Bocce: My Turn, Grandpa!

The ancient sport of bocce suffers from an image problem. "It conjures up this picture of old Italians with a glass of wine and a stogie," says Mario Pagnoni, author of the definitive guide to the sport, "The Joy of Bocce." Male octogenarians long held a monopoly on the game because of tradition. "One of the problems was, old Italian men didn't let women or kids play," Pagnoni says.

But those days are gone. The sport, which involves rolling the four-inch bocce ball as close as possible to the pallino, a smaller target ball, is now surging in popularity. According to the World Bocce Association, it is currently the second most popular participatory sport in the world--and women are driving the ... // 50% Remaining