In cities across Italy, a specific demographic of older men gathers around active construction sites and roadworks. Standing with their hands firmly clasped behind their backs, these retirees spend hours intensely observing excavators and concrete mixers, frequently offering unrequested advice to the builders.
Known locally as “umarells,” these dedicated onlookers started as a specific local observation in the streets of Bologna. Yet, this simple pastime has rapidly expanded into an international phenomenon, inspiring mobile apps, paid municipal jobs, corporate hiring campaigns, specialized urban planning, and even advanced astrophysics software.
The Origins of the Umarell Phenomenon
The Bolognese Emilian term “umarèl” or “umaréin” literally translates to “little man.” The word was primarily used in lighthearted mockery or self-deprecation to describe retirement-age men who watch urban worksites.
In 2005, local writer Danilo Masotti popularized the modern term by publishing three books and writing an associated blog. The vocabulary gained so much traction that the Italian Zingarelli dictionary officially included the word in its 2021 edition.
Municipal Budgets, Mobile Apps, and Corporate Jobs
By 2015, municipalities began integrating these men into official operations. The city of Riccione, located 130 kilometers southeast of Bologna, allocated an €11,000 budget to pay umarells a wage. Their job was to oversee worksites, count incoming and outgoing trucks, check delivery receipts, and guard against theft when the sites were unattended.
Nearby, the town of San Lazzaro di Savena awarded a resident named Franco Bonini the title of “Umarell of the year.” In 2016, a dedicated mobile app launched to help users track the locations of ongoing roadworks. That same year, the fast-food chain Burger King hired several umarells for a social media marketing campaign.
Piazzetta degli Umarells and Board Games
In July 2017, the Bologna city council approved the creation of “Piazzetta degli Umarells,” a public square named in recognition of the trend. The square itself was under construction at the time. City officials inaugurated the space in April 2018, though the street sign was stolen a year later. Pop culture fully embraced the concept.
A 2020 Topolino comic magazine featured an umarell character named Gerindo Persichetti. Later that year, a real estate developer in Pescara installed specific viewing windows at three construction sites. The market also saw the release of annual newsstand calendars and a 2021 board game titled La Giornata dell’Umarell.
Expanding into Sweden and Space Science
The trend eventually crossed international borders. The Language Council of Sweden included the word in its 2024 annual list of new Swedish words. In October 2025, the Swedish municipality of Karlskoga formally installed “umarell benches” so locals could comfortably monitor the construction of a new bathhouse.
In 2026, astrophysicists from the University of Bologna published a study on ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. They developed software to follow charged particles in a time-dependent cosmological environment and named the program UMAREL in direct homage to the men who watch things in their city.