Siracusa Calcio 1924

The earliest association football club in the Aretusean city was the Ortigia Sport Club, established in 1907. Two years later, the club participated in the Lipton Challenge Cup, a prestigious football tournament in Southern Italy, reaching the semi-final on 10 April 1909, in Palermo. There, they faced the local Palermo Football Club, losing 4–2. Notably, Ortigia had initially been awarded a forfeit victory due to Palermo fielding professional players, a violation of the era's regulations. Nevertheless, the match proceeded as a friendly. Apart from occasional provincial appearances, little is recorded of the island club thereafter, with its definitive dissolution coinciding with the outbreak of World War I.

The 1920s

It was not until after the post-war period, in the early 1920s, that new clubs emerged: in 1922, the Polisportiva Siracusana was founded, alongside the Sporting Club Santa Lucia, established by sailor Giuseppe Barcio. The latter's existence proved short-lived, disbanding after just one year. In 1923, additional local teams were formed, primarily neighborhood-based, engaging in amateur street tournaments. Among these, the blues of Esperia (from Ortygia) and the yellow-and-reds of Insuperabile (from Borgata Santa Lucia, mainland Syracuse) stood out, divided by intense local rivalry that extended to the football pitch. That same year, the Circolo Sportivo Tommaso Gargallo was founded, named after the Syracusan poet. Among these, the Polisportiva Siracusana…