The Most Italian Time of Day

la passeggiata

the evening stroll

As day softens into dusk in Italy, something in the air seems to tug people from their homes and workplaces to participate in one of the enduring traditions of Italian life: fare la passegiata (taking a walk). The evening promenade  generally takes place between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m on the main streets or in the piazze of virtually every town, village or big city in Italy. But this “cultural performance,” as sociologists describe it, involves so much more than strolling to and fro.

During the week, the passeggiata marks the end of the workday and offers a moment of sociability before the family dinner. On Saturday and Sunday, the passeggiata often becomes the main social event of the day, when entire families take to the streets.

Children scamper after each other or lick cones of gelato. Men typically relax in sidewalk cafes or bars or gather in front of the neighborhood tabaccaio (a store that sells cigarettes, among other things) to talk politics and soccer. Women walk back and forth  arm in arm with their friends. The anziani (very old) set up chairs on the edge of the piazza and watch the street show.

The most important thing is simply seeing and being seen. In some cities, people clearly dress to impress or at least to show how well life has been treating them. Certainly everyone looks as if they’d taken time di dare un buon sguardo (give themselves a good looking over) before stepping into the piazza. Shirts are pressed; jeans are stylish.

If you’re out and about in the early evening, you may become part of a passeggiata whether you intend to or not. You’ll feel like less of an outsider if you don’t dress like an American tourist (no baseball caps, baggy shorts or gym wear). Don’t rush past people. Walk slowly. Join the locals for an aperitivo. And don’t be surprised if, after a while, you start feeling that you too belong.

Here are three of my favorite places to passeggiare:

Rome

Young tourists tend to mull about the Piazza di Spagna or find a perch on the Spanish Steps to watch the parade. Window-shoppers gravitate to the Via del Corso, a pedestrian street lined with shops, cafes and churches. The lively Piazza Navona, with its open-art art vendors, mimes and musicians, may be the most entertaining place for a passeggiata.

Florence

Many people weave their way to the Piazza della Repubblica, with its choice of cafes and bars for an espresso or aperitivo. I prefer a different route: a climb above the crowds to the Piazzale Michelangelo or even higher to the church of San Miniato, where locals sit in the shade and couples wrap their arms around each other as they watch the sun turn the Arno to gold.

Siena

After the tourist buses leave in the late afternoon, the Sienese reclaim their town by making their way up the steep, winding streets to Il Campo, the shell-shaped main piazza. You can circle the piazza or venture into the tiny side streets. Or you can climb  the 400 steps to the top of the Torre del Mangia (roughly the Tower of Eating) for a bird’s eye view. As you gaze down at the townspeople below and out at the distant hills, you’ll feel—as Italians do at the end of a passeggiata—that all’s right with the world. Tutto a posto!

Words and Exprssions

passeggiare a cavallo -- go for a ride (on a horse)

passeggio -- public walk, promenade

passeggiatore -- someone taking a walk

passeggiare in carozza -- go for a drive (literally in a carriage)

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language.

Comments

[dianne]

Thanks, Mary Jane. I hadn't seen that term before for a street-walking woman.

[Mary Jane Cryan]

be careful ... dont use passeggiatrice... a female going for a walk, also has a negative meaning which you can probably figure out on your own..