Ca' Balun Pallapugno Museum

After the introduction, the route moves on to the oldest forms of the game. Antonio Scaino’s treatise, the armguards, the jeu de paume rackets and the tamburelli allow you to compare different tools and ways of striking the ball. Next come the transformations of materials: from leather balls to rubber, with moulds and stages of processing.

The central rooms tell the story of the champions and of the life around the court. Alongside jerseys and trophies, you’ll find the betting registers from the Mermet sferisterio in Alba. A pantalera displayed near the window overlooking the Alta Langa introduces the game as played in the town squares.

The World Stage section brings together the chistera of Basque pelota, the tools of Mixtec pelota and the gloves of One-Wall: different shapes and materials revealing just how varied this family of sports is.

The route arrives at contemporary pallapugno with trophies, bandages and jerseys. You can check the match calendar and use the QR codes to locate the sferisteri.

The last room, Càbalab, houses the library and an audiovisual archive accessible via a touchscreen: interviews, matches and testimonies to explore further what you encountered during the visit.

Map of the rooms

1. Welcome to Càbalùn
   An introduction to pallapugno and ball-court sports, through images, sounds and testimonies that accompany the start of the visit.
2. The origins of the ball game
   Antonio Scaino’s treatise, the armguards and the jeu de paume rackets tell the story of the game’s ancient forms and tools.
3. The evolution of the ball
   From leather to rubber: materials and processing methods show how the ball has changed. Scoreboards and chase markers introduce the rules of pallapugno.
4. The epic of the elastic ball
   Jerseys, trophies and memorabilia trace the rivalries of the champions, alongside literary accounts and documents on betting at the Mermet sferisterio in Alba.
5. The ball between streets and squares
   The pantalera and village games tell the story of the bond between sport and everyday life, through challenges, convivial moments and curious historical documents.
6. The World Stage
   From Europe to the Americas, a comparison of traditions and equipment: the chistera of Basque pelota, the tools of Mixtec pelota and the gloves of One-Wall.
7. Pallapugno, a sport of today
   Jerseys, bandages and trophies tell the story of the present. You can check news and match calendars and locate the sferisteri through QR codes.
8. Càbalab – The workshop
   The library and audiovisual archive allow you to explore the visit further, browsing books, interviews and match footage via a touchscreen.

In pallapugno, two quadrette, teams of four players, compete against each other. The court is called a sferisterio, and the hand that strikes the ball is protected by a bandage. The score progresses through fifteen, thirty, forty and game.

A distinctive feature is the cacce: certain actions leave a point to be awarded and a position marked on the ground. After the change of ends, that position becomes the mark to be reached or defended in order to win the point.

In pantalera, on the other hand, the ball is put into play by throwing it onto a small sloped canopy. It is played in the town squares, where walls, steps and irregularities can make the bounces unpredictable.

Coexistence with the surrounding houses wasn’t always easy: the museum preserves an 18th-century document relating to a lawsuit in Benevello over damage caused to façades by ball games.