Lebenskünstler #1: Roberto, il bagnino

Hello, may I introduce to you Roberto, il bagnino? He's the main lifeguard of the Italian beach part I am always going to.

As I kind of made you notice in my last post, I was thinking about alternative life concepts during holidays, and I still am. Office life, the phone ringing all day, colleagues in need of something all the time, and not to forget the clients - on a long-term perspective this is getting exhausting!!

During my last stay in Italy I observed the people on the beach and wondered what kind of jobs they do. People who manage to live in such a beautiful sunny place and enjoy their afternoons sunbathing, swimming, etc... I wasn't interested in bankers or other businessmen, but in those people who can afford to spend a lot of time outside, in the sun, at the seaside.

By "Lebenskünstler" I don't intend the complete German meaning, like the ones who give up everything in their home country and immigrate to faraway countries just living day by day without caring too much about the future. I like the translation "Bonvivant" or "connoisseur of the art of living" which in part corresponds to what I mean in my context:

people's well bearable compromise in life, those who on the one hand have a serious job life but on the other hand still are able to enjoy enough spare time in doing whatever they want, maybe also by doing nothing - like in Italy the "bel far niente" -, in beautiful places. That is, people who know the art of living very well.

That's why Roberto caught my eye - he spends all the time in the sun, sitting, talking, smoking, eating and sometimes saving someone's life. Always smiling and being the most relaxed person I know.
He's been doing this for about 20 years, I think. It must be good money since he's there since I was a kid and he apparently doesn't want or need to change the work place ("work place" sounds strange for a job on the beach, doesn't it?).
But what does he do when summer is over, when the beach closes, the days become shorter and darker, and the cold is about to come? How does he make a living when it's winter? At any job he does then I still picture him as very relaxed person.
After his well-deserved holiday somewhere nice on the other side of the earth, in winter he works as a carpenter and restorer, I've been told.
Still sounds like an enjoyable life to me...