The world is full of retirees that monitor works on the street. In Italy they are professionalizing and signing them

It doesn’t matter if we talk about Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Vigo, Miranda del Ebro or the distant Lombardy. Where there is a work, an open ditch, a mason with helmet and shovel, a gardener Prunessing the cypresses of the park or a gruist A retiree supervising. His figure is almost universal, such as curiosity or the innate impulse to give advice that no one has asked. Now in A small town From Italy they have had a peculiar idea: why not take advantage of all that wasted talent?

That is why they have professionalized their UMARELL.

Work, who has said work? When one approaches a work, a series of elements expect to be found: masons, concrete, scaffolding, cranes, excavators … For a long time to that extensive list of professionals and useful something else is added: retirees that follow each shovel, banish or hammer with the attention of an orchestra director. It occurs in almost any Spanish city, it doesn’t matter if it is large or small. And occurs in other countries, Like Italywhere they occurred to them that it may not be far -fetched to take advantage of that ancient talent.

With you, the UMARELL. In Italy they even have a name for retirees who move from work by work examining and giving advice, usually early in the morning, after breakfast, and in groups. They call them UMARELLa term coined in 2005 For the writer Danilo Masottiwho created him rescuing a dialectal word from his hometown, Bologna: Umarèl (“Little man”). The idea liked and has become popular until it sneaks into the dictionary in 2021.

Over the years the figure of the UMARELL He has penetrated the Italian popular culture. A while ago in the town of Pescara they decided to open Windows In the fences that cover their works so that the elderly can appear to them and in 2016, in a wink to their growing popularity, Burger King included them in An advertising poster. The palm is taken, however, the City Council of Bologna, which in 2018 was a step further and dedicated a placePiazetta Degli Umoulls.

Why not take advantage of them? Thus, a few months ago Villasanta, a small town of 14,000 inhabitants From the Lombardy region, in northern Italy, he had an idea: why not take advantage of the curiosity, experience and time of the UMARELL? Moreover, why not professionalize them and ‘sign’ the best? For that purpose At the end of last year The City Council launched a call that closed in early April and allowed it to create a small eight patrol UMARELLsix of the Villanta Yos de Monza itself.

At the service of the people. In the bars bars, anyone can comment. In the team of UMARELL of Villasanta no. People selected by the Consistory meet certain requirements: they are retired, have university degrees and accumulate work experience in technical sectors thanks to their old jobs in fields such as architecture, engineering and topography. The goal? That your indications are, above all, good indications.

The service provides it for free, without charging, although being registered in the Civic Volunteer Registry are covered by insurance. By becoming UMARELL Professionals also assume certain responsibilities. The Guardian details That each of the eight retirees (seven men and a woman) has a part of the assigned town and the work is organized in shifts between two and three hours. When one is missing, he coordinates with his companions to cover the vacancy.

But … what do they do? Basically they increase the number of eyes and ears that the City Council has to supervise certain municipal works and services. During their turn each UMARELL It is responsible for visiting public works, checking the status of the streets and sidewalks and ‘supervising’ the maintenance of green areas. And that among other tasks. In April Euronews pointed out that the first mission entrusted to them by the City Council was to carry out traffic surveys.

Thanks to them, the City Council can have a more precise control of public works, cleaning the streets and parking, the care of parks and other green areas or if the lighting and the garbage collection service works correctly. “Above all you feel useful for society and for yourself: you are doing something valuable with your time instead of sitting in front of TV or complaining, as the real ones do UMARELL“, Explain to The Guardian Roberto Cremona, one of the eight retirees who patrol the streets (and the works) of the town.

Images | Wikipedia (Wittylama) and Salvatore Capalbi (Flickr)

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