The previous weekend saw league games kick off in 3 of Europe's TOP 5 leagues. After France, England and Germany, it is time for the Italian Serie A, which will inaugurate the campaign on Saturday, August 13. Meet all the arenas where the rivalry for the scudetto will take place!

Last season finished with a happy-end for AC Milan, who, after 11 long years, finally broke the deadlock and won the 19th domestic championship in their history. Talk of moving out of San Siro to Nuovo Stadio Milano continues to be loud in the city, but it seems that neither AC Milan, let alone Inter, will be leaving this legendary venue in the next few years.

© The Hausmeister's Groundhopping

Before we move on to cover Serie A's biggest arenas for the 2022/23 season, it's worth taking a closer look at the stadiums of the newcomers. AC Monza will be playing in the top division for the first time ever, with its U-Power Stadium having undergone renovations ahead of the start of the league. The venue will now be able to hold 16,000 spectators starting from the first matchday.

US Cremonese's arena, Stadio Giovanni Zini, is bigger by just three seats, but is nevertheless still one of the smallest in the competition. The group of newly promoted sides also includes US Lecce, whose 30,000-plus-seater Stadio Via del Mare ranks unsurprisingly in the TOP 8 of the league's stadiums, thanks to its capacity. On the other hand, Spezia Calcio, whose Stadio Alberto Picco is by far the smallest in Serie A, cannot be satisfied with its facility.

© Robert Saganowski, Stadiony.net

Despite the fact that Atalanta have regularly finished seasons in the top half of the table for many years, their stadium is definitely not among the largest. The ongoing renovation of Gewiss Stadium is expected to result in an increase in capacity to over 24,000 seats. The same is expected to happen at Empoli, however Stadio Carlo Castellani redevelopment project, unveiled in 2015, is still in the planning stages.

For decades, Italians have had an undeniable problem building new arenas on the Apennine Peninsula. Facilities such as Dacia Arena in Udine or Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia (US Sassuolo) are mere exceptions on Italy's stadium map, in contrast to the giants of Verona (Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi) and Turin (Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino). Somewhere in between there would also be a place for Salerno's Stadio Arechi, which is known mainly for its incredible atmosphere on the stands.

© Udinese Calcio

We begin the top seven with two arenas that, despite their longevity, are still considered among the most iconic in Italy. We are referring to Stadio Renato dall'Ara in Bologna and Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa, of course. The stadium in Emilia-Romagna is best known for its marathon tower, which will remain an integral part of the venue even in the event of renovation. The legendary 'Marassi' will unfortunately no longer witness a city derby this season, due to Genoa's relegation to Serie B.

It's getting hotter as we enter the European Cup zone. We've already mentioned Milan's Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, which holds the title of the largest stadium in the entire country, but we can't forget about Stadio Olimpico, which regularly seats almost 70,000 people during AS Roma and SS Lazio matches.

Slightly smaller are the arenas in Florence (Stadio Artemio Franchi) and Naples (Stadio Diego Maradona), but they will host this year's UEFA Conference League qualifiers and the group stage of the Champions League, respectively. Our list closes with perhaps the most modern venue in Italy - Allianz Stadium, where Juventus play their matches on a daily basis. Will the 'Bianconeri' regain the title after two seasons without a championship?

© Marco Villa