by Nina Vaclavikova
Step by step, Nicolò Guarrara completed a journey that few would dare attempt. On Sunday morning, the 32-year-old from Malo, in the northern Italian province of Vicenza, walked into Piazza Unità d’Italia in Trieste, concluding a five-year trek around the globe on foot.
Guarrara, known to his thousands of online followers by the nickname “Pieroad,” was greeted by more than 200 people who had traveled from across Italy to witness his return. For months, he had announced that Trieste would mark the final stop of his journey abroad, after years of sharing photos, videos, anecdotes, and stories of chance encounters and obstacles encountered along the way.
“I’ll be waiting for everyone in the square, maybe for an spritz,” he had written earlier. True to his word, the Venetian aperitif was served on his arrival, along with the warm welcome of his fans and his parents, Giovanni and Giovanna.
Though his circumnavigation has ended, Guarrara’s walk is not quite over. He plans to continue on foot for another two weeks to return home to Malo, where his extraordinary journey first began.
