Sometimes, you just need a walk to clear your head, but one Italian man took that to a whole new level.
A 48-year-old man from Como in northern Italy ended up walking 450 kilometers (about 280 miles) all the way to Fano, a town on the Adriatic coast, after an argument with his wife. The journey, which took him a week, began simply as a way to cool down. But before he knew it, he had become a real-life version of Forrest Gump, earning that nickname from amused social media users.
Along the way, kind strangers gave him food and water. “I’m OK, just a bit tired,” he reportedly told the police after being stopped at 2 a.m. for violating Italy’s COVID-19 lockdown curfew. When officers checked his ID, they discovered he had been reported missing by his wife a week earlier. The walk cost him a €400 fine (about $435), but it didn’t dampen his spirits.
The man claimed he hadn’t used any transport, only his feet. Walking around 60 km each day, he didn’t even realize how far he had gone. His wife later traveled to Fano to bring him home. There’s no word on what she thought of the fine.
Online, people reacted with admiration. Some said he should have been rewarded with a new pair of shoes, not fined. Others praised his peaceful way of handling anger.
Italy had a nationwide curfew in place from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. at the time to control the second wave of COVID-19.
This unusual story reminds us that sometimes the best way to cool down is just to keep walking, though maybe not quite this far!
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