Umarells Everywhere and Forever
Men of retirement age who pass the time watching construction sites, especially roadworks, offering unwanted advice.
Array
Pp.
150
Uscita: 12-09-2025
ISBN: 979-12-5718-065-2
Collana: Varia -
Numero della Collana
f.c.
20,00 €
Uscita: 12-09-2025
The Italian word umarell refers to “retired men who spend their time observing construction sites – especially roadworks – often offering unsolicited advice.” Originating in Bologna, the term gained national recognition in 2021 when it was officially added to the Italian dictionary. This milestone marked the success of Danilo Masotti’s clever insight: in 2005, he identified the first “umarell zero” and was fascinated by the phenomenon. What began as a blog soon became a best-selling book. Since then, umarells have grown into a cultural icon, inspiring songs, TV shows, documentaries, posters, board games, and more – both in Italy and beyond. This new full-color volume is the ultimate guide to the world of umarells: their habits, postures, hobbies, quirks, and passions. With wit and precision, Masotti reveals everything there is to know about them – preparing us all for the future that may await.
The author
Danilo Masotti (Bologna, 1968) works in the fields of web, communication, and social media marketing. Founder and lead singer of the rock band New Hyronja, he is also a writer, host, and author of radio and television programs, with a wide range of artistic collaborations to his credit. A nationally recognized blogger, he created the cult blogs "Lo spettro della bolognesità" (“The Spectrum of Bologneseness”) and "Umarells", the latter inspiring the book of the same name (Pendragon, 2007). For Edizioni Pendragon, he has also published Il codice Bologna. Guida a luoghi, fatti e persone di una metropoli di provincia ("The Bologna Code: A Guide to Places, Facts, and People of a Provincial Metropolis", 2009); Bologna senza vie di mezzo ("Bologna Without Half Measures", 2011), together with Vasco Rialzo; his first novel Ci meritiamo tutto® ("We Deserve It All®", 2012); New Gold Dream e altre storie degli anni Ottanta ("New Gold Dream and Other Stories from the Eighties", 2013) with Ivo Germano; Ciccionazzi a Chichén Itzá (2014) with Davide Pavlidis; Anche questa è Bologna ("This Too Is Bologna", 2015); Oltre il cantiere: fenomenologia degli umarells ("Beyond the Construction Site: A Phenomenology of the Umarells", 2016); Buonanotte piccoli umarells ("Goodnight, Little Umarells", 2018); Umarells per sempre/Forever (2021); and Dark Bologna (2023).
