page_title: Curva
section_title: Significance
hierarchical_section_title: Curva / Significance
caption_attribution_description: Stadio Olimpico during an AS Roma match
context_page_description: Curva is an Italian term or name for curved stands of seating located at sports stadiums, particularly in Italy; so named, originally, due to their curved or bending shape. The curva plays an integral part in the culture of Ultras and European football.
context_section_description: Being home to the most openly passionate supporters in a stadium, the curva is usually the focal point of a club's support. It is often the scene of dramatic choreographed displays of support and occasionally, disapproval for a team or club. These displays often take on an importance of their own, particularly in games involving rivals where both sets of supporters aim to outdo each other. In certain countries, particularly those where sports clubs and supporters are extremely reflective of the local culture, the curva can become quite politicised in nature. Therefore, it is not uncommon for a curva to be split into individual factions or groups, either solely or partially, based on politics, and for one group to hold significant control of the curva and its inhabitants on match days. Ultras groups within a curva often benefit from this degree of relative uniformity, when there are issues regarding supporters' rights and the commercialisation of sports and football in particular.
caption: A.S. Roma Fans in Curva Sud
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