This range of teams was featured on a flyer inserted in some of the 1976 catalogues under the heading “Nuove Squadre 1976” (New Teams 1976). Unlike the usual practice of adding new teams to the end of the numbering system, Parodi shifted to the 500s for this range. Unlike the stamped box range, the 500s range didn’t solely focus on Italian sides not currently in the range; it also included a few other European sides, South American, and American teams. Eventually, all these teams were added to the Subbuteo range, except for team 512, which remained unique to this range. It’s possible that this was a test run to gauge the market before selling them in the UK, though this is just a theory of mine.

In total, there were 29 unique teams in this range at the time of release, excluding team 512, which remained unique.

(Info from Peter Uptons page http://www.peter-upton.co.uk/subitaly.htm