Il dolce far niente: a case study

November 2020:

I have now been in Bologna for just over a month. Feet are being found on my own accord and language learning is also a result of my own efforts. The shift of maturity and independence, while taxing and slightly tedious, is a completely necessary change at this age and I’m glad I’m being able to discover this in the trustful Bologna.

I witnessed a funny encounter walking to the Piazza Santo Domenica, which is situated behind the Bank of Italy, in Bologna.

As a typical British uni-reared student taught to walk fast, I quickly found myself walking behind 3 Italian men. Built, chubby (in fact, overweight), mid- to late-40s perhaps. I think the middle one was a transport officer. Typically Italian, dressed in all black, a puffer or quilted jacket with lapels, and Chelsea boots/moccasins. Walking, evidently with no hurry, but not without purpose either – they were admiring the columns of the portici as they ambled.

I didn’t purposely try to overtake them, but did the classic slightly rude trick of walking up closer behind them, hoping they got the message (British sensitivity, hey?). Then, just as I was about to break through the human barrier that was one Bolognese-portico-wide, a taxi driver lowered his window to reveal his rounded countenance. He said something, uno scherzo in Italian, which caught these 3 not-so-wise-men’s attention, causing them to turn and step closer towards the sound. The cab driver was at a standstill at a traffic light and the 4 of them shared a joke with their laughter ringing around the corners of the portici as I managed to finally overtake and walk on.

I found the encounter very humorous and it was an affirmation of Italian stereotypes: slow walkers, don’t take themselves too seriously, enjoy life as a journey, and appreciate the simple things. Maybe I just witnessed a small, unimportant sequence of il dolce far niente. I continued walking and the corners of my lips broke into a smile.

Il dolce far niente (the sweet doing nothing/ blissful idleness) is something we can all learn from Italian culture. Spain is getting there, but Italians have this down to a tee. People might discuss the topic in a slightly bittersweet or condescending way (particularly the British or Northern Europeans), associating the far niente with unproductivity and laziness. It is, in practice, not the case. In the scenes I have observed it is the enjoyment and pleasure taken while doing nothing – activities deemed as ‘nothing’ range from walking down a road, as I previously noted, waiting for a friend in a park, the time between finishing an aperitivo and paying for it, and many other otherwise 'meaningless' moments in the day which are giving meaning. Ultimately, this adds sweetness and joy to life by delighting in the small and irrelevant parts of it. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that this contributes to a better quality of life.

And so, aside from completing my Political Philosophy, International Law, and Renaissance Architecture at Unibo, I am attempting to learn, and learn well, the art of il dolce far niente.

Goya Verity Gelabert