, the official location of the celebrated its 15th anniversary on Feb. 8.
The business is the brainchild of owner Tom Albanese, who had fallen in love with the game playing with friends at their backyard courts in Los Gatos.
After Albanese traveled to Italy, where bocce is part of the lifestyle, he thought it would be a great idea to build a fine Italian restaurant in town integrating eight bocce courts.
Since its opening, Campo di Bocce has been instrumental in popularizing the game through hosting tournaments and championships on its courts, said Bob Rauh, business and brand development for Campo di Bocce of Los Gatos and Livermore.
The facility has been the venue for the International Matches, the United States National Championships and Western States championships, and has fast become the destination for bocce players throughout California and the West, Rauh said.
Ben Musolf, COO at Campo di Bocce, recently represented the United States in the World Bocce championships in Feltre, Italy and has become a flag-bearer attempting to popularize the sport across the U.S.
Throughout the years, Campo di Bocce has raised more than $10 million for local and national charities, according to Rauh.
The annual John Madden-Steve Mariucci Charity Bocce Tournament, hosted by Campo di Bocce, raised more than $4 million alone, he added.
“Combining bocce with great Italian food has become a great formula for family fun and corporate team building events,” said Albanese. “Anyone from 5 to 95 years of age can play and enjoy the wonderful social interaction the game brings out in people.
"It’s fun to be celebrating our 15th year, and we hope that we can keep the balls rolling toward new successes for the restaurant and for the sport of bocce.”
