Once upon a time in the Middle Ages the wealthy Baron of Pontelandolfo had a passion for gambling and would find any pretext for a good game loaded with substantial stakes. On the last Sunday of Carnival he was having a late-night card game with his farmhand Pasquale: it was a tense competition with victory often changing sides. In the end dawn saw Pasquale the winner of two farms and pasture hills. Taking no notice of the change of ownership, the Baron's cows went on happily grazing on what was now Pasquale's land. Pasquale complained to the Baron about the trespassing: "I think since I'm feeding your cows, I'm entitled to a share of the cheese from their milk!"

"You wish!" the Baron retorted, "They are grazing on grass that was grown before you won the land, therefore it's still my grass." Now the good folks of Pontelandolfo liked nothing more than the opportunity to see a good, hot blooded battle between the two factions. To add insult to injury the lord had a big wheel of cheese hung on Pasquale's window one night. The farmer, furious but wise, did not want to stir up turmoil, so he challenged his opponent: "What began as a game should be resolved with one: I shall wait for you tomorrow in the square!"

The following morning, surrounded by a shouting crowd, the two men started what was to be a decisive cheese tumbling tournament. According to the legend the game never ended and it is said that their ghosts appear in the nights of Carnival, still playing!

The Origins of the Game

There are clues to possibly very ancient origins of the "Ruzzola": an Etruscan fresco in Tarquinia's Tomb of the Olympiad, shows an athlete in the act of swinging a "disc" that looks much like a cheese.

Even Galileo takes an interest in the game: in his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems he has a quotation from Aristotle about the rotating motion and speed of "ruzzole".

How the Game is Played Today

Since 1861 the players gather and start the course of some 700 metres from the main square to Palazzo San Rocco and back, throwing their wheels of cheese. These can weigh from 6 to 35 kilos and are swung using a string called a "zagaglia" wrapped around the perimeter of the cheese and the player's wrist. The team that uses the least throws, or "cùlp" wins. Although today the game is properly organized in a Federation, its peasant origins make it popular in many regions of Italy; often the cheese is replaced by a wooden disc, which is cheaper and lighter.