Italy's first major volleyball success came in the form of a bronze medal at the 1948 European Championships, which they hosted, but it was only in the early '70s – after gold at the 1970 World University Games in Turin – that Italy became a major force in the sport. In 1978, Italy hosted the FIVB World Championship for the first time and the side, led by Carmelo Pittera, won the silver medal. They followed this up with a bronze at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics under Silvano Prandi. In 1989, with the advent of Julio Velasco as the leader of the "Azzurri," Italy began a 15-year spell of domination that continued under coaches Bebeto, Anastasi and Montali. From 1989 to 2005, Italy won three World Championships, one World Cup, six European Championships, eight World Leagues and three Olympic medals (silver in Atlanta in 1996, bronze at Sydney in 2000 and silver at Athens in 2004). Most recently, they finished sixth in the 2010 World League after narrowly qualifying for the Final Round and were fourth at the World Championship in Italy last year.