Little Italy Bocce Court

Popular throughout the U.S. among Italian-Americans for nostalgic reasons, bocce is a game of ball-rolling on a special stone-dust court. The object is to roll the bocce, a 4½-inch ball (about three pounds in weight) as close as possible to the pallino, a 1¾-inch ball first rolled down the alley. The bocce resting closest to the pallino scores. Twelve points make a game. It is unlike bowling since bocce is not a game of slam and crash – it's a game of skill, fitness, strategy and cunning. The courts, owned by Baltimore City Department of Recreation & Parks were completed in 1994. They are named after former mayor of Baltimore, and Little Italy resident, Thomas D’Alesandro Jr., (also father to Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the United State House of Representatives.