Outside of Parma, where I teach, there is a town of small town called Casalmaggiore. My wife's family is from there.

This past Sunday, the women's volleyball team of Casalmaggiore won the European Cup of Women's volleyball !

It is one of the greatest "cinderella" stories in the history of sports worldwide.

After winning the national championship to represent Italy in the European competition, already an incredible achievement for a town of 15,000 people, the women of Casalmaggiore defeated Russia in the semi-finals. and Istanbul (a city of 15 million !) in the finals, both in 3 game to 0 sweeps of the series.

They are becoming heroines for this accomplishment in a sport in which Italian women are always among the world's best.

Here is the team: