Italy embraces its expert retirees

In cities across Italy, it’s very common to see retired men, with their hands clasped behind their backs, quietly observing construction sites and offering an occasional unsolicited comment about the project. 

These men are known as umarell – a  light‑hearted term from the Bolognese dialect meaning “little man”. 

First popularised in 2005 by writer Danilo Masotti, the word umarell has become a recognised part of Italian culture and now appears in dictionaries.  

And the things these men do is now being taken seriously as a form of civic engagement. 

In April 2026, Turin city council approved a proposal to formally involve umarell as volunteer monitors of public construction projects. 

The initiative aims to harness the experience of retirees – many of whom previously worked in engineering, construction, or urban planning – to help oversee the city’s growing number of public works.  

Under the Turin plan, umarell will not have enforcement powers. Instead, they will act as extra eyes and ears for the council, reporting safety concerns, delays, or irregularities to municipal authorities. 

The proposal was put forward by a councillor, Simone Fissolo, who argued that the city lacks sufficient staff to monitor all public works effectively, while retirees represent an “untapped civic resource”. The program will be reviewed after six months to assess its effectiveness.