In the whole world one pays the toll — nobody goes through life without cost. Every road, every choice, every pleasure has its price. There is no free passage.
The pedagi (toll) was a fact of life on every road and bridge in the Piedmontese landscape. The Alpine passes were tolled; the Po bridges were tolled; the city gates took their duty. Before the era of free roads, moving through the world meant paying at every junction. This physical reality became a metaphor for the general condition of human life: every stage, every advancement, every pleasure has its toll. The proverb is not pessimistic but clear-eyed: knowing that you will pay the toll, you can budget for it. The person who is surprised by the toll — who expected the road to be free — is a fool. The wise person pays the toll, passes through, and continues on their way without complaint.
Piedmontese proverb rooted in the physical reality of tolled roads and bridges that characterised movement through the Alps and the Piedmontese plain from antiquity to the modern era.
A Piedmontese father on the costs of ambition
— Vuoi diventare medico. — Bene. A tütt al mond a s'paga al pedagi — sei anni di medicina, tre di specializzazione. Lo sai?
— Quieres ser medico. — Bien. En todo el mundo se paga el peaje: seis años de medicina, tres de especializacion. ¿Lo sabes?
A Torinese entrepreneur after a difficult but successful year
È stato un anno durissimo. Ma a tütt al mond a s'paga al pedagi — adesso l'azienda vale dieci volte di prima.
Fue un año durismo. Pero en todo el mundo se paga el peaje: ahora la empresa vale diez veces más que antes.
A Piedmontese grandmother on age
I capelli bianchi, il mal di schiena, gli occhiali — a tütt al mond a s'paga al pedagi. In cambio ho ottant'anni di ricordi meravigliosi.
Canas, dolor de espalda, gafas: en todo el mundo se paga el peaje. A cambio tengo ochenta años de recuerdos maravillosos.
A Turin artist on the price of a creative life
Ho guadagnato poco per vent'anni per fare quello che amavo. A tütt al mond a s'paga al pedagi — e non mi pento di un giorno.
Gane poco durante veinte años para hacer lo que amaba. En todo el mundo se paga el peaje, y no me arrepiento de un solo día.