They traveled across the Atlantic Ocean with all the necessities of any traveler, with one addition: a bag, of four bocce balls. Leaving their quiet Italian town, the Cagli bocce team arrived in the bustling city of Chicago for the 1996 World Bocce Championships. The four person team- Silvano Girolomini, Giuseppe Palucca, Daria Bartoli and Gianni Caselli-came to the United States with one mission: to represent their country and their unknown town in the best possible way. How They Got Here Cagli: It is a long and competitive process to be invited to the World Bocce Championships.		Back in Cagli, the four men had earned the most points at their local Bocciodromo and qualified for the team that would represent their league,Bocciofila Cagliese in the national championships. In Cagli, the men play in tournaments every Saturday; this is when they earn points. The point system is on an individual basis. Each man is rewarded one point if his team wins three matchers in the Sunday tournament. These points are recorded onh a bulletin board at the Bocciodromo and updated every Sunday. When the time came to send a team to the 1995 Italian National Championships, the four men with the most points were chosen.
Italian Championship: The winners of the Italian Championship qualifies for the World Championship. But, there is a catch. They don't have to win the Italian Championship once, but twice. A team has to win two consecutive years to be able to attend the World Championship that is held every two years. In 1995 and 1996, Bocciofila Cagliese team won and, thus, earned the right to go to the World Championship in 1996. Chicago World Championship: Once in Chicago the four men competed with other teams representing countries from four continents. The team from a generally unknown town in Italy proved their worth won third place honors.		When they landed back home in Cagli, there was a banquet in their honor at the town hall. The mayor presented the men with plaques for their accomplishments. The team created a name for itself in the bocce world as well as gained respect for tiny Cagli. Since the Chicago championships, the team has split up and members moved elsewhere, except for the youngest, Gianni. Regardless, the team accomplished its mission and showed the world that Cagli is a force to be reckoned within the sport of bocce.
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