A common sight in Rome neighborhoods is an elderly man or woman walking arm-in-arm, or next to, a younger person. Often that younger person is a son or daughter, but just as often it's a paid caretaker--in Italian, a
badante--from the verb
badare: to mind, to pay attention to, to take care of.
Bada! (take care!). Most
badanti are immigrants, especially Filipinos (described by a friend as the "Cadillac" of badanti) and, increasingly, Romanians, who now can travel freely within the European Union. Unlike in the U.S., where older people who live alone--even with a caretaker--can be quite isolated, in Rome
badanti help the elderly get out on the street and engage socially, if only for an hour or so in the morning and/or afternoon.
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| Monteverde Vecchio (and those above) |
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| Balsamo Crivelli |
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| via Prenestina |
Bill
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