This past weekend was the annual St. Anthony's Italian Festival in Baltimore's Little Italy. While there are many ethnic festivals held every year, this is one of the oldest, having its origins in the Great Fire of 1904. As the inferno raged in downtown Baltimore, the parishioners of St. Leo's in Little Italy prayed to St. Anthony to spare their community. The first festival, in 1905, was a celebration of this salvation. It has continued every year.
Naturally, a bocce ball tournament is at the center of the festivities because bocce ball is already the reigning pastime in the tight knit community. Thomas D'Alesandro park, in the heart of the restaurant district, has had two regulation bocce ball courts since 1994. They are 80' by 13' and topped with a very fine, light gray stone dust -- considered the perfect surface for a fast roll. And yes, the nightly games, played under the lights and stars, are an attraction for visitors. Diners frequently stop by the courts to watch the weeknight league play.