When The Carroll Park Bocce Guys Played In Carroll Park

From left to right:
Angelo Licata, Ralph Lubrono, Giovani Romano, Mario Feola, Nuncio Illiano and Giuseppe Coppola
Carroll Park, 2011

Years ago, just like clockwork, the Italian bocce guys of Carroll Park would re-appear on the first nice spring days in the neighborhood, just as dependably as the daffodils and the ice cream truck.

They would spend hours meticulously grooming the court before the first game of the season, play and argue over the score, and then spend the rest of the afternoon chatting away.

The photos above where taken in April 2011, on one of those first warmer days, after what seemed an unending winter. Angelo Licata, Ralph Lubrono, Giovani Romano, Mario Feola, Nuncio Illiano and Giuseppe Coppola were kind enough to pose for me when I asked them if I could take their photo.

Sadly, these last few years, the bocce courts have remained empty as the older generation has passed away and many of Carroll Gardens' next  Italian/American generation has moved away. 

I  was reminded of these lovely Italian gentlemen when someone stumbled onto the photos recently and reposted them on Facebook.

Though some Carroll Gardeners newcomers sometimes play bocce or  pétanque, its French equivalent, in our neighborhood park, spring just hasn't been quite the same these past few years.


The empty bocce court as I walked through Carroll Park today

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Greetings From The Carroll Park Bocce Guys

From left to right:

Angelo Licata, Ralph Lubrono, Giovani Romano, Mario Feola, Nuncio Illiano and Giuseppe Coppola

What would Carroll Gardens be without Carroll Park. And, honestly, what would Carroll Park be without the Italian gentlemen who gather in the bocce court on sunny days?

Now that the weather has improved, they are back for another season at their favorite neighborhood spot.

To Angelo Licata, Ralph Lubrono, Giovani Romano, Mario Feola, Nuncio Illiano and Giuseppe Coppola, thanks for posing and for allowing me to take your photo.

°°°°°°°°°°

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