Bocce

Bocce is the oldest and most widespread precision sport in the Mediterranean region. The aim is simple to understand but extremely difficult to achieve: to get one’s own bocce balls closer to the pallino — the target ball — than one’s opponent manages to do. Each throw can be a ‘placing’ shot, to position one’s bocce ball close to the pallino, or a shot to knock the opponent’s balls away: a ‘di raffa’ when the bocce ball skims the ground as it reaches the target, or a ‘di volo’ when it hits it directly whilst in the air. Games involving stone balls have been documented since ancient times, and the Romans regarded them as a test of skill rather than strength; in the Middle Ages, bocce was banned on several occasions because it distracted from training with bows and crossbows and fuelled gambling. The modern sport emerged between the 19th and 20th centuries: in 1873, the ‘Cricca Bocciofila’, the first Italian club, was founded in Turin; in 1907, in La Ciotat, Provence, pétanque was born, played with the feet together inside a circle; in 1979, the three Italian variants were brought together under the Italian Bocce Federation, whilst since 1985 the international movement has been led by the Confédération Mondiale des Sports de Boules, recognised by the IOC. Today, competitions are held in three disciplines, each with different equipment and playing surfaces: raffa, played with synthetic boules (104–111 mm in diameter, just under a kilo) on lanes around thirty metres long; ‘volo’, or ‘boule lyonnaise’, played with heavier metal boules and a run-up; and ‘pétanque’, played on shorter courts with smaller steel boules (650–800 grams). Alongside the match events — singles, doubles and triples — there are shooting events, where players hit predetermined targets against the clock (progressive shooting) or according to set patterns (precision shooting): these require a steady hand, an understanding of the terrain and tactical thinking. At the 20th Mediterranean Games in Taranto 2026, bocce will take place from 22 to 25 August at the Montemesola Sports Hall, with 12 titles up for grabs: raffa (singles and doubles), volo (progressive shooting and precision shooting) and pétanque (doubles and precision shooting), with both men’s and women’s events in each discipline. Italy will be represented by twelve athletes, four per discipline.

• 1The player who places their boules closest to the jack wins the hand: you can play a touch shot, a skim shot (a glancing blow) or a direct shot (a direct hit)
• 2Three variants: raffa (synthetic boules), volo or boule lyonnaise (metal boules, shot taken from a run-up), pétanque (steel boules, feet together within the circle)
• 3The match ends at 12 points in raffa and at 13 points in volo and pétanque
• 4Shooting events: in progressive shooting, multiple targets are hit against the clock; in precision shooting, pre-determined shooting patterns are executed
• 512 titles in Taranto: raffa (singles, doubles), volo (progressive shooting, precision shooting), pétanque (doubles, precision shooting), men’s and women’s