Nail-biting video from the scene shows Alessandro Breda keeping his cool as he slowly picked his way down a trail.
The video was captured by his mother's partner Loris Calliari, which shows just how close the bear was to him.
Despite the animal rearing up on its hind legs, Alessandro remains calm and continues back towards his family.
Alessandro told Italian broadcaster RAI that he'd recently watched an instructional video about what to do if encountering a bear.
"I learned that if you yell, the bear becomes agitated and becomes much more aggressive," he said.