pilota
valenciana
played in the
street
0.
Pilota
valenciana
played in a
“Trinquet”
HISTORY
Valencian pilota sport was mentioned in the 16th
century by the humanist Joan Lluís Vives, who compared
this game with jeu de paume in his Dialogues and claimed
them to be exactly the same despite some minor
differences. Being played by low-class people and high-class
nobles, Valencian pilota was very popular: On June 14,
1391 the Valencia City Council fruitlessly forbid it to be
played on the streets, but this caused the expansion of
trinquets (courtfields), there were as many as 13 only in
that city in the 16th century.
Later on, nobles abandoned the handball game in favour of
“cleaner" sports and so pilota became the property of the
middle and lower classes, which led to the appearance of
the first professional players and the rise of gambling and
challenge matches.
Glove
Balls