Fasano

Fasano sits on Puglia's Adriatic coast, but the Palazzetto dello Sport in the Vigna Marina district has drawn crowds who follow one thing above all: handball. Junior Fasano grew out of a first tournament staged in May 1980 and was given legal standing two years later, on 15 October 1982, and it has since become the club that carries the town's name into Serie A Gold, Italy's top division.

The record built there is heavier than the town's size would suggest: five Serie A Gold titles, the most recent in 2024, plus three Coppa Italia wins and a Supercoppa Italiana. The 2023-24 final showed what that record costs — Fasano lost the opening game to SSV Brixen Handball, levelled with a 34-28 win in the second, and only settled the title in a decisive third match on 4 June 2024, with Filippo Angiolini named the final's best player. A year earlier the story had been almost identical against Sassari, decided again in a deciding rubber.

Vito Fovio now coaches the side he once played for, having collected ten titles as a player before moving to the bench. Flavio Messina came through the club's own academy, stayed for his entire career and retired the moment the 2024 title was secured. Fixtures against Pallamano Conversano, the Derby Pugliese, carry a regional weight that matches from further afield rarely do, while Bolzano's Loacker-Volksbank side has been the opponent standing on the other side of more than one Fasano trophy.