Strange City: The Umarells of Bologna
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Umarells by Wittylama is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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By Dan Carney:
One of the more eye-catching new words in last year’s edition of the popular Zingarelli Italian language dictionary was umarell. The definition accompanying this rather unItalian-sounding term read: “Pensioner who wanders, mostly with their hands behind their backs, at work sites, checking, asking questions, giving suggestions or criticizing the activities that take place there.” Although this might seem too specific to suggest particularly common usage, those from the Emilia-Romagna capital Bologna, where these elderly self-appointed foremen are a common sight, could be forgiven for wondering why formal recognition had taken so long.
The term, which derives from the regional dialect words for “little man” - omarello or ometto - was first coined back in 2005 by Bolognese blogger Danilo Massotti, when he started cataloguing online the many umarells he came across throughout the city. The concept resonated. Before long, people were sending Masotti pictures of umarells they had spotted. Bolognese construction workers, on completion of works, began putting notices up at the sites giving the location of the next project. Smartphone apps giving these details also started to appear.
The fame and popularity of the umarells has continued to rise, with the concept now well known throughout Italy, and their commercial and cultural presence has increased accordingly. The highest profile tie-in came in 2016, when Burger King recruited five for a video campaign to promote their new Italian branches. Franco (78), Clemente (69), Salvator (70), Ugo (73), and Adriano (81) became site foremen for a day, with surveyors to log their recommendations. The advert went viral. The Milanese company TheFabLab have also issued an umarell desktop action figure, cast in the familiar hands-behind-back pose, designed to watch over you as you work. Last year, a board game, La Giornata dell’Umarell (“the daily routine of the umarell”), was launched. Massotti, the originator, has published a number of umarell-themed books.
Umarells have also found themselves honoured in popular culture. In May 2020 the prominent Milanese singer Fabio Concato released ‘L’Umarell’, a song in which he describes an encounter with one during the COVID pandemic. Neopolitan film director Adam Selo is currently developing ‘Umarells’, a full-length to be shot on location in the city, in which the umarells rescue the city’s construction projects after workers go on strike.
The most concrete commemoration came in 2018, when a square on the outskirts of Bologna was renamed in their honour. Speaking at the inauguration of La piazzetta degli umarells, city councilor Matteo Lepore told Italian daily la Repubblica: “It is a way of saying thank you to the many people who every day commit themselves free of charge for the common good.” Elsewhere, in Pescara, a real-estate company has installed umarell-friendly viewing windows in the fences around their sites.
Emilia-Romagna’s most famous umarell is Franco Bonini, who in 2015 was the recipient of a specially created ‘Umarell of the year’ award for his dedicated observation of a shipyard construction site in the comune of San Lazzaro di Savenna, a few miles from central Bologna. He is still recognized due to the TV and newspaper appearances arising from his victory. The title also came with the prize of a day as honorary site director, conferred by the town’s deputy mayor and the site’s project manager.
Bonini’s temporary promotion isn’t the only example of umarells being given direct involvement in the construction process. In 2015, the coastal municipality of Riccione budgeted €11k to pay retirees to observe sites, monitoring delivery of materials to prevent theft. This year, Uniamo Riccione, a centre-left political association in the town, have launched an Operation Umarell recruitment drive in conjunction with mayor Daniela Angelini. The advert, a stirring call to arms for community-minded retirees, read:
“Are you over 60/65 years old? Do you love your city, your neighbourhood, your avenue, your house, your building? Do you want a better future for your children, grandchildren, family, for yourself and for your community? Do you want to become an “attentive observer” of everything that happens and help solve it? There is a sidewalk to be fixed, an architectural barrier to be removed, a family to help, a tree to protect, children to accompany to school, shopping for those who cannot move. If all this and much more is part of your wishes, you are the GRANDFATHER or GRANDMA for us!”
Those who signed up were given a direct line to both Angelini’s team and the town’s police in order to report issues, as well as a badge to signify their status as one with whom concerns could be raised. The scheme is ongoing.
A cynical interpretation of the umarells’ rise may be that it simply represents a marketing opportunity, a chance to drum up cash or attention, or – in the case of the Riccione initiatives - a neat way of getting around municipal funding gaps. But the fact that they continue to resonate, over fifteen years after their identification, might also stem from Italians’ inclusive and respectful attitudes towards older people. Italian life expectancy – and the proportion of the population over 65 - is among the highest in the world, with the elderly more visible, and integral to the family unit, than in most other developed countries. The celebration and inclusion of Umarells may, in part at least, be a result of this.
Nevertheless, some of the connotations are undoubtedly negative. Massotti’s initial characterisation - old men with nothing to do who get kicked out of the house early by their wives - feels slightly derisory, although he has always emphasized the term is meant to be ironic and affectionate, rather than pejorative. The word has also become an everyday Italian expression for those who stand on the sidelines offering advice but never getting involved, a kind of Mediterranean analogue to Harry Enfield’s meddlesome and judgmental “you don’t want to do it like that” character. In 2021 Lepore, so approving when helping to inaugurate the umarell square but now running his (ultimately successful) Bologna mayoral campaign, stated in an interview that his political approach was proactive, rather than that of the umarell. Everyone knew what he meant.
Overall, however, the umarell phenomenon has brought about more good than harm. As well as enabling the celebration and inclusion of the elderly, their ongoing popularity may also signify that they offer a still-living folk memory, a familiar Italian archetype that provides something reassuring: seniority, experience, and a prioritization of communal benefit over corner cutting and profit. This may be particularly pertinent given current economic and cultural uncertainties, with many feeling unable to trust that those in charge of infrastructure have their best interests at heart.
This may, of course, be over-analyzing what is simply a funny observation of a universally recognizable subgroup of the Italian populace. But whatever the deeper reasons for the ongoing popularity of umarells, it is clear that they have something to offer beyond unsolicited sideline advice and a neat line in anoraks.
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Dan Carney is a writer, musician, and lecturer from northeast London. He has released two albums as Astronauts via the Lo Recordings label, and also works as a composer/producer of music for TV and film. His work has been heard on a range of television networks, including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, HBO, Sky, and Discovery. He has also worked in academic psychological research, and has authored articles on subjects such as cognitive processing in genetic syndromes and special skills in autism. His other interests include walking, hanging around in cafes, and spending far too much time thinking about Tottenham Hotspur.