An Argentine family playing bocce in San Vicente, Buenos Aires, c.1902
Bocce play in Cape Coral, Florida, US in 2007Bocce being 馃憚 playeda typical bocce set
Bocce ( ,[1][2] or ,[3] Italian: [藞b蓴tt蕛e]), sometimes anglicized as bocce ball,[4] bocci[5] or boccie,[1] is a 馃憚 ball sport belonging to the boules family.
Developed into its present form in Italy, it is closely related to British bowls 馃憚 and French p茅tanque, with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire.
Bocce is played around western, southern 馃憚 and southeastern Europe, as well as in overseas areas with historical Italian immigrant population, including Australia, North America, and South 馃憚 America, principally Argentina and the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.