A small town mayor’s quest to lose weight has gone viral after organizing group walks for city residents in an effort to lose weight and get back into shape. The walks in this wine region in the foothills of the Alps are now wildy popular, with idyllic photos of the walks on social media garnering attention from people around the world.
Since first being elected a decade ago as mayor of the northern Italian town of Valdobbiadene, Luciano Fregonese gained 50 kilograms (equivalent to 110 pounds).
And while the town is known for its sparkling Prosecco, the 47-year-old said the volume of food and eating meals at irregular hours was more the problem, according to the UK publication The Guardian.
“For sure, it was a question of laziness and a sedentary lifestyle too, but being mayor meant I no longer did any sport or physical activity,” Fregonese told The Guardian.
Friends suggested Fregonese, who is 47, focus on weight loss in his re-election campaign.
After winning by a large margin, he decided to get going on this idea. Little by little, the roughly 5.5 kilometer walks attracted more residents. It’s quickly drawing more interest with more than 200 people joining him (and 12 dogs) for a recent, hour-long jaunt, with picturesque posts in this grape growing area of the Veneto region walkers being posted and shared on social media.
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Credit: custom
“People come to support me in my goal, and I would say about 10% use the opportunity to ask me questions,” he told The Guardian. “But the majority come to walk too, and chat with others. It is very motivating as I wouldn’t do it alone – it would be too boring and I am too lazy.”
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Credit: custom
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reached out to the mayor’s office via Facebook and quickly received a response, along with several photos from the walks.
“Today we did the walk in the hamlet of Guia di Valdobbiadene. We were 146 people and 6 dogs. Every week we had 150-200 people,” the mayor’s office said in a Facebook message. “Many come from other municipalities and other regions of Italy. In the next few weeks, there will also be foreigners coming from Germany and Austria who have decided to take their holidays in Valdobbiadene to walk with the mayor. This is beautiful.”
Credit: custom
Credit: custom
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