Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Restored Bocce Court
Groups of inmates filled these courts in the 1950s and 1960s, competing fiercely in round after round of the traditional Italian sport bocce.
The game is perfect for an aging prison population: it doesn't require much strength or endurance, but strategy is everything and games can be cutthroat.
Eastern State's bocce courts are smaller than regulation size. They needed to fit into these narrow spaces between the roadside and the big wall.
This court was restored in 2012.
Bocce Rules
1. Choose players. Bocce is played with two people or two teams. Each team gets four large balls of the same color, called bocce (singular) or bocci (plural).
2. Throw the small white ball, called the pallino, onto the court. It becomes the target. Then throw your bocci from the same end of the court. The goal is to place them as close as possible to the pallino. Consider knocking an opposing bocce away — or even the pallino itself!
3. After the balls are thrown, decide which team's bocce is closest to the pallino. This team is the scoring team. In each giro (scoring period) only one team can score points.
4. The scoring team gets one point for the ball closest to the pallino,and one point for each additional ball that is closer than any of the non-scoring team's bocci. Hence, the maximum number of points a team can score is four.
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5. Start again from the other end of the court. The first team to reach nine point wine.
Erected by Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Law Enforcement • Parks & Recreational Areas • Sports. A significant historical year for this entry is 2012.
Location. 39° 58.08′ N, 75° 10.295′ W. Marker is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County. It is in Eastern State Penitentiary. Marker can be reached from Fairmount Avenue west of Corinthian Avenue, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2027 Fairmount Ave, Philadelphia PA 19130, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Rachel Livedalen: Doris Jean (a few steps from this marker); Greenhouse (within shouting distance of this marker); Punishment Area: Cellblock 13 (within shouting distance of this marker); Abandonment / Prisons Today (within shouting distance of this marker); Eastern State Penitentiary (within shouting distance of this marker); Death Row Courtyard (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Eastern State Penitentiary (within shouting distance of this marker); Born at "E.S.P." (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Philadelphia.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 23, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 323 times since then and 31 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on March 23, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
