Umarell

Umarell (Italian spelling of the Bolognese Emilian word umarèl, Emilian pronunciation: [umaˈrɛːl]; plural umarî) are men of retirement age who spend their time watching construction sites, especially roadworks – stereotypically with hands clasped behind their back and offering unwanted advice to the workers. Its literal meaning is "little man" (also umaréin). The term is employed as lighthearted mockery or self-deprecation.

Umarells observing re-paving at the corners of Palazzo Re Enzo and Via Rizzoli, Bologna (2015–16)

The modern term was popularised in 2005 by local writer Danilo Masotti through three books and an associated blog. In 2021, the word was included in the Zingarelli dictionary.

Instances of use

In 2015, the city of Riccione, approximately 130 kilometres (80 miles) southeast of Bologna, allocated an €11,000 budget to pay a wage to umarells to oversee worksites in the city – counting the number of trucks in and out to ensure materials were delivered/removed according to the receipts, and guarding against theft when the site was otherwise unattended. The town of San Lazzaro di Savena, 6 km (3+1⁄2 mi) to the South-East of Bologna, awarded the "Umarell of the year" prize to a local resident, Franco Bonini.

In 2016, the local cultural association called Succede solo a Bologna ("It only happens in Bologna") released the "Umarèl card" as a fundraiser for continued restoration of the San Petronio church. Separately, a smartphone app called Umarells was released that tracked the location of ongoing roadworks and construction sites. The fast food restaurant chain Burger King also "hired" several umarells as part of a social media marketing campaign promoting its increased presence in the country.

In July 2017, the Bologna city council's "consultative commission for the naming of street" approved the naming of a public square to the East of the city centre in the Cirenaica district Piazzetta degli Umarells in recognition of the local fame of the concept and the name – noting with conscious irony that the square was under construction at the time.

In April 2018, the public square was inaugurated by city councillor Matteo Lepore, the district president Simone Borsari, the "lord of the umarells" Franco Bonini, the stand-up comedian Maurizio Pagliari (Dulio Pizzocchi), and the writer Danilo Masotti. A year later the street-sign for the square was stolen.

In April 2020, the comic magazine Topolino dedicated an episode to the umarell Gerindo Persichetti. In December 2020 in Pescara, the real estate developer Sarra installed windows to allow Umarells to observe three construction sites. Since 2019, an annual calendar has been sold in Bologna newsstands. In 2021, a board game La Giornata dell’Umarell (An Umarell's Day) was released.

See also

• Armchair general – Slang term
• Back-seat driver – Passenger in a vehicle who tries to direct the operator
• Dutch uncle – Slang term
• Gongoozler – Recreational canal watcher in the UK
• Kibitzer – Spectator of a chess or card game who offers unwanted advice or commentary
• Railfan – Rail transport hobby
• Rubbernecking – People staring tactlessly; gawkers

Bibliography

• Masotti, Danilo (2010). Umarells 2.0. Sono tanti, vivono in mezzo a noi, ci osservano... e noi osserviamo loro [Umarells 2.0. They are many, they live amongst us, they obvserve us... and we observe them]. Bologna, Pendragon Press. ISBN 978-8883428579
• Masotti, Danilo (2016). Oltre il cantiere: fenomenologia degli Umarells [Beyond the construction site: the phenomenology of the Umarells]. Bologna, Pendragon Press. ISBN 978-8865988077
• Masotti, Danilo (2021). Umarells per sempre/Forever [Umarells forever]. Bologna, Pendragon Press. ISBN 978-8833643229

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Umarell defined at Urban Dictionary
• The Umarells blog