Fiorentina fans were on Monday given the chance to hark back to the club's golden period in Serie A -- and it may be partly down to a butcher with a premonition.

The last time 'La Viola' sat top of Italy's top flight was in February 1999 when prolific Argentina striker Gabriel Batistuta, known affectionately as 'Batigol', was banging the goals in almost at will for the Florence-based club.

On Sunday, Fiorentina confirmed their early-season promise by ending a 16-year wait to return to the top thanks to a stunning 4-1 win over Inter Milan that was inspired by a hat-trick from Croatia international striker Nikola Kalinic.

Paulo Sousa's men sit top of the table on 15 points from six games, ahead of Inter on goal difference, with champions Juventus stuck in 15th place, 10 points adrift.

Fiorentina's positive start has been widely attributed to Sousa, a former Benfica, Juventus and Inter midfielder who was brought in to replace Vincenzo Montella when the coach was sacked last season and whose ideas are said to have breathed new life into the Viola dressing room.

But for La Gazzetta dello Sport, a local butcher's premonition may have played a role, too.

In a webclip on the Italian sports daily's website, an unnamed butcher runs out from behind his counter at a local market to approach Kalinic when he sees him strolling past with a fellow teammate last week.

When he recognises Kalinic, he calls out: "You're the new number nine, you're the new Batistuta eh ?"

Batistuta, who retired in 2005, still has legendary status throughout Italian football and has even bigger respect among Fiorentina's fans.

He was signed for the club on the back of his performances at the 1991 Copa America and, despite never winning a scudetto with Fiorentina, went on to enjoy the best years of his career at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Batistuta was Serie A's top scorer in the 1994-95 season with 26 goals, and he went on to break a 30-year-old record held by Ezio Pascutti by scoring in all of the first 11 matches of the season.

In 1996 Fiorentina won the Italian Cup and Supercup, but eventually the Argentinian's ambition tempted him to move to a bigger club.

Having gone close with Fiorentina in 1999, the last time they had topped the league only to finish third, Batistuta signed for Roma in time for the 2000-2001 season.

It was a wise move, as Roma went on to claim only their second title and their first since 1983.

Kalinic, who left Blackburn Rovers in 2011 after Sam Allardyce was sacked as manager, scored 37 goals in 87 appearances for his former club Dnipro in Ukraine before signing a four-year deal with Fiorentina this season.

He has a long way to go if he is to emulate 'Batigol', and for the moment the 27-year-old Croatian is keeping a lid on his ambitions.

"This win doesn't put us in a position to start thinking we will win the league," he said.

"For now, we'll be taking it one day at a time."