by Brian Gebhart

We’re cleaning up after dinner when our five-year-old son asks if we can go on a passeggiata. Jessica, my wife, and I look at each other, sharing a bemused smile. We’ve been using the word for a while, but it might be the first time we’ve heard it from the mouth of our youngest child, and it’s definitely the first time he’s asked to do it.

The verb passeggiare is Italian for a walk, but it’s a bit more specific than that. A passeggiata
(pronounced pah-say-JAH-tah) refers to a leisurely stroll through one’s neighborhood, city center, or general surroundings. Italians may take un passeggiata at any time of day, but many cities and towns have a traditional evening ramble, where people talk, meet up with family and friends, and maybe drop into a café for a quick drink or snack.

It’s a tradition Jessica and I both encountered during our respective times in Italy, and it’s one we appreciated and decided to bring home with us. Although our version takes place in a suburban neighborhood rather than a city center promenade and, compared to the Italian version, is notably less glamorous.

The word itself is characteristic of Italy: such a long, languid, elegant collection of sounds to communicate a simple concept. But like so much else in Italian lifestyle, the simplicity is deceptive. The tradition of the passeggiata can’t be disentangled from all the other fundamental aspects of daily life: food, family, community, the built environment of cities and towns, work and school and mealtime routines. All of those vital systems are arranged in ways that support the practice of passeggiata, and the passeggiata supports them in turn. From the perspective of many Italians, a casual evening walk is a small but important thread woven into their day. Over time, all those threads accrete, becoming an inextricable part of the fabric that makes a healthy and happy life.

There are many health benefits, of course, most obviously the opportunity to move your legs and burn a few calories. Also, simply being outdoors can improve one’s mental health, lower blood pressure, and combat anxiety. Talking with family and friends can have the same effects. And if you take a passeggiata after a meal, it can help reduce harmful spikes in blood sugar. But these kinds of metrics don’t explain the tradition itself, and the true benefits can’t be tallied up like steps on a Fitbit. All of it runs much deeper than that.

Our son is waiting on an answer, looking up with a hopeful expression. It’s a delicate moment, and the decision feels more fraught than it probably should, weighed down by all the burdens of daily life. Because on the one hand, taking 20 or 30 minutes to walk around our neighborhood means delaying the after-dinner cleanup, the dishes, the kids’ baths and bedtime routines. It means less time to relax in front of the TV afterwards, at least if we want to get a good night’s sleep.

But on the other hand, a passeggiata brings the possibility for chance encounters, for surprising sights and sounds and smells, for noticing something new. We’ll be able to talk to each other about whatever’s on our minds, and we might get to chat with neighbors we haven’t seen in a while. Our neighborhood doesn’t seem very exciting at first glance: single-family houses, cars, sidewalks, mailboxes, and all the rest. But when we
take the time to look, we see it’s also filled with trees, birds, flowers, insects, frogs, squirrels, and much more.

Perhaps most importantly, the passeggiata reminds us that we’re part of a huge and fascinating world, a fact that makes our lives richer and more fulfilling, as long as we make enough time and space to recognize it. So, in the end, our son doesn’t have to wait long for the response: Andiamo! Let’s go!