Palota

“Look at that shot I just made!” — in San Vito al Mantico, in the Verona area, it only takes one great strike to ignite a field full of enthusiasm. Palota is a game of bounces and precise hits: a language spoken with the body, with wood, and with leather.
Until the ’90s, it was played in courtyards and fields bordered by side rails, essential elements for giving the ball unpredictable and spectacular trajectories. Then came a long silence, as often happens with traditions that seem to fade away. But in 2018, something started moving again. Palota returned, bouncing out of memories and finding its way back into the hands of new generations.
Today, as before, the game is played with plastic balls and rackets made by local artisans: well-balanced wood, hand-stitched leather, and that unmistakable feeling at the moment of impact. It’s not just equipment; it’s an extension of the gesture, a memory turned into an object.
Playing Palota today means reconnecting a thread: with the past, with those who preserved it, and with a land that has kept its tradition alive while moving forward. A well-placed shot, a beautiful bala, can still say a lot. Even about us.