World Bocce History
Bocce (or Bocci, or Boccie), is a precision sport belonging to the boules family, which is closely related to bowls and pétanque, with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. Developed into its present form in Italy (where it is called Bocce, the plural of the Italian word boccia which means "bowl"), it is played around Europe and also in overseas countries that have received Italian immigrants, including Australia, North America and South America (where it is known as bochas; "bolas criollas" in Venezuela).
Initially Bocce was only played amongst the Italians themselves, but it gradually infused itself into the culture of numerous countries and has grown increasingly more popular with their descendants and the wider community. The sport is also popular in the former Yugoslavian countries of Slovenia, Croatia (predominantly in the coastal regions), Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro. The game is known in Serbia as boćanje and in Croatia as boćanje, bućanje, or balote, depending on the region. In Southern France the sport is also popular and known as Boule Lyonnaise.
Throwing balls toward a target is the oldest game known to humankind. As early as 5000 B.C. the Egyptians played a form of Bocce with polished rocks. Graphic representations of figures tossing a ball or polished stone have been recorded as early as 5200 B.C. While Bocce today looks quite different from its early predecessors, the unbroken thread of Bocce’s lineage is the consistently common objective of trying to come as close to a fixed target as possible. From this early objective, the basic rules of Bocce were born. From Egypt the game made its way to Greece around 800 B.C.
The Romans learned the game from the Greeks, then introduced it throughout the empire. Bocce was played between battles during Rome's Punic Wars against Carthage, which started in 264 B.C. Soldiers selected a small stone called a "leader" and threw it first. Then larger stones would be thrown at the "leader" and the stone coming closest to it would score. The game provided exercise and relaxation for the soldiers. Teams were composed of two, four, six, or eight men and the score would vary from 16 to 24 points per game. The Roman influence in Bocce is still preserved in the game’s name, as "Bocce" is thought to derive from the Vulgate Latin "bottia," meaning boss.
The early Romans were among the first to play a game resembling what we know as Bocce today. In early times they used coconuts brought back from Africa and later used hard olive wood to carve out bocce balls. Beginning with Emperor Augustus, Bocce became the sport of statesman and rulers. From the early Greek physician Ipocrates to the great Italian Renaissance man Galileo, the early participants of Bocce have noted that the game’s stategy and spirit of competition rejuvenates the body.
"Il Gioco Delle Bocce" - Henri Matisse
As the game enjoyed rapid growth throughout Europe, being the sport of nobility and peasants alike, it began to threaten the health of nations. The popularity of the game was said to interfere with the security of the state because it took too much time away from archery practice and other military exercises. Consequently, Kings Carlos IV and V prohibited the playing of Bocce, and doctors from the University of Montpellier, France, tried to discredit the claim that playing Bocce had great therapeutic effect in curing rheumatism.
In 1576, the Republic of Venice publicly condemned the sport, punishing those who played with fines and imprisonment. And perhaps most grave was the condemnation by the Catholic Church which deterred the laity and officially prohibited clergyman from playing the game by proclaiming Bocce a means of gambling.
"Armada in Sight" - John Seymour Lucas 1880
Contrary to the rest of Europe, the great game of balls thrived in Great Britain. Such nobility as Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Francis Drake were avid fans. According to legend, Sir Frances Drake refused to set out to defend England against the Spanish Armada until he finished a game. He proclaimed, "First we finish the game, then we’ll deal with the Armada!"
The sport first came to America in the English version called bowis, from the French boule meaning ball. In accord with how the game was played in Britain, American players threw the ball, not on stone dust (as is done today in bocce), but on close cropped grass which some say is the origin of the modern lawn. It has been noted that one early American playing field was Bowling Green at the southern tip of Manhattan and that George Washington built a court at Mount Vernon in the 1780s.
In modern times, the first bocce clubs were organized in Italy. Notably the first Italian League was formed in 1947 by fifteen teams in and around the town of Rivoli (Torino). 1947 also marks the beginning of the yearly Bocce World Championships.
Thanks to many Italian immigrants at the turn of the century, Bocce has come to flourish in the United States. During its beginnings in the U.S. there were as many versions of the game as there were towns the immigrants had left. The popularity of Bocce in America has been increasing drastically over the past few decades and currently the game is played by more than 25,000,000 people in the United States alone. In addition, the international rules of Bocce are implemented and maintained by the Collegium Cosmicum ad Buxeas, the preeminent bocce organization, headquartered in Rome, Italy.
A bocce player of note is Umberto Granaglia (May 20, 1931 – December 13, 2008), who was awarded the honor of "Player of the Twentieth Century" by the Confederation Mondiale des Sport de Boules. Between 1957 and 1980 Granaglia won a record 13 World Championship titles, 12 European Championship titles, & 46 Italian National Championship titles.
Bocce is widely considered the third most popular game in the world, next to soccer (football) and golf.