He's doing Peppe's loop around the Pantheon — said of someone who takes an absurdly long and roundabout route to accomplish something that could be done simply and directly. It describes bureaucratic inefficiency, deliberate foot-dragging, or comic inability to take the obvious path.
The proverb is rooted in the geography of central Rome, where 'la Reale' refers to Piazza della Rotonda, the square in front of the Pantheon — one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city. The Pantheon, built by Agrippa in 27 BC and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian around 125 AD, has dominated this dense neighborhood for nearly two millennia. 'Peppe' (short for Giuseppe) is the quintessential Roman everyman name, equivalent to 'Joe' in English, used in countless Roman proverbs and folk tales to represent the ordinary Roman citizen. The joke imagines Peppe needing to cross the piazza but instead circling the entire block — through the narrow medieval streets of the rione Pigna — rather than simply walking straight across. In a city where bureaucratic detours are legendary, where obtaining a permit can require visiting six different offices in three different buildings, the image of Peppe's unnecessary loop became a perfect metaphor. Romans invoke it when describing anyone — a bureaucrat, a politician, a friend — who makes a simple task grotesquely complicated.
'La Reale' derives from the old Roman name for Piazza della Rotonda, which in popular dialect referred to the area around the Pantheon — a building that served as a royal church ('Santa Maria ad Martyres') under papal rule, giving the square its regal association in popular speech.
Frustrated at a friend who took three days to reply to a simple question
Tre giorni pe' risponne a un messaggio? Stavi a fa' er giro de Peppe intorno alla Reale?
Three days to reply to one message? Were you doing Peppe's loop around the Pantheon?
A Roman describes the process of renewing his ID card
Pe' rinnovà la carta d'identità me so' fatto er giro de Peppe intorno alla Reale — quattro sportelli, tre moduli, du' ore de fila.
To renew my ID I did Peppe's loop around the Pantheon — four counters, three forms, two hours in line.
A manager criticizes an employee's unnecessarily complicated report
Questa relazione è er giro de Peppe intorno alla Reale. Dimme la cosa in tre righe.
This report is Peppe's loop around the Pantheon. Tell me the thing in three lines.
A Roman gives directions and jokes about a tourist's route
Ma come sei arrivato qui? Hai fatto er giro de Peppe intorno alla Reale! Bastava girà a destra.
How did you get here? You did Peppe's loop around the Pantheon! You just had to turn right.