Augurs of the Passeggiata

As the nightly passeggiata unfolds, the elderly find a place to rest outside its steady stream. It may be on the piazza, or in an outdoor café or bar, where they nurse an aperitif or glass of wine. There, they gaze with beneficence upon the promenade and shrewdly observe who is strolling with whom, who is besotted of whom, and who is destined to fall in love, discerning before the victims themselves the first glimmer of that fateful condition in a glance, a raised brow, a smile. They sit and gossip endlessly at each portent, to ensure its eventual realization.

Image: Together old in Italy 06, Miki De Goodaboom