REGGIO EMILIA, Italy — Mike Piazza was jet-lagged and hungry, though you wouldn’t have known it from his smile as he navigated the obstacle course of hugs, kisses and handshakes.

“Hey! Ciao! Good to see you!” he said.

It has been 10 years since Piazza, 48, retired from baseball as one of the best-hitting catchers in history. It is common for stars of his stature to try out second careers in broadcasting, or simply to luxuriate in endless rounds of golf. Piazza last year decided he would become the majority owner of a third-division Italian soccer club, Reggiana.

And so today, one year after his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the focus of Piazza’s professional life is here in Reggio Emilia, a picturesque city 100 miles south of Milan — and about 5,000 miles from his home in Miami. Here, most people view the American pastime, if they know it at all, as a faraway curiosity. The locals understood that Piazza was famous when he arrived, but they needed Google to discover the reason. The level of renown he earns here will depend entirely on his ability to execute an ambitious plan to lift his beleaguered club back to the top flight of Italian soccer.

So he kept moving on that recent Sunday morning, doling out bilingual small talk around the V.I.P. lounge of Reggiana’s stadium before a recent game against Modena, a nearby rival. Cigarette smoke and the faint echoes of fans’ chants wafted in from the stands. Parmigiano-Reggiano from a local sponsor was carved and shoveled onto plates of pumpkin tortellini. Finally, palms pressed and pleasantries exchanged, Piazza stole away to a modest private box where he could reflect on his professional transformation.