All the Colours of Serie A - part one

Twenty clubs, twenty shirts (in reality, many more), and twenty stories told through documented history and enduring legends.

Here's the story behind the colours and current kits of the clubs competing in the next Serie A season.

Atalanta

La Dea originally played in black and white. Following a merger with Bergamo's other club, which wore white and blue, white was dropped in favour of the now-iconic black and blue. This season's Away Kit pays tribute to the club's away shirts of the 1990s.

Bologna

The Rossoblù colours originate from those of a Swiss college attended by one of the club's founders. Initially, Bologna wore a quartered shirt before adopting the famous red-and-blue stripes. The white Away Kit stems from the club's first Scudetto triumph, when white was commonly worn as a neutral colour to avoid clashing with opponents' coloured shirts. For the same reason, Bologna even wore green in the title-deciding final against Genoa.

Cagliari

The Sardinians' red and blue colours pay tribute to the city and underline the club's strong local identity. Their white Away Kit recalls the club's very first match, when players reportedly took to the pitch wearing adapted doctors' coats.

Como

For the Lariani, the origin of the club's colours is easy to trace: the blue is inspired by the waters of Lake Como. The club originally played in black and white but, following a merger with another local side, switched to red and white. The current blue was finally adopted in the 1930s.

Fiorentina

When Fiorentina was founded, the club wore white and red, reflecting the colours of Florence's coat of arms. President Luigi Ridolfi later fell in love with the purple worn by Hungarian side Ujpest, which also evoked the city's purple lily (giaggiolo). However, legend has it that the colour originated after a laundress accidentally washed together the club's white and red shirts.

Frosinone

Yellow and blue come from the coat of arms of the Province of Frosinone. However, originally the Canaries played in red and blue, reflecting the colours of the city's own crest.

Genoa

The club's original playing shirt was white, although cricket was still its main sport. As football grew in importance, Genoa switched to white and blue in tribute to Sheffield, before adopting red and blue at the start of the 20th century as a nod to the Union Jack and the club's British roots.

INTER

Inter's black and blue colours came from one of the club's founders, the Futurist artist Giorgio Muggiani, partly to distinguish the club from the city's other team. The white Away Kit, often featuring the red cross of Milano, is a tribute to the city itself.

Juventus

When they were first established, Juventus played in pink shirts with black ties. According to legend, the club ordered new shirts from a textile supplier in Nottingham. Their faded pink shirt, sent as a sample, was mistaken for a white one, and the supplier instead dispatched the black-and-white shirts of local side Notts County. Juventus have worn black and white ever since.

Lazio

Lazio's white and sky blue colours were chosen in tribute to Greece and the Olympic spirit. Initially, the club's athletes competed in white before sky blue was added as team sports developed.