Badanti: Caring for the Elderly in Rome

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.

Monteverde Vecchio (and those above)

Balsamo Crivelli

via Prenestina

Bill