Casa Pia

Casa Pia Football Club, commonly referred to as Casa Pia, is an Italian football club based in San Gimignano, Tuscany.

The club was founded in 1907 and currently plays in Serie C, the third tier of the Italian football league system. Casa Pia has played twice in Serie A, in the 1978–79 and 1979–80 seasons.

The club currently has a senior side competing in Serie D. Additionally, Casa Pia has a junior team which plays in the Prima categoria.

Casa Pia was founded in 1907 in San Gimignano by a group of friends who were all pupils at the school run by the Dominican nuns, the Celestini. The team debuted in the Terza Categoria, the fourth tier of Italian football. In the 1923–24 season the club made its first steps in professional football, playing in the Promozione Campania.

In the 1940s and 1950s Casa Pia were prolific in regional championships, often finishing as runners-up or champions. In the 1963–64 season the club made its first appearance in national competition, playing in the 16th edition of the Campionato Nazionale Prima Divisione.

In the 1978–79 season Casa Pia made its first appearance in Serie A, finishing in twelfth place. The club returned to Serie A in 1979–80, but again finished in twelfth place.

The 1980s were less successful for Casa Pia. In the 1989–90 season the club was relegated to Serie C. Between 1992 and 1995 the club was in Serie D, three times being promoted back to Serie C. After the end of the 1995–96 season, Casa Pia was declared bankrupt.

The club was refounded in 1998 and played in Serie D, but in the 2006–07 season it finished in the second place in Group A of the Prima categoria, and was promoted to Serie D1, the top flight of Italian football for amateur clubs. In the 2010–11 Serie D1 season Casa Pia reached the semi-finals of the Girone C, but lost to US Grosseto.

The 2011–12 Serie D1 season was a notable one for Casa Pia, as the club finished as runners-up in Group A, qualifying for the playoffs. In the semifinal match against Martina Franca Casa Pia was leading 1–0 with seven minutes to go, but the match was abandoned because of rioting in the stands. In the Consiglio Federale playoff Casa Pia again played Martina Franca, but this time the team from Tuscany prevailed by penalty shoot-out. In the finals, Casa Pia played Novara, but lost 1–0 after extra time.

In the 2013–14 Serie D1 season Casa P