In an Italian Village, a Mayor Walks Off the Wine and Everyone Joins In
In a world that seems consumed by the trials of capitalism and the unyielding pressure to work, Robin Leach, the British television personality who died in 2018, noted one place that did it differently: In Italy, Mr. Leach said, they add work and life onto food and wine.
Luciano Fregonese, the mayor of Valdobbiadene — a rural town of 10,000 people in Italy’s picturesque northeast, famous for its Prosecco — has lived such truths.
“It’s not easy, because every weekend there is one or two or three or maybe more events to attend to, and every event it is common to drink wine, or Prosecco, and also to eat,” the mayor said in an interview, with the help of a translator. “It’s not easy to say ‘no.’”
Such are the burdens of a three-term mayor in this lush region of Italy, where Mr. Fregonese — concerned about the toll the job was taking on his health — has added a new assignment to his regular mayoral duties: On Thursdays, Mr. Fregonese walks.
It began as a lighthearted gag between friends, that the boisterous 47-year-old had taken his mayoral job to heart — and waistline. Mr. Fregonese, who says he has gained weight since first being elected mayor in 2014, was already becoming more concerned about his job’s toll on his health before he won a third term in June.
After he was re-elected, it was clear the wine-and-snack obligations would continue. Playfully encouraged by loved ones to get his weight under control, Mr. Fregonese and some friends set up a WhatsApp group last spring to coordinate walks.
“It started like a joke,” he said. His initial strolls around town were modestly attended, made mostly with friends.
But then, word got out, and Mr. Fregonese’s evening walks ballooned. Now, the health walks are a regular event in the town. On his last stroll, Mr. Fregonese said, he set out with more than 200 people alongside him. There were children, dogs and even some visitors from other towns who had heard of the weekly outings.
In an era of pointed and divisive politics the world over, Mr. Fregonese’s local walks have touched a friendlier nerve — there is no campaigning, no agenda and no itinerary beyond an hourlong jaunt through the hills outside Valdobbiadene, a grape-growing area of the Veneto region that was recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“It’s not a part of any party. It’s a party of the town,” Mr. Fregonese said through his translator, a member of his staff. “It became social and it went viral because all the people started inviting each other.”
Mr. Fregonese said he intends to continue the Thursday evening walks, and perhaps add an additional walk on Mondays, until the autumn, when earlier sunsets may force a change in schedule. Until then, he and his dozens of friends will carry on. Up next was a walk through the Prosecco hills outside Valdobbiadene.
“Beautiful route, challenging climbs, but made easy by the view and the company,” Mr. Fregonese posted on Facebook.
And, he added, to sweeten the miles — there would be pizza, at the end.
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